Just to add some clarity for anyone following this thread - the original poster's situation is straightforward, but I want to emphasize that non-resident tax rules can have surprising exceptions. For example, if your cousin had been a "dual-status alien" (resident for part of the year), or if he had any US business activities beyond just holding investments, the analysis would be completely different. Also, some states have their own rules for non-residents that can catch people off guard. The good news is that based on what you've described - Australian resident, no US presence, simple stock sales through a brokerage - you're definitely on the right track with just filing the 1040NR and Schedule OI. The capital gains sourcing rules are pretty clear in this case. One small tip: make sure you keep good records of the stock transactions even though you're not reporting them as taxable income. If the IRS ever questions the return, having documentation of purchase dates, sale dates, and amounts will help explain why the gains weren't subject to US tax.

I went through something very similar with my brother-in-law from New Zealand last year. He had around $8,000 in capital gains from selling some Apple and Microsoft stock through E*Trade, and I was completely confused about the filing requirements. After doing a ton of research and even consulting with a CPA who specializes in international tax, I can confirm what others have said here - you're absolutely doing this correctly. The key insight is that capital gains from stock sales are sourced to the seller's residence for tax purposes, not where the company is headquartered or where the brokerage is located. Since your cousin is an Australian tax resident and has no US trade or business, those gains are foreign-sourced and not subject to US taxation. The 1040NR and Schedule OI are all you need to file. One thing I learned that might be helpful - even though the brokerage didn't send a 1099-B, you should still report the transaction details on your own records. We created a simple spreadsheet showing purchase dates, sale dates, number of shares, and gain/loss amounts. The IRS didn't ask for it, but having that documentation gave us peace of mind that we could support our filing position if needed. Also, make sure your cousin files his Australian tax return properly since those gains will likely be taxable there under their capital gains tax rules.

I've been doing backdoor Roth conversions for several years now and wanted to share a few additional tips that might help. First, timing matters - I always make my non-deductible IRA contribution in January and then convert it within a few days to minimize any market gains that could complicate the tax reporting. Second, if you have any existing traditional IRA balances with pre-tax money (from old 401k rollovers, etc.), you'll need to deal with the pro-rata rule. This can make backdoor Roth conversions much more complicated because the IRS treats all your traditional IRA accounts as one big pot when calculating taxable portions of conversions. For TurboTax specifically, I've found their "Life Events" section often has a backdoor Roth interview that walks you through both the contribution and conversion reporting. It's usually under something like "Retirement" or "IRA Contributions and Conversions." The software does a pretty good job of generating the correct Form 8606 once you answer their questions accurately. One last thing - don't stress too much about getting the amendment filed immediately. The IRS is generally understanding about Form 8606 corrections since they know this is a complex area. Just make sure you get it sorted before you file your 2024 return that will report the conversion portion.

I've been following this thread closely since I'm in a similar situation with my backdoor Roth IRA. One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is what happens if you discover you need to amend multiple years of returns for missing Form 8606 filings. I realized I've been making non-deductible IRA contributions for the past 3 years but never filed Form 8606 for any of them! Now I'm worried about how to unwind this mess and get my basis tracking correct before doing any conversions. Has anyone dealt with amending multiple years at once? I'm wondering if I should tackle them one year at a time or if there's a more efficient approach. Also concerned about whether the IRS will hit me with penalties for the late Form 8606 filings, even though my actual tax liability didn't change since these were non-deductible contributions. Any advice would be really appreciated - this thread has already been super helpful for understanding the process!

I totally understand the panic you're feeling! I went through something similar when I was setting up my consulting business last year. I actually made an even more embarrassing mistake - I accidentally wrote my personal SSN instead of leaving it blank for the business entity section and didn't catch it until after I'd already faxed it. From what I've learned through that experience and talking to other small business owners, the IRS is surprisingly forgiving with these kinds of administrative oversights on SS4 forms. The date field, while included on the form, isn't one of the critical elements that would cause an automatic rejection. The key things they really care about are having a complete signature, accurate business information, and proper entity classification. As long as you've got those covered (which it sounds like you do), you should be in good shape. My recommendation would be to wait about 2-3 weeks and then call to check on the status rather than immediately resubmitting. That way you can confirm they received it and are processing it normally. If for some reason there is an issue, they can guide you on the best way to handle it at that point. Don't beat yourself up too much about this - these forms can be tricky even when you're being super careful. The fact that you triple-checked everything else shows you were being thorough. Best of luck with your new side business!

Hey Sarah! I totally get that sinking feeling when you realize you missed something important on official paperwork. I went through a similar panic when I submitted my SS4 form for my freelance business and realized I had made a mistake with one of the fields. From everything I've read and experienced, the missing date really shouldn't be a deal-breaker for your EIN application. The IRS processes thousands of these forms and they're much more concerned with having your signature (which validates your authority to request the EIN) and complete business information than they are about the date field. That said, I understand wanting certainty, especially when you need that EIN for your bank account. My suggestion would be to wait about 2-3 weeks before taking any action. If you haven't heard anything by then, call the IRS Business & Specialty Tax Line to check on your application status rather than immediately resubmitting. This way you can confirm they received it and avoid any potential confusion from duplicate submissions. I know the waiting is stressful when you're eager to get your business up and running, but try not to stress too much about this particular mistake. You clearly put a lot of care into getting everything else right, and that attention to detail will serve you well as you grow your side business. Good luck!

I can completely relate to this worry! I went through the exact same panic when I started helping my elderly parents with their finances through Cash App. I was depositing cash from my own savings to help them pay bills online, and I was terrified I'd created some kind of tax mess. After researching extensively and even calling the IRS (took forever to get through!), I learned that what we're doing is completely normal and not taxable at all. You're essentially just digitizing physical cash you already own - it's no different from depositing cash at an ATM into your regular bank account. The key thing to remember is that the IRS distinguishes between "your own money" and "income from others." When you deposit your pocket money into Cash App, you're just moving YOUR money from one form to another. No new income is being created, so there's nothing to tax. The $600 threshold for 1099-K forms only applies to payments you RECEIVE from other people for selling goods or providing services. Your own deposits don't count toward this at all. So even if you deposited $5,000 of your own cash, that wouldn't trigger any tax reporting as long as you weren't also receiving payments from others. You're being a good family member helping out, and you definitely don't need to stress about the tax implications of these deposits!

I just wanted to chime in as someone who was in almost the exact same situation! I was depositing my own cash into Cash App to help my roommates with shared expenses, and I was so worried about whether I'd accidentally created taxable income. After doing a lot of research and talking to my accountant during tax season, I can confirm what everyone else is saying - depositing your own physical cash into Cash App is absolutely not a taxable event. You're not earning new income, you're just converting cash you already had into digital form. The easiest way I learned to think about it is this: imagine you had $850 in your wallet and you went to your bank and deposited it. Would that be taxable? No way! Cash App works the same way - it's just a digital wallet instead of a physical bank account. The $850 you've deposited over the past few months is still the same $850 you had before, just in a different format. Since it was your money to begin with, there's no new income being created and nothing for the IRS to tax. You can rest easy knowing you haven't messed anything up tax-wise!

This whole thread has been incredibly helpful! I had the exact same confusion with my E*Trade 1099-B and was leaning toward answer (b) before reading everyone's explanations. What really clicked for me was understanding that E*Trade is essentially doing the math for you behind the scenes. When they show that $839,230 cost basis, they've already factored in all the wash sale adjustments that happened throughout the year. So that $89,700 "Wash Sale Loss Disallowed" figure represents adjustments that are already reflected in your cost basis - it's not something you need to add separately. I think the confusion comes from the fact that this column exists at all. It feels like it should be part of the calculation somehow, but really it's just there for transparency so you can see how much in losses were disallowed during the tax year. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences with E*Trade support, the IRS, and tax professionals. It's reassuring to see the same answer confirmed through multiple sources. I'm definitely going with the $37,220 realized gain amount when I file!

This has been such a valuable thread! I'm dealing with the exact same E*Trade 1099-B situation and was completely lost until reading everyone's explanations. What really helped me understand this was the analogy about the receipt - the "Wash Sale Loss Disallowed" column is like documentation showing what adjustments were made, but those adjustments are already incorporated into the cost basis figure. E*Trade has done all the heavy lifting by automatically adjusting the cost basis upward to account for disallowed wash sale losses. I was initially leaning toward answer (b) and adding the $89,700 to the realized gain, but now I clearly see that would be double-counting. The $37,220 realized gain is already the correct taxable amount because it's calculated using the wash-sale-adjusted cost basis. Thanks to everyone who called E*Trade support, used the IRS callback services, and shared their experiences with tax professionals. Having multiple independent confirmations of the same answer gives me confidence to file correctly. This community really came through with practical, actionable advice!