I went through this exact situation when my mother passed away last year, and I completely understand how overwhelming it can be. Here are a few additional points that might help: Since your father passed in September 2022, you're right that his final Form 1040 is due April 15, 2023. Don't forget you can write "DECEASED" after his name and the date of death on the return. You'll sign as the personal representative. For the trust, one thing that caught me off guard was needing to file Form 56 (Notice Concerning Fiduciary Relationship) with the IRS to officially notify them of your role as executor. This should be done fairly early in the process. Also, even though you're selling in 2023, consider whether any expenses related to maintaining or preparing the house for sale in 2022 after your father's death might be deductible on the trust's 2022 return (Form 1041). Sometimes there are small amounts of income or deductible expenses even when you think there's nothing to report. The step-up in basis mentioned by Emily is huge - make sure you have good documentation of the property's fair market value as of your father's date of death. This could save you significant capital gains tax when you sell. Hang in there - it does get easier once you understand the process!

As someone who recently went through this exact process as an executor, I wanted to add a few practical tips that really helped me stay organized: First, create a dedicated checking account for the trust if you haven't already. This makes tracking all trust-related income and expenses much cleaner for tax reporting. When you sell the house, having all the proceeds flow through the trust account creates a clear paper trail. Second, keep meticulous records of ALL expenses related to the property from the date of death forward. This includes utilities, insurance, property taxes, maintenance, realtor fees, staging costs, repairs, etc. Many of these are deductible against the sale proceeds and can significantly reduce the trust's taxable gain. Regarding timing - don't wait until the last minute to start preparing the 1041. The form is more complex than a typical 1040, and if you're distributing proceeds to multiple beneficiaries, you'll need to prepare K-1s for each of them. They'll need those K-1s to file their own returns, so getting this done early helps everyone. One last thing - if the sale happens late in 2023, consider whether it makes sense to distribute the proceeds to beneficiaries before year-end. If they're in lower tax brackets than the trust's compressed tax rates, this could save the family money overall. The trust tax brackets are much more compressed than individual rates, so trusts hit higher rates quickly. You're doing great navigating this complex process - it's a lot to handle but you'll get through it!

I'm going through this exact same frustrating process right now with my mother's estate. Filed Form 706 back in August and we're coming up on the 8-month mark with absolutely zero communication from the IRS. Reading through everyone's experiences here has been both helpful and terrifying - the idea of waiting 18+ months is just unacceptable when you're dealing with grieving family members who don't understand why the government needs over a year to review paperwork. I'm definitely going to look into both taxr.ai and Claimyr based on the success stories shared here. The idea of proactively catching filing errors before the IRS does makes a lot of sense, and being able to actually speak to a real person at the IRS sounds almost too good to be true after my own failed attempts at calling. One thing I'm curious about - for those who successfully used these services, did you wait until you were closer to the 9-month mark, or did you use them earlier in the process? I'm wondering if there's an optimal timing for trying to accelerate things. Also, has anyone had success with congressional inquiry? I've heard that contacting your representative's office can sometimes help with IRS delays, but I wasn't sure if that applies to estate tax matters or just individual returns. Thanks to everyone for sharing their real experiences - this thread has been more helpful than months of trying to get information from the IRS directly!

I'm currently dealing with this exact situation with my stepfather's estate - filed Form 706 in November and we're now at the 5-month mark. This thread has been incredibly valuable, but I wanted to add one thing that might help others. Our estate attorney mentioned that if you have any foreign assets or accounts that were reported on the 706, those cases automatically get additional scrutiny and longer processing times. We had a small investment account in Canada that was properly reported, but apparently that alone can add 3-6 months to the review process. Also, I've noticed a lot of people mentioning the 9-month minimum wait before requesting a closing letter, but I recently learned you can actually submit a written request for an "expedited review" if you have compelling circumstances (like pending litigation, imminent property sales, or financial hardship for beneficiaries). The IRS website doesn't advertise this option well, but it exists under Revenue Procedure 81-27. Based on all the success stories here with taxr.ai and Claimyr, I'm planning to try both services. The idea of getting ahead of potential issues rather than waiting for the IRS to find them makes perfect sense. Will definitely report back on my experience to help others in this frustrating situation. Thanks to everyone for sharing their real experiences - this is exactly the kind of practical advice you can't find anywhere else!

I'm in a similar situation as a freelance tutor and had the same panic about tax filing! You absolutely can report your income without a 1099-NEC. I used my bank statements showing the Zelle deposits and created a simple spreadsheet tracking the dates and amounts. The key thing is to keep good records going forward. I started screenshotting every payment notification and keeping them in a folder on my phone. Also, don't feel bad about not discussing this earlier with your employer family - most people don't realize the tax implications of household help until it's time to file. One tip: if you do end up owing a significant amount, you can set up a payment plan with the IRS. It's way less stressful than trying to come up with everything at once!

Don't stress too much about this! You're absolutely doing the right thing by wanting to report your income properly. As others have mentioned, you can definitely report your nanny earnings without a 1099-NEC. Since you're paid through Zelle, you actually have a great digital trail of your income. Here's what I'd recommend: Go through your Zelle history and add up all payments from this family for the tax year. Report this total on Schedule C as self-employment income. Yes, you'll pay the higher self-employment tax rate, but it's better than not reporting it at all. Regarding your question about paying penalties if your employer family files a late 1099-NEC - honestly, that's their responsibility as the employer, not yours. You brought it up as soon as you realized the situation, and you're taking steps to report your income correctly. Don't feel like you need to cover their potential penalties. For next year, definitely have the tax conversation earlier in your working relationship. Many families genuinely don't know about the "nanny tax" rules, so it's often up to us to educate them about proper reporting and documentation.

Has anyone used TurboTax to handle this marketplace allocation situation? I'm dealing with the same thing and don't know where to even enter this information.

I went through this exact scenario two years ago and it was so confusing at first! The key thing that helped me understand it was realizing that even though you're not a dependent, you were still covered under a policy in your mom's name, which creates this "shared policy" situation. Here's what worked for us: My mom (the policy holder) filed Form 8962 and allocated 100% to herself since her income was much lower and she qualified for more premium tax credit. I then filed my own Form 8962 showing 0% allocated to me. This saved us about $600 compared to splitting it 50/50. The IRS accepts this as long as both people file Form 8962 with matching allocation percentages that add up to 100%. Since you mentioned your mom is unemployed and you worked full-time, allocating more to her will likely result in less money owed overall due to the income-based credit calculation. Just make sure you both keep copies of the 1095-A and coordinate on the allocation percentages before filing!

Just wanted to add something that might help since I've been doing print-on-demand for about a year now - make sure you understand the difference between gross income and net profit when it comes to taxes! When TeePublic sends you that 1099-K, it will show your total sales (gross income), but you only pay taxes on your actual profit after expenses. So if you made $5,000 in sales but had $2,000 in legitimate business expenses, you only pay taxes on the $3,000 profit. This is why tracking expenses is so crucial - it can significantly reduce your tax burden. Don't forget about less obvious deductions like: - Packaging materials if you ship anything yourself - Photography equipment/props for product photos - Business cards or promotional materials - Even mileage if you drive to buy business supplies One more thing - consider getting an EIN (Employer Identification Number) from the IRS even if you're a sole proprietor. It's free and makes you look more professional when setting up business accounts. Plus some payment processors prefer it over using your SSN. Good luck with your clothing design business! The tax stuff seems overwhelming at first but gets easier once you establish good record-keeping habits.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet that really helped me when I started my print-on-demand business - consider opening a separate business savings account specifically for tax money. I automatically transfer 25-30% of every payment I receive into this account and treat it as "not my money." This saved me from the nightmare of scrambling to find tax money at the end of the year. When quarterly payments come due or tax season arrives, the money is already sitting there waiting. Also, don't forget that if you're working from home, you might qualify for the home office deduction. If you have a dedicated space (even just a corner of a room) that's used exclusively for your design work, you can deduct a portion of your rent/mortgage, utilities, etc. The simplified method lets you deduct $5 per square foot up to 300 square feet. And here's something that caught me off guard - if your business starts doing well, you might need to make quarterly estimated tax payments to avoid penalties. The general rule is if you expect to owe $1,000 or more in taxes, you should be making quarterly payments. The IRS has a safe harbor rule where if you pay 100% of last year's tax liability through withholding and estimated payments, you won't face penalties even if you owe more this year.