2 One important consideration that hasn't been mentioned: if your client has been taking significant depreciation deductions on Schedule E for the portion of the home used by the business, switching to an accountable plan could impact the depreciation recapture situation down the road when they sell the house. Under the Schedule E approach, they've been reducing their basis in that portion of the home. With an accountable plan, the S Corp would be reimbursing for direct expenses without the owner claiming depreciation on their personal return. The Section 121 exclusion ($250k/$500k for primary residence) wouldn't apply to the business portion that's been depreciated. Worth discussing with your client before making any changes.

7 Another consideration is whether your client's S Corp has other shareholders or if it's 100% owned by the person whose home is being used. That can affect the most advantageous approach. If there are multiple shareholders, using an accountable plan ensures that the corporation is only reimbursing the exact business expenses rather than potentially overpaying rent that benefits one shareholder personally - which could create dividend distribution issues for the other shareholders. Also, make sure whatever approach you take is supported by proper documentation - ideally a written lease agreement for the rental approach or a formal accountable plan policy for the reimbursement approach.

Has anyone considered that this might actually be treated as part of the property's basis adjustment? When you inherit property, you generally get a stepped-up basis to fair market value at date of death. But inheriting property with a reverse mortgage is complicated. You might want to argue that part of what you paid was actually acquiring the property (increasing your basis) rather than deductible interest. This might not save you on current taxes but could reduce capital gains if you ever sell.

I went through something very similar when I inherited my grandmother's home with a HECM reverse mortgage. The IRS initially disallowed most of my interest deduction, but I was able to get it partially resolved. The key issue is that with reverse mortgages, the "interest" on your 1098 includes both actual interest charges AND the mortgage insurance premiums that accumulated over the life of the loan. The IRS will generally allow you to deduct the actual interest portion that accrued after you became the legal owner, but not the accumulated MIP or interest that built up before inheritance. You'll need to request a detailed payoff statement from the servicer that breaks down exactly what portion was principal, accrued interest, and MIP. In my case, about 60% of what showed on the 1098 was actually deductible once we separated out the components properly. Also, since you established it as your primary residence before paying off the loan, you have a much stronger argument for the acquisition indeductedness treatment that others mentioned. Document everything - when probate closed, when you moved in, utility transfers, voter registration changes, etc. This timeline is crucial for your case. The $32K they're claiming seems excessive unless there are penalties involved. You might want to request penalty abatement if your tax preparer gave you reasonable advice about the deduction.

Has anyone actually formed an LLC themselves without using a service? I've been operating with a DBA for my handmade jewelry business but want more protection. LegalZoom wants like $300+ but the actual state filing fee is only $50 in my state.

Great discussion here! As someone who made the jump from DBA to LLC about 18 months ago for my graphic design business, I can share some real-world experience. The liability protection was my main driver - I work with several high-value clients where a mistake on my end could potentially cost them thousands. While the "piercing the veil" concern for single-member LLCs is valid, it's mostly an issue if you're sloppy with business practices. I keep meticulous separate records, have a dedicated business bank account, and follow my operating agreement religiously. The tax situation is exactly the same as when I had the DBA - still file Schedule C, still pay self-employment tax. But I've found that having an LLC has given me more credibility with larger clients who want to work with "real businesses" rather than freelancers. One thing I didn't anticipate was how much easier it became to work with vendors and get business credit. Banks and suppliers seem to take LLCs more seriously than DBAs. The annual fees vary wildly by state - I'm in Texas where there's no annual franchise tax, so my only ongoing cost is the registered agent fee I pay ($150/year). Definitely research your state's specific costs before deciding. My advice: if you're growing and taking on more liability risk, the LLC is probably worth it. If you're staying small and low-risk, a DBA plus good business insurance might be sufficient.

Has anyone tried restructuring their loan instead of paying it off entirely? My accountant suggested this for my construction business - we negotiated better terms with the bank and it improved our monthly cash flow while still letting us keep our cash reserves intact.

Great discussion here! As someone who recently went through a similar situation with my consulting LLC, I'd add one more consideration: the psychological benefit of being debt-free shouldn't be underestimated. While the math might favor keeping low-interest debt for potential investment opportunities, there's real value in the peace of mind that comes with eliminating debt obligations. This can actually free up mental bandwidth to focus on growing your business rather than managing loan payments. That said, I'd strongly recommend keeping at least 3-6 months of operating expenses in cash reserves even after paying off the loan. You don't want to put yourself in a position where you need to take on new debt at potentially higher rates if an emergency or opportunity arises. Have you considered doing a hybrid approach? Pay down a significant portion of the loan to reduce your monthly obligations while maintaining some liquidity for both emergencies and growth opportunities?

I just want to say thank you to everyone who shared their solutions here! I was pulling my hair out with the blank screen issue for three days straight. I ended up using a combination of the suggestions - switched to Microsoft Edge, disabled my ad blocker, and added the VITA site to my trusted sites list with lowered security settings. What finally did it was realizing I had to disable hardware acceleration in Edge's advanced settings. None of the troubleshooting guides mention this, but apparently some graphics drivers conflict with the VITA site's interface. Once I turned that off and restarted the browser, everything loaded perfectly. For anyone still struggling, don't give up! The solutions in this thread really work, you just might need to try a few different combinations depending on your specific setup. Good luck with your certifications everyone!

I'm dealing with this exact same issue right now! I've been trying to access the VITA Link and Learn tests for my certification and getting nothing but blank screens. Reading through all these solutions has been incredibly helpful - I had no idea there were so many different potential causes. I'm going to start with the Microsoft Edge suggestion since that seems to work for a lot of people, and if that doesn't work I'll try the hardware acceleration fix that Mei-Ling mentioned. It's reassuring to know that this is a common problem with actual solutions rather than just something wrong with my computer. Has anyone had success with the mobile app version of VITA Link and Learn, or is it desktop browser only? I'm wondering if that might be a workaround while I troubleshoot the browser issues.