Based on previous filing seasons, I've noticed PA refunds follow a pattern. Early filers (January) typically see 3-4 week turnaround. Peak season filers (February-March) experience 5-7 week waits. Late filers often receive refunds faster, sometimes in just 2-3 weeks. This matches what happened in 2022 and 2023. The system seems designed to handle the largest volume in the middle of tax season.

Just got my PA refund yesterday! Here's my timeline: • Filed: February 1, 2024 • Status changed to "Processing": February 3 • Status changed to "Under Review": February 17 • Status changed to "Approved": March 12 • Direct deposit received: March 14 Total time: 42 days from filing to deposit. Hope this helps give you a concrete example!

23 Has anyone here used TurboTax to handle the PSO health insurance exclusion? I'm wondering if it has a specific input for this or if I need to somehow manually adjust my income to account for it.

12 Great discussion here! As someone who went through this exact situation a few years ago, I wanted to add that it's also worth keeping detailed records of your health insurance premium payments throughout the year, even though they're being deducted directly from your pension. The IRS could potentially ask for documentation during an audit to verify that the excluded amount was actually used for qualifying health insurance or long-term care premiums. I keep copies of my insurance statements showing the monthly premium amounts, plus documentation from my pension administrator showing how much was deducted each month. Also, don't forget that this exclusion applies to both health insurance AND qualified long-term care insurance premiums, up to the combined $3,000 limit. Some retired officers miss the long-term care piece and could be excluding more if they have both types of coverage.

This is an excellent discussion that covers most of the key issues! I wanted to add a practical tip that helped me when I dealt with a similar situation last year. When preparing the final K-1 for Partner C, I found it helpful to include a supplemental schedule that breaks down the liquidation transaction in plain English. This included: 1. Opening capital account balance: ($38,000) 2. Cash distribution received: $32,000 3. Resulting capital account before adjustment: ($70,000) 4. Deemed contribution to restore deficit: $70,000 5. Final capital account balance: $0 6. Total taxable gain to Partner C: $70,000 This schedule made it crystal clear to Partner C's tax preparer exactly how we arrived at the $70,000 taxable gain, and it provided a clean audit trail if the IRS ever questions the treatment. One additional consideration - make sure your partnership's accounting system properly reflects the reallocation of Partner C's negative capital balance to the remaining partners. This adjustment affects their outside basis going forward and could impact future distributions or liquidations. I learned this lesson when we had to prepare amended K-1s because we initially forgot to update the remaining partners' capital accounts to reflect their absorption of Partner C's deficit. The documentation suggestions from previous commenters are spot-on - partnership liquidations definitely warrant extra attention to detail!

This has been an incredibly thorough discussion! As someone who's dealt with several partnership liquidations over the years, I wanted to add one more consideration that can sometimes trip people up - the impact on guaranteed payments or preferred returns. If Partner C had any guaranteed payments or preferred return arrangements that were accrued but unpaid at the time of liquidation, those need to be properly characterized and reported separately from the liquidating distribution. These amounts would typically be reported as ordinary income to Partner C rather than capital gain treatment, and they wouldn't be part of the capital account restoration calculation. Also, for future reference, it's worth noting that if your partnership has been making Section 754 elections in prior years, you'll want to carefully review whether any previous basis adjustments need to be taken into account when calculating the final distribution amounts. This is particularly important if the partnership has appreciated assets, as the inside/outside basis differences can affect the tax consequences of the liquidation. One final practical tip - consider having Partner C sign an acknowledgment that they understand the tax implications of receiving the liquidating distribution, especially the $70,000 gain recognition. This can help prevent disputes later if they're surprised by the tax bill. I've seen situations where departing partners thought they were just receiving "their money back" and didn't realize they'd have a significant tax liability. Great work everyone on covering all the technical aspects so thoroughly!

When I filed my 1040-NR with a similar situation, I made sure to keep extensive documentation of my travels. Take screenshots of flight confirmations, keep hotel receipts, and maintain a spreadsheet with entry/exit dates for each country. The IRS seems to be paying more attention to these "nowhere" tax residents, and if you get flagged for review, having that documentation ready will save you a lot of trouble.

I faced this exact same issue with tax software! Most consumer programs like TurboTax aren't designed for these edge cases. I ended up using FreeTaxUSA for my 1040-NR filing - it's more flexible and actually allows you to leave the tax residency field blank or enter custom text. For Schedule OI specifically, I wrote "None - Digital Nomad Status" in the tax residency field and attached Form 8275 (Disclosure Statement) explaining my situation in detail. The key is being completely transparent about your circumstances and providing documentation. Pro tip: If you do get questioned later, having a travel log with exact dates, flight records, and accommodation receipts makes everything much smoother. I use a simple spreadsheet that tracks country, entry date, exit date, and days spent - takes 2 minutes to update but could save hours of headache later!

Has anyone used TurboTax for calculating QBI? It seems to be confusing me more than helping. The software keeps asking me about W-2 wages paid when I've already indicated I have no employees. Is there a better tax software for sole proprietors claiming QBI?

Great question about QBI! As someone who's been through this with my consulting business, here are a few key points that helped me: 1. At your income level ($85k), you're definitely below the phase-out threshold, so you get the full 20% deduction without any wage limitations. 2. For documentation, keep your Schedule C records clean and organized - that's really all you need at your income level. The W-2 wage stuff your accountant mentioned only matters for much higher earners. 3. One thing that caught me off guard: make sure you're not double-counting any expenses between your regular business deductions and anything that might affect QBI calculation. The Form 8995 (the simple version) is what you'll likely use, not the more complex 8995-A. If you're using tax software, it should handle this automatically once you enter your Schedule C information correctly. Don't overthink it - at your income level, it's pretty straightforward. Just focus on maximizing legitimate business deductions on Schedule C, and the QBI will flow naturally from there.