Has anyone dealt with the situation where some inherited stocks had declined significantly since purchase? My dad had some tech stocks that were worth way less when he died than what he paid. I'm wondering if there's any way to use the original higher basis instead of the stepped-down death value to avoid locking in those losses?

I'm going through a similar situation right now with my grandmother's estate, and I wanted to add a few practical tips that helped us navigate this process: 1) **Get multiple copies of the death certificate** - You'll need certified copies for each brokerage firm, and some require original certificates. We needed 6 copies total across different financial institutions. 2) **Ask about estate settlement services** - Most major brokerages have dedicated estate departments that can walk you through the entire process. They often assign a specific representative to your case, which makes communication much easier than calling the general customer service line. 3) **Keep detailed records of everything** - Create a spreadsheet tracking each account, the date you submitted paperwork, when the step-up was processed, and the new basis amounts. This becomes crucial if you need to reference anything later. 4) **Consider the tax implications for your mom's future** - While you can't be selective about the step-up, think about her overall tax situation. If she's planning to sell any stocks soon after inheriting them, having the stepped-up basis will minimize capital gains taxes. The whole process took us about 6-8 weeks to complete across three different brokerages, but having everything organized upfront made it much smoother. My condolences on your father's passing - this administrative work is tough to handle while grieving.

For what it's worth, I got a 1099-K from PayPal last year for selling some old electronics and video games (about $1,200 worth). I reported it as "other income" on my taxes but included a note that these were personal items sold at a loss. Didn't have any issues or questions from the IRS. I just made a simple spreadsheet with my best guess of what I paid for everything originally.

I went through something very similar when I sold my Magic: The Gathering collection last year. Had about $8,000 in sales but definitely sold most cards at a loss from what I originally paid. Here's what I learned: You're right that you generally won't owe income tax on personal items sold at a loss, but you still need to handle the 1099-K properly. I created a simple spreadsheet with three columns: Item Description, Estimated Original Cost, and Sale Price. For items where I couldn't remember exact prices, I used current retail prices from when I bought them (you can often find historical pricing data online for video games). The key is being reasonable and consistent with your estimates. Don't lowball the sale prices or inflate the original costs, but honest estimates based on your memory and research are acceptable. I also took photos of my collection before selling and kept screenshots of completed eBay listings as additional documentation. When tax time came, I reported the 1099-K income but offset it by showing these were personal items sold at a loss. No issues with the IRS at all. The important thing is having some documentation of your thought process, even without original receipts.

I went through this exact same situation last year with my eBay sales and completely understand your frustration! The good news is you're absolutely right - you shouldn't have to pay taxes on personal items sold at a loss. Here's what I learned after consulting with a tax professional: The 1099-K is just eBay's way of reporting gross payments to the IRS, but it doesn't determine your actual tax liability. Since you sold personal belongings (not business inventory) at a loss, you have no taxable gain to report. The cleanest approach is to report the 1099-K income on Form 1040, Schedule 1, Line 8i (Other Income) with a clear description like "Personal items sold at loss per 1099-K." Then document your original cost basis for each item - even reasonable estimates are acceptable if you don't have all receipts. Keep detailed records showing item descriptions, estimated original purchase prices, and actual sale prices. This creates a paper trail showing you operated at a loss. The IRS just wants to see that you're properly accounting for the 1099-K they received from eBay. Don't stress too much about perfect documentation - the key is showing good faith effort to accurately report personal property sales that resulted in losses, not gains.

I dealt with this exact same situation last year and want to share what I learned since there's been some conflicting advice in this thread. After spending weeks researching and talking to a CPA, here's the clearest approach: Since you received a 1099-K, the IRS will be looking for that income somewhere on your return. For personal items sold at a loss, report the 1099-K amount on Form 1040, Schedule 1, Line 8z (Other Income) with a description like "Personal property sold at loss - eBay 1099-K." The key is documenting your cost basis. Create a simple spreadsheet with item descriptions, your original purchase price (estimates are fine), and sale prices. Since you sold at a loss, your total cost basis will exceed your total sales, resulting in zero taxable income. Don't use Schedule C unless you were actually running a business - that triggers self-employment tax unnecessarily. And avoid Schedule D since personal use property isn't typically treated as capital assets. Keep your documentation organized but don't stress about having every receipt. The IRS understands that people sell personal belongings during financial hardship. They just want to see you're making a good faith effort to properly report transactions that resulted in losses, not gains. You're doing the right thing by being proactive about this - many people in your situation successfully navigate this issue every year!

Great question about donation limits! For individual taxpayers, charitable contributions are generally limited to 60% of your adjusted gross income (AGI) for cash donations to public charities like schools. Any excess can be carried forward for up to 5 years. For businesses, the rules are different depending on your entity type. Since you mentioned you're an LLC taxed as an S-Corp, any business charitable contributions would actually flow through to your personal return anyway, so you'd still be subject to the individual limits. However, if you can legitimately structure part of it as advertising expense (like Zara suggested), that wouldn't count against your charitable contribution limits at all. The key is making sure whatever you do is properly documented and has a legitimate business purpose. Given the complexity and potential audit risk when your child attends the school, I'd really recommend waiting for your accountant to return before making any decisions. The IRS scrutinizes these situations closely.

I've been through this exact scenario with my consulting business and my daughter's private school. Here's what I learned after working with both my CPA and a tax attorney: The IRS has a doctrine called "private benefit" that applies here. Even if the school is a legitimate 501(c)(3), if your donation provides a substantial private benefit to you or your family, it's not fully deductible. This includes indirect benefits like your child receiving better facilities or programs. However, I found a middle-ground approach that worked well. I split my contribution: 1. A portion went toward legitimate business advertising (program ads, event sponsorship with clear promotional value) 2. The remainder was a personal charitable donation on my individual return For the advertising portion, I made sure to get proper invoices detailing the marketing services provided, and I kept all materials showing my business was actually promoted. This part was fully deductible as a business expense. The key is documentation and reasonable business justification. If you can't articulate a legitimate business reason for the expense beyond helping your child's school, the IRS will likely view it as a personal donation disguised as a business expense. I'd strongly recommend waiting for your accountant to return before proceeding. The audit risk on these transactions is higher when there's a family connection, so you want to make sure everything is bulletproof from a documentation standpoint.

Let me tell you about my nightmare with code 810 last year. I ignored it thinking it would resolve itself. Big mistake. Turned out it was flagged for income verification because my employer submitted a corrected W-2. Three months later, still no refund. Finally had to send in documentation proving my income. The moral of my story? Don't assume it'll fix itself - if you see that 810 code hanging around for more than 2-3 weeks, be proactive and contact the IRS.

Thanks for posting this question, Evelyn! I went through the exact same situation with my husband's return earlier this year. The 810 code appeared on his transcript in February, and like you, I was helping him navigate the whole thing. From my experience, the 810 freeze can happen for various reasons - sometimes it's random verification, sometimes it's because the IRS systems flagged something that needs a second look (not necessarily anything wrong you did). In our case, it turned out they needed to verify some business income because the amounts seemed higher than previous years. Here's what I learned: check if there are any other codes that appeared around the same time as the 810. Those additional codes often give clues about what specifically triggered the freeze. Also, if your mom e-filed and received her acknowledgment, that's usually a good sign that the basic information is correct. The waiting is definitely the hardest part, especially when you're counting on the refund. In our situation, it took about 6 weeks total to resolve, but I've seen others here mention much faster turnarounds. Hope this helps ease some of the worry while you're figuring things out for your mom!