Can you explain more about those education tax credits? I've heard of them but don't really understand how they work or if I'd qualify.

The American Opportunity Credit is the bigger one - worth up to $2,500, and you can claim it for the first 4 years of college. You get 100% of the first $2,000 you spend on qualified education expenses, and 25% of the next $2,000. The best part is that it's partially refundable - meaning you can get up to $1,000 back even if you don't owe any taxes. The Lifetime Learning Credit is worth up to $2,000 (20% of the first $10,000 in qualified expenses), but it's not refundable. However, you can use it for any year of education, including graduate school or professional courses. You generally qualify if you're paying for college expenses and your income isn't too high. For 2024, the AOTC starts phasing out at $80,000 for single filers, and the LLC at $59,000. Both have their own requirements, but most traditional college students will qualify for at least one of them.

You need to look at your student account statement from your school - it should show how much you paid for tuition and fees separately from housing, meal plan, etc. Compare that to your total scholarship amount. If your scholarship exceeds the tuition/fees/required books, then the excess is taxable. Your school's financial aid office can also help break this down if the statements aren't clear.

Omg I hadn't even thought about state taxes! So could I potentially owe state tax even if I don't owe federal tax on the sale? I'm in Pennsylvania if that matters.

Yes, exactly! Pennsylvania does tax capital gains from real estate sales. While they generally follow federal rules for calculating the gain, there can be differences in what exclusions or deductions are allowed. For example, even if you qualify for the full $250,000 federal exclusion under Section 121, PA might have different rules or limitations. Check with the PA Department of Revenue or a local tax professional to be sure. Some states also have transfer taxes that might have been paid at closing but should be included in your cost basis calculations.

This is so true! My cousin got audited 3 years after selling her house because she couldn't verify the improvement expenses she claimed. Keep those renovation receipts!

I used TurboTax last year and it handled the 1099-B import fine, but it doesn't really explain wash sales well. It just takes whatever wash sale adjustment your broker reports. If you disagree with your broker's calculation (like OP's situation), TurboTax won't help you figure that out - you'd need to make manual adjustments. I switched to TaxAct this year and it seems to handle it a bit better with more explanations about the wash sale calculations.

Thanks for the info about TurboTax. I'm concerned about the imports because my broker (Fidelity) sometimes categorizes things differently than TurboTax expects. I hadn't considered TaxAct - might check that out instead. Really just want something that will handle the calculations correctly without me having to become a wash sale expert. The whole "substantially identical securities" thing gets really confusing especially with ETFs that have overlap.

Yes, buying in your IRA after selling at a loss in your taxable account does trigger a wash sale! This is a common misconception. If you sell a security at a loss in your taxable account and purchase the same or "substantially identical" security in your IRA (Roth or Traditional) within 30 days before or after, the wash sale rule applies. What makes this particularly painful is that when the loss is disallowed due to an IRA purchase, that loss is essentially lost forever since you can't adjust the cost basis in an IRA.

And if the food truck LLC has inventory, you might need to account for cost of goods sold on your Schedule C. This is super important for food businesses since your ingredients and supplies are considered inventory.

I did try contacting them first actually! Their payroll person said they'd "look into it" about two weeks ago but I still haven't received anything. That's why I'm trying to figure out how to work around it in TurboTax since the filing deadline is getting closer.

That's frustrating! If you've already tried contacting them, I'd recommend following up one more time with a deadline - something like "I need this corrected by next Friday to file my taxes on time." Sometimes that creates more urgency. In the meantime, the workaround suggested by others is your best bet. Enter it exactly as shown on the form (so dollar amounts match IRS records) but add detailed notes explaining the discrepancy. The total income reported is what matters most from a tax calculation perspective.

I work with taxes (not a professional, just at a community volunteer center) and see this kind of thing often. Generally, the IRS is concerned with whether all income is reported, not necessarily which box it appears in on a 1099. As long as you include the income and document the discrepancy, it rarely causes problems.