11 I tried H&R Block last year for my W2G as a non-resident from Germany. Big mistake! The preparer had no idea about the proper treaty rates and almost filed my return incorrectly. I ended up going to a specialist and had to pay twice. Definitely find someone who specifically knows international tax!

3 Thanks for the warning! I'll definitely avoid them and look for someone with specific international experience. Maybe I should check with my university's international student office for recommendations since they probably deal with this regularly.

20 Professional gambler status is EXTREMELY difficult to qualify for as a non-resident and can actually create bigger problems! The IRS scrutinizes these claims heavily, and it can trigger effectively connected income treatment which means filing Schedule C and potentially being subject to self-employment tax. It can also affect visa status since technically you'd be "working" in the US. I'd be very careful about pursuing this route without expert guidance.

That's a great point that I hadn't considered. We did have some capital gains last year from selling some stocks (about $35,000). Would that really affect the QBID calculation that much? I didn't realize capital gains would impact this.

Yes, capital gains definitely impact the calculation! The 199A deduction is limited to 20% of your taxable income MINUS net capital gains. So in your case, if you had $35,000 in capital gains, your effective taxable income for QBID purposes would be reduced by that amount. For example, if your taxable income was $200,000 including $35,000 capital gains, your QBID would be limited to 20% of $165,000 ($200,000 - $35,000), which is $33,000. Even if your QBI was higher, you couldn't take more than that $33,000 as your QBID. This is a commonly overlooked limitation that can significantly reduce the expected deduction.

TurboTax handles QBID calculations much better than FreeTaxUSA in my experience, especially with multiple K1s. It costs more but worth it for complex situations with partnerships and S-corps.

That's a really interesting angle! I did something similar when my father moved in with us. We were able to deduct a portion of our utilities and even some modifications to the house as medical expenses. But I think you need documentation from a doctor recommending the living arrangement for medical purposes.

This is really helpful information, thank you! If I understand correctly, I would calculate how long I used it as a primary residence within the 5 years before selling, divide that by 2 years, and multiply by $250,000? In my case, I hadn't lived there personally for about 6 years before selling, so would that mean I get zero exclusion under this calculation?

Since you hadn't lived in the home as your primary residence during the 5-year period before the sale, you're right that the first part of the calculation would be zero. However, there's still potentially the second part - the time between the qualifying event (your uncle's death) and the sale. If the sale was primarily due to your uncle's passing, and you sold within a reasonable time after that event (which sounds like you did since it took about a year to sell), you might still qualify for some level of partial exclusion based on that timing. I'd strongly recommend consulting with a tax professional who can review all the specific dates and circumstances, as the calculations can get quite complex and the IRS rules have some nuances that might work in your favor.

Thanks for this! Do you know how often the cash back percentages change? Should I wait until closer to the filing deadline to see if the rates go up?

The cash back percentages typically change every 2-4 weeks, sometimes more frequently during peak tax season. They usually increase as we get closer to April 15th, but there's no guarantee. Last year the highest rates were actually in mid-March, then they dropped slightly in April. If you don't need to file immediately, checking back every week or so might help you catch a better rate. Just don't cut it too close to the deadline in case of technical issues.

This worked for me! Found a coupon for 20% off and it stacked with the Rakuten cash back. Ended up paying like $79 for Premium instead of $119, then got about $12 back through Rakuten. Every bit helps when you're paying taxes!

Thanks for mentioning this! I haven't received any W-2G forms yet, but I did have a couple of bigger wins that might have triggered reporting. Would the casino have given those to me right away when I won, or would they mail them later? Also, do you know what the income limits are for my parents to claim me as a dependent? I'm a full-time student.

Casinos typically mail W-2Gs by January 31st for the previous year's winnings, though for larger wins they often complete the paperwork at the time of payout. If you had wins over $1,200 on slots or $5,000 on poker/table games, you should expect to receive them. For your parents to claim you as a dependent while you're a full-time student under 24, there's no income limit, but you must not provide more than half of your own support. The support test looks at who pays for your housing, food, education, etc. - not just your income. So even with your gambling winnings, if your parents still provide more than half of your total support, they can claim you. But if those winnings meant you provided more than half of your own support this year, that could change your dependent status.

Is this really necessary for a college student with only $8,500 in winnings? Seems like overkill. The IRS isn't going after small fish like this when there are millionaires to audit.