Quick warning about cashing old bonds - the bank teller might not know how to handle them properly! When I cashed my old EE bonds, the first bank I went to reported the ENTIRE amount as interest on my 1099-INT, not just the interest portion. It was a huge headache to fix. Make sure whoever cashes them understands the difference between the principal (what you paid for the bond) and the interest (what you earned). The 1099-INT should only show the interest amount.

Just to add another perspective here - if you're dealing with multiple old bonds from different years, it might be worth keeping detailed records of when you cash each one. I had EE bonds from 1991, 1992, and 1993 that I found all at once, and when I cashed them in 2023, the bank lumped all the interest together on one 1099-INT. This created some confusion because technically each bond had different interest calculation periods and rates. I ended up having to request separate documentation from the Treasury to show the breakdown for my records. Not a huge deal, but something to be aware of if you're in a similar situation with multiple bond years. Also seconding what others said about those 1992 bonds likely being done earning interest - definitely get them cashed sooner rather than later!

HR manager here - I see this issue come up frequently and wanted to add some practical advice. The tax professional who answered earlier is absolutely correct about option #2 being right, but here's what I recommend for actually getting it resolved: 1. Request a meeting with both your benefits administrator AND someone from payroll - they often work in separate systems that don't communicate well 2. Bring documentation: your marriage certificate, the date you submitted your qualifying life event paperwork, and print-outs showing your spouse is now listed as "spouse" rather than "domestic partner" in your benefits system 3. Ask them to show you exactly where in their payroll system the imputed income calculation is still being applied - sometimes it's a manual override that someone forgot to remove 4. If they push back, ask them to cite the specific regulation they're using for their "option #3" - most of the time they can't because they're just following outdated internal procedures I've seen this resolved dozens of times, and it's usually a simple system configuration issue rather than a complex tax law interpretation. The key is getting the right people in the room who actually understand how both systems work together.

This is such a common issue and I'm glad to see so many helpful responses! I went through this exact same situation when I got married in 2022, and it was incredibly frustrating dealing with our corporate HR department. What finally worked for me was documenting everything in writing. I sent an email to both HR and payroll with: - Copy of our marriage certificate - Screenshots of my benefits portal showing spouse status - Paycheck stubs showing continued imputed income after marriage date - A clear request for correction with specific dollar amounts I also referenced IRS Publication 15-B and included the exact language about how marriage changes the tax treatment of health benefits immediately, not at year-end. Having everything in one email thread made it much harder for them to ignore or claim they didn't understand the issue. The key was being persistent but professional - I followed up every week until it was resolved. It took about 6 weeks total, but they eventually corrected all the payroll records and issued a refund for the excess withholding. Don't let HR brush you off on this - you're absolutely right that the imputed income should stop on your marriage date, and you deserve to have the overpayment corrected!

does anyone know if its the same for married filing jointly? my wife and i make about 90k combined and now im worried we're in some weird dead zone where our raises don't matter...

This is such a great question and you're definitely not alone in this confusion! I actually made the same mistake when I first started working and got really stressed about potential raises. The key thing everyone's mentioned is correct - it's a progressive system, so you're never worse off earning more money. But I wanted to add something that helped me understand it better: think of the tax brackets like buckets that you fill up in order. Your first ~$11,600 goes in the 10% bucket, your next ~$41,250 goes in the 12% bucket, and only then does additional income start going in the 22% bucket. You never empty the lower buckets - they stay taxed at those lower rates forever. So when you get that raise from $52k to $58k, you're not suddenly paying 22% on all $58k. You're just paying 22% on that extra $5,150 that spills over into the higher bracket. The rest is still taxed exactly the same as before. This system is actually designed to be fair - it ensures that people with higher incomes contribute proportionally more while still rewarding every dollar of additional earnings. Your raises absolutely still matter and will always increase your take-home pay!

can someone clarify wat counts as "deferred compensation" for form 990? our ED has a 457b plan and im not sure if thats supposed to go in subpart F or somewhere else?

This is such a helpful thread! I'm dealing with a similar situation as our nonprofit's treasurer. One thing I'd add about subpart F is to make sure you're being consistent year over year with how you calculate and report these benefits. We had an issue where we were estimating health insurance premiums one way in 2022 and a completely different way in 2023, which created some confusing variances when our auditor reviewed the forms. Now we keep a detailed worksheet that breaks down exactly how we calculate each component of subpart F - retirement contributions, health premiums, life insurance, etc. Also, don't forget that if your organization provides any kind of housing allowance or parsonage allowance to clergy, those typically need to be included in subpart F as well, even though they might be excludable from income tax. The key is documenting your methodology so you can explain it to auditors or the IRS if needed. Good luck with your filing!

Another tip - when you submit multiple Form 8889s, write "HSA 1 of 3", "HSA 2 of 3", and "HSA 3 of 3" at the top of each form. This helps the IRS understand that you're submitting multiple forms intentionally and they're all part of the same tax filing. I had a similar situation and this simple labeling prevented confusion. The IRS agent I spoke with specifically recommended this approach!

Just labeling the forms is usually sufficient! I didn't include any additional explanation letter when I submitted my multiple HSA forms, and the IRS processed them without any issues. The numbering system (like "HSA 1 of 3") makes it clear that you're intentionally filing multiple forms for the same tax year. However, if your situation is particularly complex or if you're responding to a specific IRS notice, you might want to include a brief cover letter explaining that you're filing separate Form 8889s for each HSA account. But for most cases, the labeling alone should do the trick. The key is making sure each form is complete and accurate for its specific HSA, with the correct distributions and qualified medical expenses allocated appropriately across all forms.