Just wanted to add my experience as someone who's been trading US stocks through IBKR for about 3 years now. A few practical tips that might help: 1. **Record keeping is crucial** - I created a simple spreadsheet to track all my trades with the AUD/USD exchange rate on each date. This saves so much time at tax time. The ATO accepts RBA rates, so I just pull those. 2. **Quarterly dividend tracking** - US companies often pay quarterly dividends, so you'll get multiple small payments throughout the year. Each one needs to be converted to AUD and reported. IBKR's activity statements make this easier, but you still need to do the currency conversion. 3. **Don't forget about franking credits** - Since you're getting into US shares, remember that you lose the benefit of franking credits that Australian shares provide. This might affect your overall tax strategy, especially if you're in a higher tax bracket. 4. **Consider your CGT discount eligibility** - The 50% CGT discount for assets held over 12 months can make a big difference on your US holdings. Just make sure you're tracking your holding periods correctly. The W-8BEN form is definitely essential - without it, you'll pay 30% withholding instead of 15%. IBKR makes it pretty easy to complete online in your account portal. One last thing - if you're planning to invest more than $50k AUD in foreign assets, you'll need to report this on your tax return even if you don't sell anything. It's called the "foreign investment" question and catches a lot of people off guard.

As someone who's been navigating this exact situation for the past two years, I can confirm most of the advice here is spot on. One additional point that might help - when you're starting out with IBKR and US shares, consider setting up automatic currency conversion within your IBKR account. This can help reduce the number of FX transactions you need to track separately. I made the mistake of manually converting AUD to USD for each trade in my first year, which created dozens of additional FX transactions that I had to account for separately on my tax return. Now I keep a USD balance in my IBKR account and convert larger amounts less frequently, which simplifies the record keeping significantly. Also, regarding the estate tax discussion - it's worth noting that the Australia-US tax treaty does provide some protections, but they're limited. If you're approaching that $60k USD threshold, definitely worth getting specific advice from a cross-border tax specialist rather than trying to navigate it yourself. The consequences of getting it wrong can be significant for your beneficiaries. One last practical tip: IBKR's trade confirmations and monthly statements are your best friends come tax time. Set up a folder system to save these documents as you go - don't wait until March to start hunting for paperwork from the previous July!

Harold, as someone who's helped other young developers navigate this exact situation, I'd strongly recommend getting ahead of this now rather than waiting until tax season hits. Your $17k share definitely puts you in self-employment territory with quarterly payment obligations. One practical tip that's saved my clients headaches: create a simple shared Google Sheet with your partner documenting every ROBLOX payout - date received, total amount, and how you split it (your 65% vs his 35%). This creates a paper trail the IRS will appreciate if they ever have questions about your partnership arrangement. Also, don't sleep on the deductions available to game developers. Beyond the obvious stuff like software subscriptions and equipment, you can potentially deduct things like: - Asset marketplace purchases used in your games - Portion of your internet bill (keep records of business vs personal usage) - Game testing expenses (yes, buying other games for research can be deductible) - Educational content related to game development Since you're earning substantial income from October onward, you'll definitely need to make estimated quarterly payments for 2025. Missing these can result in penalties even if you get a refund when you file. Better to overestimate and get money back than underpay and owe penalties plus interest. Given your success, this probably won't be a one-time thing - consider this an investment in learning proper business practices that'll serve you well as your gamedev career grows!

Harold, you've gotten some excellent advice here! I wanted to add a few practical tips from someone who's been through this process with ROBLOX earnings. First, regarding your 1099-NEC - ROBLOX typically sends these out in late January for the previous tax year. Since you earned $26,300, you'll definitely receive one. However, don't wait for it to arrive before starting your tax prep - you can access your earnings history through the Developer Exchange portal on ROBLOX to get exact figures. For your partnership situation, even though it's informal, I'd recommend drafting a simple partnership agreement document (even just a one-page written agreement) that outlines your 65/35 split and how you'll handle business expenses. This doesn't need to be fancy legal language - just something in writing that shows the IRS your arrangement is legitimate and thought-out. One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is Developer Exchange timing. Since there's often a delay between when players spend Robux and when you can actually cash out through DevEx, make sure you're reporting income based on when you received the cash payments, not when the Robux was earned in-game. Keep screenshots of your DevEx transactions as backup documentation. Also, consider opening a business credit card for any game development expenses. It makes tracking deductible purchases much easier and further legitimizes your business in the eyes of the IRS. Plus, you'll build business credit history which could be useful if you want to expand your game development business in the future. Good luck with your taxes, and congratulations on your game's success!

I'm a CPA and want to emphasize something critical that's been touched on but bears repeating: the cash vs. accrual accounting method will significantly impact your deduction timing for financed purchases. If you're using cash basis accounting (which most small businesses do), you can only deduct payments as you actually make them, regardless of when you place the asset in service. This means even with Section 179, you're limited to deducting the business portion of what you've actually paid out by December 31st. However, if you're on accrual basis, you could potentially deduct the full business portion in the year you place it in service, even if financed. Most pet walking/sitting businesses would be cash basis unless you have significant receivables. Also, consider the five-year lookback rule for business assets. If you stop using the bike for business within five years, you may need to "recapture" some of the depreciation or Section 179 deduction as ordinary income. Given that you're already replacing a worn-out bike, factor in realistic expectations about how long this new one will last for business use. The 90% business use figure needs ironclad documentation. I'd suggest using a mileage tracking app for at least the first few months to establish a defensible pattern, even though bikes don't qualify for the standard mileage deduction like cars do.

Just wanted to share my experience as someone who went through a similar situation last year. I'm a freelance photographer who needed to upgrade my camera equipment, and I was also worried about the financing aspect affecting my deductions. The key thing I learned is that documentation is absolutely everything. I ended up creating a simple but comprehensive tracking system: I used a smartphone app to log every business trip with timestamps and locations, kept a spreadsheet of client meetings, and even took occasional photos of my equipment being used at client sites. When I filed my taxes, my accountant was impressed with the level of documentation I had. She said it would make an audit much easier to handle if it ever came up. The business use percentage was crystal clear from my records, which gave me confidence in claiming the deduction. One thing that really helped was being conservative with my business use percentage from the start. Even though I probably could have justified 90%+, I claimed 80% to be safe. Better to leave a little money on the table than to have to defend an aggressive position later. For what it's worth, the equipment purchase ended up being one of the best business investments I made - not just for the tax benefits, but because it actually helped me take on more clients and grow my income significantly.

Just wanted to add one more consideration that hasn't been mentioned yet - make sure you're calculating depreciation based on the correct depreciable basis when you converted to rental use. Since you lived in the property first, your depreciable basis for the rental period would be the LESSER of: 1) your adjusted basis at the time of conversion (original cost plus improvements minus any casualty losses), or 2) the fair market value of the property when you converted it to rental use in May 2019. This matters because if your property appreciated significantly during those first 2 years of personal use, you can't depreciate based on the higher fair market value - you're limited to your original adjusted basis. You'll need to determine what the FMV was in May 2019 (maybe get a comparative market analysis from a realtor for that time period) and use whichever number is lower as your starting point for calculating the 4 years of depreciation.

One additional resource that might help you understand the calculation is IRS Publication 523 (Selling Your Home), which specifically covers the Section 121 exclusion rules for mixed-use properties. Since you lived in the home for 2 years before converting to rental, you may qualify for a partial exclusion on the personal-use portion of the gain. The key is that you'll need to separate your total gain into two parts: the portion allocable to personal use (first 2 years) and the portion allocable to business use (rental period). Only the personal-use portion would potentially qualify for the Section 121 exclusion, and even then, you can't exclude any depreciation recapture. Given the complexity with the mixed-use timing, depreciation recapture, and potential partial exclusion, I'd definitely recommend getting a tax professional involved. But understanding these basic concepts beforehand will help you ask the right questions and verify their work makes sense.

As a newcomer to this community, I'm blown away by the depth of knowledge and support being shared here! This thread has been incredibly educational for someone like me who's still learning about the complexities of tax-advantaged medical accounts. Reading through everyone's experiences has made me realize how easy it is for married couples to unknowingly create these HSA/FSA conflicts. The rules around spousal coverage seem particularly tricky - I had no idea that just being eligible for your spouse's FSA (even without using it) could disqualify HSA contributions. A few key takeaways I'm gathering from this discussion: 1. **Act immediately** - The sooner you address these conflicts, the more options you have and the lower the potential penalties 2. **Document everything** - Keep records of all communications with benefits administrators and any correction steps taken 3. **Professional help is worth it** - Given the complexity and potential IRS penalties, expert guidance seems like a smart investment 4. **Prevention is key** - Understanding these rules BEFORE open enrollment can save major headaches later @Carter Holmes - you've received some fantastic guidance here from people who've been through similar situations and professionals who deal with these issues regularly. The consensus seems clear on the steps you need to take. Best of luck getting everything sorted out! This discussion has definitely made me more aware of what to watch out for when my spouse and I are making our own benefits decisions. Thank you to everyone who shared their expertise and experiences!

As someone new to this community who's been quietly following this incredibly detailed discussion, I wanted to share my own experience that might help others avoid this situation entirely. My husband and I almost fell into this exact same trap last year. During open enrollment, I was excited about switching to an HDHP with HSA to maximize our tax savings, while he was planning to enroll in his employer's general FSA. Fortunately, a colleague mentioned these spousal coverage rules just before the enrollment deadline. What saved us was doing a "benefits coordination review" together before finalizing our elections. We literally sat down with both of our employee handbooks and mapped out how each account would interact. That's when we discovered the HSA/FSA conflict. Our solution was to have him enroll in a Limited Purpose FSA instead, which covers our dental and vision expenses while preserving my HSA eligibility. It's not as flexible as a general FSA, but the long-term HSA benefits (triple tax advantage, no use-it-or-lose-it rules, retirement healthcare planning) made it the better choice for our situation. For couples reading this thread, I'd strongly recommend doing this coordination review BEFORE open enrollment rather than discovering conflicts mid-year like @Carter Holmes did. The preventive approach is so much easier than the correction process everyone's describing here! This thread has been incredibly educational - thank you to all the professionals and community members who shared their expertise. The collective knowledge here could save countless couples from these costly mistakes.