Just wanted to add something that might be helpful - make sure you keep the warranty documents separate from your equipment receipts in your tax files. I learned this the hard way when my accountant needed to see the breakdown between equipment cost and warranty cost for my deductions. Also, if you're buying multiple pieces of equipment at once (like your camera and laptop), some retailers will give you a discount if you bundle the warranties together. I saved about $75 doing this last year, and the bundled warranty was still fully deductible since it was all for business equipment. One more tip: if you end up not needing to use the warranty and it has a money-back guarantee or partial refund option, any refund you receive would need to be reported as income if you already deducted the full warranty cost. Just something to keep in mind for future tax years!

Just to add another perspective on this - I run a small photography business and had the exact same question about warranties last year. After doing some research and talking to my tax preparer, I can confirm that extended warranties on business equipment are indeed deductible as ordinary business expenses. One thing that helped me was creating a simple spreadsheet to track all my equipment purchases with separate columns for the equipment cost and warranty cost. This made it super easy when tax time came around, and my accountant appreciated having everything clearly organized. Also worth noting - if you're planning to use Section 179 to deduct the full equipment cost in the first year, you can also deduct the warranty costs in that same year even though the warranty coverage extends beyond. This is different from some other types of prepaid expenses where you might need to spread the deduction over multiple years. The key is just making sure you can prove the equipment (and therefore the warranty) is genuinely for business use. Keep good records of how you use the equipment, and you should be all set!

Does anyone know if the 15% min tax applies to private companies too or just publicly traded ones? My family has ownership in a large private manufacturing business and I'm trying to figure out if this would impact us.

Thanks for all these insights! As someone who works in corporate finance, I wanted to add that companies are also looking at their international structures more carefully now. Since the minimum tax is based on consolidated financial statement income, multinational corporations can't just shift profits to low-tax jurisdictions to avoid it like they could with regular corporate tax. However, there are some nuances around foreign tax credits that create planning opportunities. Companies with significant foreign operations might restructure how they organize their international subsidiaries to optimize the interaction between the minimum tax and foreign tax credit limitations. Also worth noting - the IRS is still working on final regulations for implementation, so some of the finer details are still being hammered out. Companies are having to make strategic decisions based on proposed guidance that could still change.

Is anyone else confused by the Code J in Box 12? I'm going through this exact same situation and my W-2c has a code J but the amount doesn't match what was actually paid to me. From what I can tell reading IRS pub 15-A, code J should show the amount of non-taxable sick pay. Anyone understand what's going on with that?

I just want to add another perspective based on my experience as someone who handles payroll for a small business. Third-party administrators often struggle with sick pay taxation because the rules are complex and depend entirely on who paid the premiums. The key thing to remember is that if you paid 100% of the disability insurance premiums with after-tax dollars, then ALL the sick pay benefits are non-taxable to you. The administrator should never have withheld federal income tax in the first place. What I've seen happen is that many third-party administrators have default settings in their payroll systems that automatically withhold taxes from all payments, regardless of the tax status. They then try to "fix" it later with corrected forms, but often mess up the correction process. For your situation, I'd recommend keeping detailed records of everything - your premium payment receipts showing you paid with after-tax dollars, both W-2 forms, and any correspondence with the administrator. When you file your return, the IRS will see the withholding credit and issue your refund, but having good documentation will help if there are any questions later. Also, consider filing a complaint with your state's insurance commissioner if the third-party administrator continues to provide incorrect tax documents. They have regulatory authority over these companies and can often resolve issues faster than dealing with the company directly.

If you're married, don't forget about filing separately! My spouse makes way more than me, and filing separately let me qualify for Roth contributions based on just my income. The downside is you lose some other tax benefits tho.

Adding to all the great advice here - one strategy that's often overlooked is maximizing your traditional IRA contribution if you're eligible. Even if you have a 401(k) or 457(b) at work, you might still be able to deduct traditional IRA contributions depending on your income level. For 2024, if you're single and your AGI is under $77,000 (or married filing jointly under $123,000), you can get the full $7,000 traditional IRA deduction even with a workplace plan. The deduction phases out at higher incomes but you might still get a partial deduction. This could be the extra AGI reduction you need to get under the Roth limits! Plus, if you end up over the Roth limits anyway, you can always convert that traditional IRA to a Roth later through the backdoor conversion method you mentioned for next year. Just make sure to check the exact income limits for your filing status and whether you qualify for the deduction with your workplace retirement plan.

I'm in almost the exact same situation! Just got married last month and we moved to a new apartment right after our honeymoon. My transcript updated this morning showing my refund check was mailed yesterday, so I'm really anxious about whether it'll reach us. Reading through everyone's experiences here has been so eye-opening - I had no idea the IRS keeps separate address records from USPS mail forwarding! That's honestly a bit scary since we've been relying on our forwarding service to handle everything. Based on all the advice here, I'm definitely calling the IRS first thing Monday morning to verify they have our current address and my new married name on file. Better to spend time on hold now than potentially wait months for a returned check to get reprocessed. Also signing up for that USPS Informed Delivery service immediately - the tip about Treasury checks coming in plain envelopes is really valuable. Thanks to everyone who shared their timelines and experiences, it's so helpful for those of us going through this for the first time!

As someone who just went through this exact situation, I can definitely relate! Got married last year and moved right before tax season - it's stressful not knowing if your refund will find you. Based on everyone's experiences here, it sounds like the most important thing is calling the IRS to verify your address ASAP rather than assuming USPS mail forwarding will handle it. I made that call and discovered they still had my old address even though I'd updated everything else. The representative was able to fix it immediately, and my check arrived 7 days later. Also, definitely sign up for USPS Informed Delivery - the Treasury envelope really does look like regular mail, so it's easy to miss. Don't wait the full 2 weeks if you're concerned about the address change; being proactive saved me potentially months of waiting for a returned check to be reprocessed. The phone wait can be brutal, but it's worth the peace of mind knowing your refund is heading to the right place!