Has anyone used TurboTax for reporting foreign property sales? Is it capable of handling these complex situations or should I just hire a CPA? Worried about missing something important.

I went through a very similar situation when my family sold property in the Philippines last year. One thing I wish someone had told me earlier is to get all your property documents organized and translated (if needed) well before you start the tax filing process. The biggest surprise was learning about the FBAR (Foreign Bank Account Report) requirements. Since the sale proceeds sat in a foreign account temporarily while we arranged the transfer, we had to file FinCEN Form 114 because the account balance exceeded $10,000 at any point during the year. This is completely separate from your tax return and has its own filing deadline. Also, make sure to keep detailed records of all transaction costs, legal fees, and transfer fees - these can often be added to your basis or deducted as selling expenses, which reduces your taxable gain. With a $200-250k sale, even small percentage savings can add up to significant dollar amounts. One last tip: if your parents are planning to become US tax residents soon, consider consulting with an Enrolled Agent who specializes in international taxation. The timing of the sale relative to their residency status could have major tax implications, and it's worth getting professional advice upfront rather than trying to fix issues later.

idk but the IRS be playing games this year fr. 6 weeks and still processing here 🙄

Same thing happened to me last year! Jackson Hewitt denied my RAL even though I had been approved before. Turns out the IRS had put a hold on my return for income verification - had nothing to do with my credit. The tax prep places can't approve the loan if the IRS has any flags on your return, even if they don't tell you about it upfront. Try checking your account transcript on irs.gov to see if there are any indicators or codes that might explain what's going on. Sometimes there's stuff happening behind the scenes that the tax office doesn't even know about.

has anyone actually received their ertc refund yet??? filed 941-x last february and still nothing. getting worried the money will never come at this point :

I can confirm what others have said - your accountant is definitely wrong about claiming ERTC on current year taxes. As a small business owner who went through this process last year, you absolutely must file Form 941-X amendments for each qualifying quarter. I made the mistake of trusting my original CPA's advice (similar to yours) and almost filed incorrectly. The ERTC is specifically tied to payroll taxes from those pandemic quarters, not income taxes. There's no mechanism in the tax code to shift it to current year filing. My advice: find a new accountant who understands ERTC rules properly, or at minimum get a second opinion from someone who specializes in employment tax credits. The penalties for filing incorrectly could be severe, and you don't want to deal with that headache later. The extra paperwork for proper 941-X filings is worth doing it right the first time.

Just to add some clarity from someone who went through this recently - the MetaBank/Pathward routing is definitely correct, but there's one thing to watch out for. If your refund gets delayed for ANY reason (like additional review), it can get stuck at MetaBank for longer than the usual 1-3 days. I had this happen in 2023 where my refund sat at MetaBank for over a week because the IRS flagged something minor on my return. H&R Block's customer service was pretty helpful in explaining the delay, but it was nerve-wracking not knowing where my money was. The good news is that once any issues are resolved, the transfer to your account happens very quickly - usually next business day.

As someone who just went through this exact process a few weeks ago, I can confirm everything about MetaBank/Pathward is accurate! What I found helpful was setting up text alerts through my bank so I'd know immediately when the funds hit my account. The whole process from IRS release to my bank account took exactly 2 business days. One tip - if you're anxious about the timeline like I was, H&R Block's app actually shows pretty detailed status updates including when your refund reaches the MetaBank stage. It definitely helped ease my mind knowing exactly where my money was in the process!

This situation totally sucks, but there's one workaround nobody's mentioned yet. If one spouse qualifies as a "real estate professional" (750+ hours working on real estate activities + more time than spent on any other job), then the rental properties aren't considered passive activities anymore. This means the $25,000 allowance and the MAGI limitations don't even apply - you could deduct ALL the losses against your regular income. But the catch is you need to materially participate in the rental activities and document everything meticulously. My accountant had me start keeping a detailed log of every hour I spend on property management, repairs, research, etc. It's not easy to qualify, but if one of you is already spending significant time managing your rentals, it might be worth exploring.

Has anyone successfully "grouped" their rental properties as a single activity under Reg. 1.469-4? I was reading that this might help with the material participation requirements if you're trying to qualify as a real estate professional.