I'm going through the exact same situation right now! My husband and I are buying our first home next month and I was stressing about whether to consolidate our funds or keep them separate. Reading all these responses has been incredibly reassuring. What I found most helpful was the distinction between moving existing money (which isn't taxable) versus receiving new income. Since we're just reshuffling money that's already been taxed in our household, there shouldn't be any IRS implications. I'm definitely going to follow the advice about calling both banks ahead of time and giving our lender a heads up via email. The timing aspect seems crucial - I don't want any delays to mess up our closing date! Thanks to everyone who shared their real experiences. It's so much better hearing from people who actually went through this rather than just guessing about what might happen.

I just went through this exact situation last month when buying our house! We consolidated about $95k from my husband's account into mine for a single cashier's check, and it worked perfectly with zero tax issues. The key thing to remember is that you're not creating new income - you're just moving money that already exists in your household. The IRS only cares about new taxable income, not reshuffling existing funds between spouses. A few practical tips from my experience: 1. Do the transfer at least 2-3 business days before you need the cashier's check 2. Call both banks beforehand to let them know about the large transfer and upcoming cashier's check 3. Send a quick email to your lender explaining the consolidation - they appreciate the heads up 4. Keep all your closing documents as backup documentation (though you probably won't need them) The whole process was much smoother than I expected. Banks see spousal fund consolidation for home purchases constantly, so they're very used to it. Don't stress about it - you're doing everything right!

11 Just want to point out that different types of retirement accounts might have different rules. For IRAs, the rule about turning 72 in 2023 and starting RMDs in 2024 is correct. But for 401(k)s, if your mother is already retired, she might have different requirements. Some employer plans require distributions to begin earlier. Worth checking the specific plan documents or having her HR department confirm if she's still working.

4 I've been managing my in-laws' finances for years and can confirm the RMD age is now 72 (soon to be 73 for younger folks). For someone turning 72 this year, their first RMD year is 2024, not 2023. One important thing to note: the first RMD can be delayed until April 1 of the year following the year you turn 72 (so April 1, 2025), but that means you'd have to take two distributions in 2025 (the delayed 2024 RMD plus the regular 2025 RMD). Usually better tax-wise to take that first distribution in the actual year it's for.

I went through this exact same situation last year! The dual verification system is so confusing and poorly explained. Here's what I learned: the ID.me verification is for your IRS online account access, while the phone verification is specifically for your tax return processing. They're completely separate systems that don't communicate with each other. I also did the online verification first and thought I was done, but had to call anyway. When I finally got through (took about 1.5 hours on hold), the agent was actually really helpful and explained that this dual process is their new fraud prevention protocol. My refund was released about 2 weeks after the phone call. Make sure you have your prior year tax returns handy when you call - they'll ask specific questions about amounts and dates from previous filings. Hang in there, it's frustrating but you're almost done with the process!

I'm dealing with this exact same frustrating situation right now! Got my CP01H letter last month, completed the ID.me verification online (which took forever), and then got ANOTHER letter saying I need to call. It's so confusing that they don't explain these are two separate processes. Based on all the responses here, it sounds like I definitely need to make that call. Really appreciate everyone sharing their experiences - at least now I know what to expect. Going to try calling early tomorrow morning with my tax returns ready. Fingers crossed I can get through without waiting hours on hold!

This thread has been absolutely fantastic! I'm another S Corp owner who was completely confused about mileage deductions until reading through all these detailed responses. One thing I want to add that might help others - make sure your S Corp actually has the cash flow to handle mileage reimbursements throughout the year. I learned this lesson when I accumulated about $3,000 in business mileage but my S Corp was running tight on cash. I ended up having to wait until a big client payment came in before I could reimburse myself, which made my quarterly tax planning more complicated. Now I factor potential mileage reimbursements into my S Corp cash flow projections at the beginning of each year. I estimate my annual business miles and set aside roughly that amount (at the IRS rate) so the money is always available when I need to process reimbursements. For anyone just starting this system, I'd recommend doing a quick estimate of your expected annual business mileage and making sure your S Corp maintains adequate cash reserves to cover those reimbursements. It makes the whole process much smoother and ensures you can take advantage of the deduction in the year you actually drove the miles rather than having to delay reimbursements due to cash flow issues. The accountable plan approach is definitely the right way to go - just wanted to share the cash flow planning aspect that I wish someone had mentioned to me earlier!

I've been following this discussion closely as someone who recently made the S Corp election for my LLC, and I want to thank everyone for the incredibly detailed explanations! One aspect I'd like to add that hasn't been mentioned yet - make sure you're aware of your state's rules regarding accountable plans and mileage reimbursements. While the federal tax treatment is clear (as everyone has explained perfectly), some states have different rules about whether these reimbursements are subject to state income tax or payroll taxes. In my state, I had to register the accountable plan with the Department of Revenue to ensure the reimbursements wouldn't be treated as additional W-2 wages subject to state withholding. It was a simple one-page form, but I'm glad I caught it before my first reimbursement. Also, for those asking about timing requirements - while the IRS doesn't specify exact deadlines for processing reimbursements under an accountable plan, they do expect "reasonable" timing. I've seen recommendations ranging from 30-120 days, but quarterly processing (as several people mentioned) seems to be well within acceptable bounds and makes business sense for cash flow management. This thread really should be bookmarked by anyone operating as an S Corp - the collective wisdom here is better than most professional consultations I've had on this topic!

Great questions about managing volatility ETF investments! As someone who's navigated these waters for a few years, I'd recommend keeping things simple initially - you don't need a separate IRA just for volatility products. These partnership investments can coexist perfectly fine with regular stocks and ETFs in the same retirement account. The key advantage of holding volatility products like UVXY and SVIX in your IRA is eliminating the annual K-1 paperwork burden entirely. Since these products rarely generate meaningful taxable income anyway (as you've seen with all those zeros), you're not really giving up any tax benefits by holding them in a tax-deferred account. For educational resources on partnership taxation, I'd recommend starting with IRS Publication 541 (Partnerships) and Publication 550 (Investment Income and Expenses). They're dry reading but cover the fundamentals. The AICPA also has some good guides for individual investors dealing with partnership interests. One practical tip: if you do continue holding these in taxable accounts, create a simple spreadsheet to track your basis adjustments from each year's K-1s. Even when the current year shows zeros, there might be prior year adjustments that affect your basis, and this becomes crucial when you eventually sell. The learning curve is definitely steep at first, but once you understand the pattern - IRA positions don't require personal tax reporting, taxable positions need K-1s filed even with zeros - it becomes much more routine to handle each year.

I've been dealing with these volatility ETF K-1 forms for a couple years now and wanted to add some perspective on the timing aspect that others haven't mentioned much. One thing to be prepared for - these K-1s often arrive really late in tax season, sometimes not until mid-March or even later. This can be frustrating if you're trying to file early. UVXY and SVIX partnerships seem to be particularly slow with their reporting, probably because they have complex underlying derivative positions that take time to sort out. For your current situation, you're handling it correctly - IRA positions don't need personal reporting, but taxable account K-1s should be included even with zeros. One tip that saved me time: if you use tax software, many programs now have specific modules for these common volatility ETF partnerships. They'll recognize the EIN and auto-populate most of the form fields, which makes entering those zero K-1s much faster. Also, since you mentioned this is your first time with these investments, be aware that if you hold these partnerships across multiple tax years, you might see prior year adjustments on future K-1s. These partnerships sometimes have to restate their numbers after getting final information from their own underlying investments, which can create amended K-1s or adjustments on the following year's forms. The good news is that for retail investors, these adjustments are usually tiny amounts that don't materially affect your tax liability, but it's good to be aware of the possibility.