One thing nobody's mentioned yet - if your friend goes the self-employed route (receiving 1099-NEC instead of W-2), they could potentially set up their own retirement plan like a SEP IRA or Solo 401(k) with higher contribution limits than a regular employee plan. This was a game-changer for my tax situation as clergy. Also worth noting - clergy can opt out of federal income tax withholding (but not SE tax obligations) by submitting Form W-4 and writing "exempt" on it. This gives more control over your own tax payments but requires discipline to save for quarterly payments!

This thread has been incredibly helpful! As someone who's been wrestling with clergy tax issues for my pastor husband, I wanted to add one more resource that's been a lifesaver for us. Our denomination requires participation in their pension system, but we discovered we could still contribute to a Roth IRA using his "earned income" from ministry. The key was understanding that even though he pays self-employment tax on his full compensation, we could still make IRA contributions based on his net self-employment earnings after the SE tax deduction. Also, for anyone dealing with love offerings or occasional fees (weddings, funerals), these are typically reported as self-employment income on Schedule C, not as part of regular salary. We learned this the hard way when we got a notice from the IRS about unreported income. One last tip - if your friend's church is small and doesn't have experience with clergy taxes, consider having them consult with other churches in your area or denomination about best practices for compensation structure. Our church board was initially going to treat my husband as a regular employee until they talked to a larger church's finance committee about proper clergy tax handling. The dual tax status really is confusing at first, but once you understand the rules, you can actually structure compensation to be more tax-efficient than regular employment in some cases!

Don't forget that different types of art might have different capital gains treatment! I sold some inherited collectible comics last year and was surprised to learn they're considered collectibles with a maximum 28% long-term capital gains rate instead of the lower 15% rate that applies to stocks.

Thanks for sharing your situation! I went through something similar when I inherited some pottery and paintings from my aunt. One thing that really helped me was keeping detailed records of everything from the beginning - photos of each piece, any documentation that came with them, and even casual mentions of value in family conversations. Since you mentioned the pieces haven't appreciated much (10-15%), you're probably in a pretty good position tax-wise. But definitely keep track of any expenses related to selling them too - things like auction house fees, photography costs, or storage expenses can often be deducted from your gains. Also, if you're planning to sell multiple pieces, consider spacing out the sales across tax years if it makes sense for your overall tax situation. Sometimes it's better to spread the gains out rather than taking them all in one year, especially if it might bump you into a higher tax bracket.

When you say you had multiple jobs, were any of them self-employment? I ask because the rules are different for calculating excess Social Security tax if some of your income was from self-employment versus just having multiple W-2 jobs. If any income was from self-employment, you need to use a different calculation method using Schedule SE along with Form 8959. That might explain why the excess Social Security tax wasn't automatically applied to reduce your tax bill.

I've been following this thread and wanted to share my experience from last year when I had a similar situation. I worked for 4 different companies in 2023 and had about $7,200 in excess Social Security tax withheld. The key thing that helped me was creating a simple spreadsheet to track all my W-2s and verify the excess calculation myself. I added up all the Social Security wages from each W-2, then calculated what the correct SS tax should have been based on the annual limit ($160,200 wage base for 2023). The difference between what was actually withheld versus what should have been withheld was my excess. Once I confirmed the excess amount was correct, I made sure it properly flowed through Schedule 3, Line 11 to Form 1040, Line 31, and finally into Line 33 as part of total payments. In my case, the excess SS tax did reduce my overall tax bill, but I still owed money because my withholding from all sources wasn't enough to cover my total tax liability. The IRS processed my return without any issues, and the excess Social Security tax was automatically applied as a credit. No additional forms needed beyond Schedule 3. If you're still unsure about whether it was properly applied in your case, definitely worth double-checking those line transfers or getting a professional review.

Definitely file an appeal, but also check if you've lost any exemptions you might have had before. When my mom's taxes suddenly increased, it turned out her homestead exemption had been removed by mistake. The county claimed they sent a verification form that she never returned, but she never received it. Once she reapplied for the exemption, her taxes went back down.

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this stress! As a fellow single parent, I know how devastating an unexpected $270/month increase can be to a tight budget. Based on what everyone's shared here, it sounds like you've already identified the main culprit - that 1,000 sq ft error in the county records! That's almost certainly why your assessment doubled while your neighbors stayed the same. A 57% increase in recorded square footage would absolutely explain a 95% jump in property value. Here's what I'd recommend doing immediately: 1. Gather your original purchase paperwork, closing documents, or any floor plans that show the correct 1,750 sq ft 2. Take photos of each room to document what you actually have vs. what they think you have 3. Print out your neighbors' assessments from the county website to show the disparity 4. File that appeal ASAP - most counties have deadlines (usually 30-60 days from when you received the notice) The good news is that square footage errors are usually pretty straightforward to fix once you have documentation. The bad news is you'll likely still need to pay the full amount by the due date even while appealing, but you should get a substantial refund once it's corrected. You've got this! With that obvious error in their records, you have a really strong case for getting this fixed.

Have you tried checking the IRS2Go app? Sometimes it shows different information than the website. According to the r/IRS community wiki, the 971 code could mean several different things depending on what other codes appear with it. Do you have any other codes like 570 (refund hold) or 420 (examination/audit) on your transcript?

I'm in a very similar situation right now! Got the 971 code last week and have been checking my transcript daily. Reading through everyone's experiences here is really helpful - it sounds like most of the time it's just routine verification stuff, especially for first-time joint filers like us. I'm going to wait for the notice to arrive rather than rushing to the local office. @KylieRose thanks for the tip about checking the online account portal - I didn't know they sometimes post notices there before mailing them. Will definitely check that today!