Do high income celebrities ever leave California to move to states with no income tax? If I was paying millions in state taxes alone, I'd seriously consider moving to Texas or Florida.

This is a fascinating discussion! As someone who works in tax preparation, I can confirm that celebrities like Tom Hanks face incredibly complex tax situations. One aspect that hasn't been mentioned yet is the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), which often kicks in for high earners and can actually increase their effective tax rate even further. Also, don't forget about self-employment taxes! If Tom Hanks is operating through a loan-out corporation as mentioned earlier, he might avoid some SE taxes, but if he's treated as self-employed, that's an additional 15.3% on the first $160,200 of income (for 2023). The timing of income recognition is huge too - many actors negotiate to defer portions of their compensation to future years when they might be in lower tax brackets or have moved to more tax-friendly states. It's really a chess game between their financial advisors and the tax code!

I'm new to this community and dealing with my first paper check refund situation, so this thread has been incredibly enlightening! My transcript shows a date of 3/22, and based on everyone's experiences here, it sounds like I should expect the actual mailing to happen around 3/25-3/26, with delivery sometime in early April. I had no idea there was such a distinction between "issued" and "mailed" - the IRS really doesn't make this clear at all! I'm definitely taking notes from all the helpful advice here, especially about potentially having the post office hold it for pickup and absolutely setting up direct deposit for next year. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - it's so reassuring to know this confusion is normal and that there are actual patterns to the timing!

As a newcomer to this community, I just want to say thank you all for this incredibly detailed discussion! I'm in the exact same situation with my first paper check refund - my transcript shows 3/17 and I had no clue what that date actually meant. Reading through everyone's experiences has been so helpful in understanding that it's the "issued" date, not the mailing date. Based on all the timelines shared here, it sounds like I should expect my check to be mailed around 3/20-3/21 and arrive sometime between 3/27-4/2. The tip about having the post office hold IRS mail for pickup is genius - I'm definitely calling them tomorrow to set that up. It's honestly frustrating that the IRS doesn't explain this distinction anywhere, but I'm so grateful for communities like this where people share their real experiences. Lesson learned for next year: direct deposit all the way! Thanks again everyone for taking the time to share your knowledge with us newcomers.

I went through this exact situation with my LLC in Virginia last year. After consulting with a tax attorney, I learned that the confusion often comes from misunderstanding what constitutes a "business entity" under IRC Section 761(f). The key issue is that once you form an LLC, you've created a separate legal entity, which disqualifies you from the QJV election in non-community property states. However, there's an important distinction many people miss: you CAN operate the same business activities as a qualified joint venture if you dissolve the LLC first. We ended up dissolving our LLC and now operate as a QJV. The process involved: 1. Filing dissolution paperwork with the state 2. Filing a final 1065 return for the LLC 3. Making the QJV election on our joint return 4. Each filing Schedule C for our respective shares The liability protection loss was concerning, but we mitigated it with increased insurance coverage and careful contract structuring. For our consulting business, the tax simplification was worth it - we went from paying $1,500+ annually for partnership return preparation to handling it ourselves. One important note: make sure both spouses genuinely materially participate in the business operations. The IRS can challenge QJV elections if one spouse is just a passive investor.

I appreciate everyone sharing their experiences with this complex issue. As someone who went through a similar situation with my spouse's consulting business in Ohio, I wanted to add a few practical considerations that might help others. One thing that hasn't been mentioned is the timing aspect of dissolving an LLC. If you're considering this route, plan it carefully around your tax year. We dissolved our LLC at the end of 2023, which meant we had to file both the final 1065 for the LLC AND start the QJV election in the same tax year. It created some complexity in tracking income and expenses across both structures. Also, don't forget about state-level implications. In Ohio, we had to deal with the Commercial Activity Tax (CAT) differently once we dissolved the LLC. Some states have their own partnership filing requirements that might not align with the federal QJV election, so check your state's rules too. One unexpected benefit we discovered: banks and vendors actually preferred dealing with us as sole proprietors rather than through the LLC. Several of our payment processors reduced their fees because we weren't classified as a "business entity" anymore. Not huge savings, but every bit helps when you're trying to simplify your operations. The material participation requirement is real though - the IRS does audit QJV elections, and they'll look at whether both spouses are genuinely involved in day-to-day operations.

Make sure you're using the CORRECT TAX FORMS for 2021! This is super important - you can't just use current year forms for prior year returns. Go to the IRS website and download the specific 2021 forms or make sure your tax software is generating the correct year's forms. I screwed this up once and had my return rejected because I grabbed the wrong year's form from the IRS website. Wasted weeks of processing time just to start over.

Adding to what others have said about the 3-year refund window - you're actually in decent shape timing-wise! The 2021 tax deadline was April 18, 2022, so you have until April 18, 2025 to claim that refund. That gives you several months to get everything sorted out. One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet: when you do mail your 2021 return, include Form 8453 (U.S. Individual Income Tax Transmittal for an IRS e-file Return) if FreeTaxUSA generated one. This form is required when you prepared your return electronically but have to mail it instead of e-filing. Also, don't stress too much about the paper filing process - millions of people still file paper returns every year. Just make sure you sign and date everything, include all required attachments, and use certified mail like others suggested. The IRS is used to processing paper returns, it just takes longer than e-filing. For your 2022 and 2023 returns, definitely prioritize getting those done ASAP since you should be able to e-file those through most services. Good luck!

Jumping in late but this thread helped me figure out my own Box 19 question! For anyone else confused, here's what I learned: - Box 19 = State income tax withholding only - State disability usually appears in Box 14 - If Box 14 is empty but you had SDI withheld (check paystubs), your employer may have reported it differently - Different states have different disability programs (CA, NY, NJ, RI, HI have state programs) - Some tax software will auto-calculate state disability based on your wages if you live in these states The IRS instructions aren't super clear about state-specific items, which is why this stuff gets so confusing!

This is such a helpful thread! I'm dealing with the exact same confusion as a first-time filer. My Box 19 shows $1,234 with "TX" next to it, but Texas doesn't have state income tax, so I was completely baffled about what this amount could be for. After reading through all these responses, I'm realizing this might be an error on my W-2. Has anyone else encountered a situation where Box 19 shows withholding for a state that doesn't collect income tax? Should I contact my employer's payroll department about this, or could this be some other type of withholding that I'm not understanding? I'm using TurboTax and it keeps asking me about the Box 19 amount, but when I enter Texas as my state, it says there should be no state tax withholding. Really don't want to mess this up!