One quick warning based on personal experience - make sure your LLC partnership is correctly reporting your status as a foreign partner on the K-1! There's a specific box they need to check, and they should be completing the foreign partner information in Box 20. Many U.S. accountants don't deal with foreign partners often and mess this up. If your K-1 doesn't properly identify you as a foreign partner, you might face issues with the IRS later when they try to reconcile your 1040-NR with partnership reporting.

Great question! I went through this exact situation last year as a non-US person with partnership losses. You absolutely need to file Form 1040-NR even with no income - the key is that you were "engaged in a trade or business in the US" through your LLC partnership. A few important points from my experience: 1. File even with losses - you can carry these forward to offset future partnership income 2. Make sure your LLC properly marked you as a foreign partner on the K-1 (Box 20 should have foreign partner allocations) 3. You'll report the K-1 losses on Schedule E, which attaches to your 1040-NR 4. If you don't have an ITIN yet, you can apply for one when you file using Form W-7 The filing requirement isn't about having income - it's about being engaged in US business activity. Since you received a K-1 as an active partner, you meet this threshold. Don't skip filing or you could lose the ability to use these losses against future profits!

Doesnt the 100% safe harbor only work if ur current year income is under 150k? If ur making big capital gains and going over 150k total, dont u need to pay 110% of last years taxes to meet safe harbor??

I went through this exact same situation last year after selling some stocks that had appreciated significantly. The key thing that helped me was understanding that the safe harbor rule is designed to protect you from penalties, not necessarily minimize your total tax bill. In your example, if you paid $32k last year and have $13k withheld this year, making $19k in estimated payments would indeed meet the 100% safe harbor requirement and protect you from underpayment penalties. You'd still owe the remaining ~$33k when you file, but without the penalty. One practical tip: I found it helpful to make the estimated payment as soon as possible after realizing the gains rather than waiting until the quarterly due date. This shows good faith effort to the IRS and gives you more time to adjust if you realize you've miscalculated something. Also, don't forget that if you have any other withholding sources (like a spouse's job or 1099 work), those count toward your safe harbor amount too. The IRS really does treat all payments equally - withholding, estimated payments, and even overpayments from prior years all count.

Thanks for all the helpful responses here! I ended up calling the IRS myself (after many attempts) and got confirmation that matches what most of you have said. As a nonresident alien, I'm not eligible for HSA tax benefits, so the contribution should be included in taxable income. The agent explained that since my W-2 Box 1 already matches Box 16, it means my employer correctly didn't exclude the HSA contribution from my taxable wages - which is exactly what should happen for nonresidents. So the Sprintax agent was actually right that I don't need to file Form 8889, but for a different reason than they explained. The confusion about the 1099-SA was indeed irrelevant since that's for distributions, not contributions. Lesson learned - always verify tax advice from software support, especially for complex nonresident situations!

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm also a nonresident alien (H-1B visa) dealing with HSA confusion. Based on everyone's experiences here, it sounds like the key thing to check is whether your W-2 Box 1 (wages) matches Box 16 (state wages). If they match, it means your employer correctly included the HSA contribution in your taxable income, which is what should happen for nonresidents who aren't eligible for HSA tax benefits. I was panicking because I thought I needed to file Form 8889, but it's reassuring to hear from multiple people that nonresidents can skip that form entirely. The IRS confirmation that Anna got really clears things up. One question though - for those who had HSA accounts automatically set up by employers, did you end up keeping the account open or closing it? I'm wondering if there are any issues with maintaining an HSA as a nonresident even if we can't claim the tax benefits.

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm also dealing with a solo 401k for my freelance writing business alongside my W2 job. One thing I wanted to add that might help others - make sure you understand the difference between "net earnings from self-employment" and "net profit" from your Schedule C. For solo 401k calculations, you use net earnings from self-employment (which is your Schedule C profit minus half the SE tax), not just the net profit line from Schedule C. I made this mistake my first year and initially calculated my contribution limit too high. Also, if anyone is using tax software, most of the major programs (TurboTax, H&R Block, etc.) will calculate your maximum solo 401k contribution automatically once you enter your self-employment income. But it's still good to understand the math behind it like everyone has explained here. One last tip - if you're close to year-end and trying to decide how much to contribute, remember that you can always contribute less than the maximum, but you can't go over without penalties. When in doubt, be conservative with your calculation!

I actually had to deal with an excess contribution correction a few years ago - it's definitely more hassle than it's worth! I miscalculated my net self-employment earnings and contributed about $800 more than I was allowed. The correction process involved contacting my solo 401k provider, filling out forms to withdraw the excess plus any earnings on that money, and then dealing with the tax implications. The earnings on the excess contribution had to be reported as income for the year I made the contribution, even though I was correcting it the following year. It also delayed my tax filing because I had to wait for the corrected forms from the 401k provider. The whole thing took about 6 weeks to resolve and created extra paperwork headaches. So definitely agree with taking the conservative approach! If you're unsure between two amounts, go with the lower one. You can always contribute more to other retirement accounts if you have extra room in your budget. The IRS is much more forgiving of under-contributing than over-contributing to retirement plans. For the original poster's wife with $19,750 in income, that $3,671 maximum contribution calculation looks solid based on all the discussion here. Just make sure to establish the solo 401k before December 31st if she hasn't already!

I'm currently dealing with my uncle's estate and this thread has been incredibly helpful! One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is to check if your father had any pending IRS correspondence or notices that might be related to this delayed refund. When I was going through my uncle's papers months after his death, I found several IRS letters that explained why his refund was delayed - apparently there were some verification issues that needed to be resolved before they could process it. Also, regarding the banking situation, I had success by bringing a notarized letter from the probate attorney who handled the estate closure. Even though it cost me $50 for the attorney to draft it, the bank accepted the check immediately with no questions. The letter basically certified that I was the rightful executor and sole beneficiary, which gave the bank the confidence they needed. One practical tip - if you decide to go with the reissuance route, make sure to send your request via certified mail and keep all tracking information. The IRS processes these requests through a specific department, and having proof of delivery can help if you need to follow up on the status. The interest taxation issue is definitely something to plan for - in my case, the interest ended up being about 15% of the total refund amount, which created a noticeable tax impact. Consider setting aside a portion of the refund to cover the taxes on the interest portion when you file your 2025 return.

I went through almost the exact same situation with my grandmother's estate in 2023, and I can definitely relate to the confusion and stress you're feeling right now! After reading through all the excellent advice in this thread, I wanted to add one more consideration that helped me make the decision between depositing the check as-is versus requesting a reissuance. I called both my bank AND the IRS on the same day to get clear timelines for each option. My bank told me they would need to place a 10-business-day hold on the estate check even with proper documentation, while the IRS estimated 8-10 weeks for reissuance. Since I wasn't in a rush for the funds and wanted to avoid any potential complications, I went with the reissuance route and it worked perfectly. One thing that really helped was creating a simple checklist of all the documents I needed before starting either process - death certificate, letters testamentary, copy of the original tax return, and photos of both sides of the check. Having everything organized upfront made the whole process much smoother. Also, don't forget to check if your father had any quarterly estimated tax payments that might have created additional refund situations. I discovered my grandmother had made an estimated payment for the quarter she passed away in, which resulted in another small refund showing up about 6 months later. Whatever you decide, you're handling this really well by asking questions and gathering information first. These situations are more common than most people realize, and there are good solutions available!