Just want to add another important point - make sure you write "Prior Year Return - [Tax Year]" in big letters on the top of your 1040 form and on the outside of the envelope. This helps ensure it gets routed to the right department at the IRS processing center. And definitely use trackable shipping! I learned this lesson the hard way when the IRS claimed they never received my 2019 return, and I had no proof of delivery.

I'm also in California and had to file a prior year return last month. I sent mine to the Ogden, Utah address that others mentioned, and got my refund about 6 weeks later, so can confirm that's correct. One thing to note - prior year paper returns take FOREVER to process compared to current year e-filed returns. The IRS is still catching up on their backlog, so be prepared to wait 3-4 months minimum. If you're expecting a refund, don't count on seeing that money anytime soon!

Has anyone used the IRS's Direct Pay system for estimated payments? I'm about to submit my Q2 payment (late, I know) and wondering if there's anything I should know before using it. Does it automatically apply the payment to the right quarter? I'm now second guessing all my calculations after reading this thread about the publication issues.

I ran into this exact same issue last month! The Publication 505 worksheets are definitely confusing when you have irregular income starting mid-year. I found that the problem with line 10 on Worksheet 2-3 is that it assumes you've already calculated certain figures that might not apply to your situation. Here's what worked for me: I focused primarily on Worksheet 2-7 since that's specifically designed for annualized income calculations. When it sends you to other worksheets, I only used the relevant portions and ignored the parts that created circular references. For Q2 with income starting then, make sure you're using the 2.4 multiplier (12 months ÷ 5 months from February through June) rather than the standard 4. This was the key mistake I was making initially. Also, don't feel bad about considering tax software at this point - sometimes it's worth paying for the peace of mind that the calculations are correct, especially when the IRS's own instructions are this confusing!

This exact issue cost us thousands last year. Check if ProSystem has the "Special Allocations" menu enabled for your partnership return. Sometimes section 59(e) fields are hidden unless you activate that module since they're considered special allocations. Also, make sure that in your C-corp return you've properly identified that you have partnership interests. Some tax software has quirks where partnership-related deductions won't show up unless you've properly set up the ownership structure.

I've dealt with this exact ProSystem FX issue before. The problem is likely that you need to enable the "Research and Experimental Expenditures" module in the partnership setup before Box 13J becomes available for data entry. Go to the partnership interview and look for questions about whether the partnership has research expenses, exploration costs, or other section 59(e) qualifying expenditures. If you answer "yes" to these screening questions, it should unlock the Box 13J field on the K-1. Once the partnership properly reports these expenditures on your C-corp's K-1, you'll make the actual 59(e) election on Form 4562 in your corporate return. The election lets you choose between immediate deduction or 10-year amortization of the qualifying expenses. Also worth noting - if your partnership has multiple types of section 59(e) expenditures (like both R&D and mineral exploration), make sure they're being separated properly on the K-1 since the election periods can differ.

As a newcomer to this community, I want to thank everyone for such a detailed and helpful discussion! I'm also dealing with K-1 forms for the first time and was completely confused about the relationship between section 1231 and 1250 gains. The example Andre provided really helped me understand - I was making the same mistake of thinking the Box 9c and Box 10 amounts should be added together rather than understanding that one is a subset of the other. One quick question for the group: if a partnership has section 1231 property that was never depreciated (like raw land held for business use), would there be any unrecaptured section 1250 gain reported when it's sold? Or does the section 1250 recapture only apply when there's been actual depreciation taken on the property? This thread has been incredibly educational - the U.S. tax system definitely has some unique complexities that aren't immediately obvious to those of us more familiar with other countries' approaches!

This has been such an enlightening discussion! As someone new to U.S. tax concepts, I really appreciate how everyone broke down the section 1231/1250 relationship with concrete examples. I'm currently working through my first partnership K-1 and was getting tripped up by the same Box 9c vs Box 10 issue that Andre mentioned. The key insight that the unrecaptured section 1250 gain is a *component* of the section 1231 gain rather than an additional amount has completely clarified things for me. One follow-up question: when preparing the tax return, is there a specific order these forms need to be completed in? I'm wondering if I should start with Form 4797 for the section 1231 gain first, then move to Schedule D, or if there's a particular sequence that works best to ensure all the amounts flow through correctly. Also, for anyone else struggling with these concepts, I found it helpful to think of it like this: imagine the total gain as a pie, where the unrecaptured section 1250 portion is just one slice of that same pie, not a separate pie altogether. That mental image really helped me understand why we don't add the two amounts together. Thanks again to everyone who contributed - this community is incredibly knowledgeable and welcoming to newcomers!

Has anyone used the "Sale of Business Property" worksheet in FreeTaxUSA specifically? I'm having similar issues and the interface is confusing me.

I went through this exact same situation last year with a business vehicle that was about 15% business use. The key thing that helped me was understanding that FreeTaxUSA handles this differently than you might expect. When you go to "Income" → "Less Common Income" → "Sale of Business Property", make sure you're entering ONLY the business portion of everything. So if your vehicle was 10% business use: - Original cost: $2,550 (10% of $25,500) - Accumulated depreciation: $1,350 (what you actually claimed) - Sales price: $1,980 (10% of $19,800) This gives you an adjusted basis of $1,200 ($2,550 - $1,350) and a gain of $780 ($1,980 - $1,200). The $380 in additional taxes you're seeing is likely correct - it's roughly 25-28% of that $780 gain (depending on your tax bracket). I know it feels unfair since you lost money overall, but the IRS treats the business and personal portions completely separately. The personal loss isn't deductible, and the business portion shows a gain due to the depreciation you've already benefited from over the years. Make sure you're not double-entering anything in the vehicle expenses section of Schedule C once you've reported the sale on Form 4797.