Been self-employed for 10+ years and use per diem for meals exclusively. Quick tip: don't forget the first and last day of travel are calculated at 75% of the standard rate. A lot of people miss that and claim 100% for all days.

Great question, Carmen! I've been using the per diem method for my consulting business for the past three years, and it's been a game-changer for simplifying my tax prep. Here's what I've learned: Yes, you can absolutely use per diem rates instead of tracking individual meal receipts. The key is maintaining proper documentation of your travel - dates, locations, and business purposes. I keep a simple spreadsheet with columns for departure date, return date, destination city, client name, and business purpose. One thing to watch out for that I learned the hard way - make sure you're using the correct GSA rates for each specific location. Some cities have higher rates than others, and it can add up to significant differences over a year of travel. Also, as others mentioned, remember the 75% rule for first and last travel days. I use a combination of my calendar exports and client contracts to document the business purpose of each trip. During my first year using per diem, I was worried about having enough documentation, but my CPA assured me that as long as I could clearly show the business connection and had accurate dates/locations, I was in good shape. The time savings alone made it worth switching from receipt tracking - I estimate I save about 2-3 hours per month not having to organize and categorize meal receipts!

Quick question about filing requirements - even if my NRA LLC doesn't have US-source income, do I still need to file anything with the IRS? I've heard conflicting things about Form 5472 requirements.

One thing that helped me navigate this maze was understanding that the IRS has specific guidance in Publication 519 for nonresident aliens. It breaks down the source rules pretty clearly - for services, it's generally where you physically perform the work that determines the source, not where your client is located. However, there's an important exception many people miss: if you have a regular place of business in the US and the income is attributable to that office, it becomes US-source even if some work is performed abroad. Since you mentioned working from outside the US with a Wyoming LLC, this likely doesn't apply to you. Also worth noting that even though your LLC might not have US-source income, you'll still need to be careful about state filing requirements in Wyoming. While they don't have state income tax, there may still be annual report filings required to maintain your LLC's good standing.

Just FYI, for 2025 the Social Security wage cap is $168,600 (someone above mentioned this), but wanted to clarify that the Medicare portion of FICA (1.45%) applies to ALL of your income no matter how high. Then there's that additional 0.9% Medicare tax that kicks in after $200k if ur single. I earn about 230k and the Medicare tax is the one that surprises ppl when they get to higher income levels. U never stop paying it no matter how much u make!

Something that helped me when I was in a similar situation (around $250k) was understanding that FICA taxes are actually handled quite differently if you have multiple employers during the year. If you switch jobs mid-year like I did, each employer withholds Social Security tax separately up to the wage cap. So you might end up overpaying Social Security tax if your combined wages from both employers exceed $168,600. The good news is you can claim the excess as a credit on your tax return - you don't have to wait for the IRS to process a separate refund. This was a nice surprise when I filed my taxes after switching jobs halfway through 2024. I got back about $1,200 in excess Social Security tax that had been withheld. Just something to keep in mind if your career situation changes during the tax year!

Have you considered ProSeries Professional? I switched from TurboTax to ProSeries for my personal return because of similar issues with investment reporting. It's designed for professionals but isn't overly complicated once you get used to the interface. The K1 input screens are much more comprehensive and it handles the flow-through calculations automatically. It's not cheap (about $500 for the basic package) but worth it for complex returns.

Former tax professional here. Consider going with ATX Professional. It's less expensive than most pro options (around $350) but handles K1s beautifully. I used it for years in my practice and it's particularly good with investment partnerships. The learning curve isn't too steep if you're already tax-savvy enough to spot CPA errors.

I've been dealing with Form 6781 for options trading for a few years now, and I completely understand the initial confusion! One thing that helped me get organized was starting with the basic distinction between what goes where on the form. For your SPX options, these are Section 1256 contracts that go in Part I. The key advantage here is the 60/40 tax treatment (60% long-term, 40% short-term capital gains regardless of holding period). You'll report the net gain/loss from ALL your SPX trading for the year - both closed positions and mark-to-market adjustments on any positions still open at year-end. For SPY options, these are regular equity options. They only go on Form 6781 if they were part of actual straddle positions (meaning you had offsetting positions that substantially reduced risk). If they were just standalone option trades, they go on Schedule D like regular stock trades. The tricky part is identifying true straddles. Just because you traded both calls and puts doesn't automatically make it a straddle - the positions need to genuinely offset each other's risk. Look for situations where you held positions that would move in opposite directions under similar market conditions. I'd recommend starting by gathering all your year-end statements from your broker, as they often identify Section 1256 contracts separately. Then work through your SPY trades chronologically to spot any offsetting position pairs.

I've been following this thread with great interest as someone who just went through my first year of serious options trading! The advice about creating a detailed spreadsheet really resonated with me - I wish I had done that from the beginning. One thing I learned the hard way is to pay close attention to the wash sale rules when dealing with straddles. If you close a position at a loss and then establish a "substantially identical" position within 30 days, the wash sale rule can interact with straddle reporting in complex ways. This became an issue for me when I was rolling positions and didn't realize I was creating wash sales on top of straddle situations. Also, for anyone using multiple brokers (like I do for different strategies), make sure you're looking at positions across ALL your accounts when identifying straddles. I almost missed a straddle situation where I had SPY calls at one broker and SPY puts at another. The IRS doesn't care that they're at different firms - if the positions offset each other's risk, they can still constitute a straddle. The Form 6781 instructions are honestly pretty terrible for explaining real-world trading scenarios, so threads like this are incredibly valuable for understanding the practical application of these rules.