Has anyone else noticed that TaxACT seems to struggle with calculating QBI deductions correctly for partnerships? We had to manually override some of their calculations last year. Wondering if they've fixed this for the current tax season?

I can definitely confirm that you can file just a 1065 partnership return through TaxACT without doing your personal taxes through them. I've been doing this for our small real estate partnership for the past three years. You'll want to look specifically for their "TaxACT Business" software, not their personal tax version. The business edition includes Form 1065 and all the related schedules you'll need for rental properties, including depreciation schedules and K-1 generation for you and your brother-in-law. A few tips from my experience: - The business version does cost more than personal, but it's still reasonable compared to going to a CPA - You can absolutely e-file the 1065 - no need to print and mail - Their rental property depreciation module works pretty well for straightforward situations - Make sure to keep good records of your basis in each property, as you'll need this for the K-1s For a simple two-property partnership like yours, TaxACT Business should handle everything you need without any issues. Just be prepared to spend a bit more time learning the interface if you're used to their personal tax software - the business side has more complexity but it's still user-friendly overall.

One thing nobody's mentioned - if you're GST/HST registered (which you probably are if running a card shop), you need to charge tax on the FULL value of the sale, not just the cash portion. So in your example, if you're in Ontario with 13% HST: - Customer gets $250 worth of cards - They give you $120 in trade + $130 cash - You need to charge HST on the full $250 (so $32.50 in HST) - Their total cash payment would be $130 + $32.50 = $162.50 I learned this the hard way during a CRA review last year at my comic shop. They specifically looked at my trade transactions and I ended up owing back taxes because I was only charging HST on the cash portion.

Canadian card shop owner here - the best advice I can give is separate your transactions in your accounting system: 1. Create a PURCHASE transaction for the cards you're buying from the customer (the $120 value) 2. Create a SALE transaction for the full value of what you're selling them ($250) Don't use the "discount" approach in your POS - it messes up your revenue reporting and can create GST/HST problems. I use a simple trade slip that the customer signs confirming the value of cards I'm purchasing from them. This becomes my purchase receipt. Then I create a separate sales receipt for what they're buying from me. Keeps everything clean for tax purposes and I've survived two CRA reviews without issues.

This thread has been so helpful! I'm actually in HR at another tech company and wanted to mention that the simplified approval process for short international work trips (under 14 days) is becoming pretty standard across the industry. It's great to see Intuit streamlined this in March. For anyone still on the fence about the tax documentation services, I'd say it really depends on your risk tolerance. Technically, a week of work from Mexico likely won't create significant tax obligations, but having proper documentation can definitely help if any questions come up later during tax season or compliance audits. One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet - make sure to check if your travel insurance covers work equipment while abroad. Some policies have specific exclusions for business use, and replacing a laptop internationally can be both expensive and time-consuming. Also, definitely recommend informing your bank about international travel beforehand. Nothing worse than having your cards frozen while you're trying to work abroad! Learned that one the hard way during a work trip to Costa Rica a few years ago. Safe travels and enjoy combining work with family time - it's such a great way to make the most of your PTO!

This has been such an incredibly helpful thread! I'm new to Intuit and was honestly feeling pretty overwhelmed about the prospect of working internationally, even for just a few days. Reading through everyone's experiences has completely changed my perspective. What really stands out to me is how the process has been streamlined with the March policy update - knowing that trips under 14 days just need manager approval plus the simplified Global Mobility form makes this so much more manageable than I expected. I'm particularly grateful for all the practical tech advice. The travel router suggestion for security, testing VPN from a coffee shop beforehand, getting local SIM cards as backup - these are the kinds of real-world tips that you just can't get from official policy documents. The discussion about documentation services was really interesting too. Even though there was some initial skepticism, seeing people come back and share their actual results after trying things like taxr.ai and Claimyr shows how valuable this community is for honest, practical advice. I'm planning a similar trip to work from Playa del Carmen for about a week later this year, and I feel so much more confident now knowing what steps to take and what potential issues to prepare for. Thanks to everyone for being so generous with sharing your experiences - this is exactly why I love being part of this community!

Make sure you also find out if you need to file a Foreign Bank Account Report (FBAR) if you opened a bank account in New Zealand! If you had more than $10,000 in foreign accounts at any time during the year, you need to file this form.

Hey Charlee! I went through something really similar when I worked seasonally in Australia a couple years ago. A few things that might help: Since you were paid in cash for some of it, definitely keep any receipts or records you have of those payments. Even if you don't have official pay stubs, bank statements showing deposits plus any written records of cash payments will work - just make sure to document the dates and amounts clearly. One thing I wish I had known earlier is that you'll need to convert everything to USD using the exchange rates from the dates you were actually paid, not just one rate for the whole period. The IRS has historical exchange rate tables on their website that make this easier. Also, definitely consider getting help from a tax professional for this first time dealing with foreign income. The extra cost is usually worth it to make sure you don't miss anything or make mistakes that could cause problems later. Once you understand how it works, future years with foreign income become much easier to handle. And don't stress too much - the IRS deals with this situation all the time with seasonal workers, study abroad students, and people working overseas. You're definitely not the first person in this boat!

Just wanted to add my experience - I went with the date I started taking direct clients instead of when I was contracting through agencies. My reasoning was that working for agencies felt different from my "real" business that I branded and marketed myself. The IRS accepted it no problem, and I got my EIN within minutes online. I've been using that EIN for my solo 401k for 3 years now with no issues.

This is such a common confusion! I went through the exact same thing when I applied for my EIN last year. After reading through IRS Publication 583 and talking to a tax professional, here's what I learned: The "Sole Proprietor Start Date" should be when you first began operating as a business - which in your case would be 12 years ago when you started as an independent contractor. The IRS considers you to be in business from the moment you start providing services with the intent to make a profit, regardless of whether you're working through agencies or directly with clients. The key distinction is that as an independent contractor, you were never an employee of those tutoring companies - you were providing services as a business entity (sole proprietorship). When you expanded to direct clients 4 years ago, you didn't start a new business, you just grew your existing one. For what it's worth, I used January 1st of the year I started freelancing since I couldn't remember the exact date, and it was processed without any issues. The IRS really just needs this for their records - it won't create any retroactive obligations or problems for you. Good luck with your solo 401k setup!