Has anyone noticed how FreeTaxUSA handles the quarterly estimated tax payments for next year? I switched from TurboTax this year too but I'm confused about whether I need to make quarterly payments for my gig work.

I went through the exact same struggle last year switching from TurboTax to FreeTaxUSA for my gig work! That preliminary summary you saw is totally normal - FreeTaxUSA shows you running totals as you go, which can be confusing at first. Make sure you complete the self-employment sections for both your DoorDash 1099-NEC and UberEats 1099-K. The key is entering all your business expenses - especially mileage tracking if you kept records. I saved about $1,200 in taxes just from properly deducting my delivery miles. One tip: don't panic if the numbers look high before you finish entering all your expenses. The software will recalculate everything once you complete each section. Also, double-check that you're not accidentally reporting the same income twice if any amounts appear on both your 1099-K and 1099-NEC - that's a common issue with delivery apps. FreeTaxUSA definitely has a learning curve compared to TurboTax, but it handles gig work just fine once you get through all the sections. Take your time and don't rush through the business expense parts!

Make sure when you're doing the 8606 that you're consistent with your records from previous years! This tripped me up last year. If you've done backdoor Roth conversions before, line 2 of Form 8606 should include any "basis" carried over from previous years. If this is your first one, then line 2 would be $0 and line 3 would match line 1 ($7,000). Also, when you enter the 1099-R information in your tax software, some programs will try to tax the entire amount unless you specifically indicate it was a Roth conversion and direct it to Form 8606.

Just went through this exact same situation last month! One thing that really helped me was keeping detailed records of the timeline. I created a simple spreadsheet with: - Date of Traditional IRA contribution: $7,000 - Date of conversion: $7,002.35 - Interest earned: $2.35 This made filling out Form 8606 much clearer. The key insight that finally clicked for me was that the $7,000 represents your "basis" (what you put in with after-tax dollars), while the $2.35 is considered earnings that you've never paid tax on, which is why it becomes taxable income. For future years, definitely consider doing the conversion immediately after contribution like others mentioned. I set up my 2025 backdoor Roth to convert the same day to avoid this complexity entirely. Most brokerages make this really easy to automate. Also, keep good records because if you do backdoor Roths in future years, you'll need to reference this year's Form 8606 for the carryover amounts. The IRS doesn't track your basis for you - that's on you to maintain accurately!

Based on everyone's experiences shared here, it sounds like you're definitely on the right track with your understanding of the step-up in basis benefits from dissolution. One additional consideration I'd add is to make sure you document the business purpose for the dissolution beyond just tax planning. When our family went through this process, our attorney recommended we document legitimate reasons for dissolution - things like simplifying our estate planning, reducing ongoing partnership administrative costs, or giving each family member more direct control over their investment decisions. While tax efficiency is a valid consideration, having additional business justifications helps if the IRS ever questions the dissolution. Also, since you mentioned the partnership agreement doesn't specifically address dissolution scenarios, you might want to review whether it includes any restrictions on dissolution or requires specific notice periods to partners. Some FLP agreements have provisions that could complicate or delay the process, so it's worth checking now rather than discovering issues later when you're trying to move forward. The peace of mind from getting this structured correctly will be worth the upfront planning effort, especially given the substantial unrealized gains you mentioned.

One thing I'd strongly recommend is getting a written opinion letter from your tax attorney or CPA specifically addressing the step-up in basis treatment for your situation. While the general principle is well-established, having professional documentation of how it applies to your specific FLP structure could be valuable protection if the IRS ever questions the dissolution years down the road. Also, consider whether you want to stagger the dissolution process or do it all at once. Some families choose to dissolve incrementally over multiple tax years to spread out any administrative complexity, though in your case with publicly traded securities, there shouldn't be any immediate tax consequences regardless of timing. Make sure to coordinate the dissolution timing with your parents' overall estate planning. If they're doing any gifting or other estate planning moves, you'll want everything to work together smoothly. Sometimes there are opportunities to combine strategies that your estate planning attorney might suggest. Finally, keep detailed records of everything - not just for tax purposes, but also for your own reference. Years from now when you're dealing with the inherited securities, you'll want clear documentation of exactly when the dissolution occurred and what the fair market values were at that time.

Just want to make sure the OP and others understand capital gains taxes for 2025 filing. If you hold your investments for more than a year before selling (long-term capital gains), you get a much better tax rate (0%, 15%, or 20% depending on your income) than short-term gains (taxed as ordinary income). Making this distinction could literally save you thousands on your tax bill! I learned this the hard way when I day-traded some stocks and got hit with ordinary income rates on everything.

Great advice from everyone here! Just want to add one more consideration for @Ava Kim - since you're working at Target and trading stocks, you might want to look into tax-loss harvesting if you have any losing positions. You can sell losing stocks to offset your capital gains, which reduces your overall tax liability. For example, if you made $30k in gains but also have $10k in unrealized losses, you could sell those losing positions to bring your taxable gains down to $20k. You can even carry forward losses beyond your gains (up to $3k per year against ordinary income). This strategy works best when combined with the estimated payment approaches others mentioned. Just make sure to avoid the wash sale rule - don't buy back the same or "substantially identical" securities within 30 days of selling for a loss, or the IRS will disallow the loss deduction.

This is a really helpful thread! I'm dealing with almost the exact same situation with my daughter's 1098-T. Her college also has the Spring term officially starting in December but classes beginning in January, and I was completely confused about why Box 7 wasn't checked. Reading through everyone's explanations, it's clear that this is actually more common than I thought. What really helped me understand is that the IRS follows the institution's official academic calendar, not the physical class schedule. So if the university documents that Spring 2025 officially began in December 2024, then Box 7 should remain unchecked. I think the key takeaway for anyone in this situation is to get written documentation from your school about when the term officially begins in their system. That way you have backup if there are ever any questions about how you claimed the education credits. Thanks especially to the bursar's office employee who confirmed this is normal practice - that really put my mind at ease!

This thread has been incredibly educational! I'm a tax preparer and I see this exact confusion every year with clients who have college students. The key point everyone has made is absolutely correct - it's all about the official academic period start date, not when classes physically begin. What I always tell my clients is to request written documentation from the university showing their official academic calendar. This becomes crucial if the IRS ever questions the timing of education credit claims. I've seen cases where parents claimed credits incorrectly because they assumed Box 7 should be checked for December payments, when actually the university had already started the spring term officially. The good news for the OP is that having Box 7 unchecked actually works in your favor - you get to claim the education credit on your 2024 return instead of waiting until 2025. Just make sure you have that documentation from the school saved with your tax records. One additional tip: if you're using tax software, double-check that it's interpreting the 1098-T correctly. Some programs will flag Box 7 being unchecked as potentially incorrect when you mention paying for spring semester, but as everyone here has confirmed, that's not always the case.