Just a heads up that the Swiss-US tax treaty has specific provisions for dividend withholding that you should be aware of. The standard withholding rate from Switzerland is 35%, but under the treaty, US partnerships can often get this reduced to 15%. If you've had the full 35% withheld, your partners might be getting more foreign tax credits than they're actually entitled to. The IRS can disallow "excess" foreign tax credits if you could have taken steps to reduce the foreign tax but chose not to. Make sure you're applying the treaty rate correctly.

I've been dealing with similar foreign dividend reporting issues for our partnership. One thing that really helped me was creating a detailed spreadsheet to track all the foreign dividends by country, date, and tax withheld. This made it much easier to complete the K-2/K-3 forms accurately. For Swiss dividends specifically, make sure you're checking whether your ETFs qualify for the reduced treaty withholding rate. Some Swiss ETFs are structured in ways that don't qualify for the full treaty benefits, which affects how much foreign tax credit your partners can actually claim. Also, double-check that your brokerage statements are correctly identifying which portions of the dividends are qualified vs ordinary. I found some discrepancies in our statements that would have caused issues with our K-2 reporting. The foreign tax needs to be allocated proportionally between qualified and ordinary dividends, so getting this right is critical for your partners' Form 1116 calculations. ProSeries should handle the K-2/K-3 generation once you input the data correctly, but the key is making sure all your source data is properly categorized before you start entering it into the software.

Could you guys clarify something about the tax treaty between US and South Korea? I heard there's a "saving clause" that basically negates a lot of the benefits for US citizens. Is that true?

I went through almost the exact same situation when I was working in Seoul! The stress about potential border issues is real, but I can confirm you won't have problems entering the US. CBP doesn't check tax compliance during entry. That said, you definitely need to get compliant ASAP. I was about 5 years behind on filing when I finally dealt with it. The key things that helped me: 1. Used the Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures - no penalties if your non-filing wasn't willful (sounds like your case) 2. Filed 3 years of back tax returns using Form 2555 for the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion 3. Filed 6 years of FBARs for my Korean bank accounts Since you've been paying Korean taxes, you'll likely owe little to nothing to the US thanks to the FEIE. The exclusion amount for 2024 is around $120,000, so unless you're earning significantly more than that, you should be covered. Don't put this off though - the longer you wait, the more complicated it gets. Start gathering your Korean tax documents and employment records now. You'll need them to prove your foreign residence and income for the exclusion.

I'm going through the exact same thing right now! Still no 1099 from Robinhood and I'm getting pretty anxious about it too. I had a decent amount of trading activity last year - bought and sold several stocks, collected some dividends, and did a few crypto transactions. What's really frustrating is that I called their customer service line twice this week and both times I got stuck in an endless phone tree that eventually just hung up on me. Their chat support keeps giving me generic responses about how forms are "being processed" without any actual timeline. I've been checking the documents section in my app obsessively, but it's still completely empty. At least it's somewhat comforting to know I'm not the only one waiting! Based on what others are saying here, it sounds like late February/early March is pretty normal for Robinhood unfortunately. I'm definitely going to try downloading my monthly statements like some folks suggested so I can at least start organizing everything while I wait. This is definitely making me consider switching to a different broker next year - the lack of communication about delays is really unprofessional.

I'm in a very similar situation and was getting worried too! I've been trading on Robinhood for about 8 months now and this is my first tax season with them. Like you, I have some dividend income and made several stock trades throughout the year, but my documents section is still completely empty. After reading through all these responses, I'm feeling much more relieved. It sounds like Robinhood is just notoriously slow with their 1099 processing compared to other brokers. The fact that so many people here had the same experience and eventually got their forms by late February or early March is reassuring. I'm going to take the advice from others and download my monthly statements this weekend to start organizing everything. That way I can at least begin preparing my return and won't have to scramble once the official forms finally arrive. It's frustrating having to wait, especially when you're eager to file and get your refund, but at least we know they'll eventually come through with the required documents. Thanks for posting this question - it's really helpful to see that this delay is pretty normal for Robinhood users and not something we need to panic about!

@Aisha Rahman raises excellent questions about getting professional help. From my experience helping clients with similar situations, I'd definitely recommend consulting both a tax professional AND an estate planning attorney, especially given the international implications. The good news is that most people don't end up undoing the deed transfer once they understand all the pieces. Here's why: while there are complexities, the benefits often do outweigh the complications when properly planned. Adding your spouse to the deed provides important legal protections, potential estate tax savings (by removing half the property from your taxable estate), and can actually simplify things if you become incapacitated. The key is doing it RIGHT. A qualified professional can help you: 1. Properly calculate and report the gift tax (Form 709) 2. Determine if a QDOT makes sense for your situation 3. Plan for the basis step-up implications 4. Handle any state-level requirements One strategy I've seen work well is to have the tax professional handle the immediate gift tax filing requirements while simultaneously consulting with an estate planning attorney about long-term implications. They can work together to make sure your current actions align with your overall estate planning goals. The complexity shouldn't scare you away - it just means you need the right guidance to navigate it properly. Most people find that once they have a clear plan, the annual compliance requirements are quite manageable.

This thread has been incredibly informative! As someone who's been lurking here trying to understand these same issues with my non-citizen spouse, I really appreciate how everyone has broken down the complexities step by step. One thing I'm wondering about that hasn't been fully addressed - if you're in a community property state, does that change any of these gift tax calculations? I'm in Texas, and I've read conflicting information about whether adding a spouse to a deed in a community property state is treated differently than in common law property states. Also, for those who have gone through the Form 709 filing process, how complicated is it really? The IRS forms always look intimidating, but I'm wondering if this is something most people can handle themselves with good preparation, or if it really requires professional help to get right. Thanks to everyone who has shared their experiences and expertise here - this is exactly the kind of real-world guidance that's so hard to find elsewhere!

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is the importance of timing your tire purchase strategically. Since you're 90% business use, you can deduct 90% of the cost in the year you purchase them. If you're close to year-end and expecting higher income next year, you might want to buy the tires now to get the deduction in the current tax year. Also, make sure you're getting the best deal possible since you can only deduct what you actually spend. Check tire retailers for rebates, compare prices online vs in-store, and consider buying during sales events. Every dollar you save is still money in your pocket, but every dollar of the purchase price (times 90%) reduces your taxable income. Don't forget to keep the receipt and note the business use percentage and date of purchase in your records. The IRS will want to see documentation if they ever audit your vehicle expenses.

Great question! As others have mentioned, you can absolutely deduct 90% of your tire costs since that matches your business use percentage. The key thing to remember is that it doesn't matter when you originally bought the vehicle - what matters is your current business usage. Since this is your first year as a 1099 contractor, I'd strongly recommend calculating both the standard mileage method and actual expense method to see which gives you a better deduction. For tires specifically, they're considered maintenance expenses, so you can deduct the full 90% in the year you purchase them. One tip: if you're planning to buy tires soon anyway, consider the timing for tax purposes. If you're expecting higher income next year, purchasing them before December 31st would give you the deduction in the current tax year when it might be more valuable. Also, make sure you're keeping detailed mileage logs and all receipts. The IRS is pretty strict about vehicle expense documentation, especially for high business use percentages like yours. A mileage tracking app can be a lifesaver for this!