I've been doing backdoor Roth conversions for about 5 years now and have some tips for Form 8606. FreeTaxUSA actually handles it pretty well, but there are a few tricky parts: 1. Make sure you're entering the non-deductible contribution on lines 1-3 of Form 8606 2. The conversion amount goes on lines 8-9 3. If you had zero earnings between contribution and conversion, lines 8 and 3 should match 4. Line 14 should be zero if you converted the entire amount Most important: keep records of all your Form 8606s from previous years! The IRS doesn't track your basis for you, and if you're audited, you'll need to prove your basis history.

Friendly warning from someone who messed this up last year: make absolutely sure you check that final Form 8606 before filing! FreeTaxUSA got my basis wrong because I had done partial conversions over multiple years. Double check that: - Line 2 shows any carryover basis from prior years (should be $0 for your first backdoor) - Line 14 should be $0 if you converted everything - Line 18 should match your conversion amount - Don't forget to include the 1099-R for the conversion!

Does anyone know if you have to pay self employment tax if your net business income was negative? I had about $2,800 in freelance income but spent over $3,000 on equipment and supplies. Will I still have to pay the SE tax even though I technically lost money?

This is a really helpful thread! I'm dealing with a similar situation where I have both W-2 income and some 1099 contractor work. One thing I learned the hard way is that even if you have taxes withheld from your regular job, it doesn't necessarily cover the self-employment tax from your side income. The SE tax is calculated separately and can't be satisfied by withholding from your W-2 job. So even if you think you've had "enough" taxes taken out throughout the year, you might still owe when you file if you have self-employment income. For next year, I'm planning to either increase my W-4 withholding at my main job to cover the expected SE tax, or make quarterly estimated payments specifically for the self-employment portion. The IRS has worksheets to help calculate how much you should set aside - it's usually around 25-30% of your net self-employment income to cover both the SE tax and any income tax on that earnings.

One thing nobody's mentioned - there's a potential workaround here. If her parents agree not to claim her (maybe because you're providing more support), they can file Form 8332 which releases their claim. This is usually used for divorced parents but can work in other situations too. My brother and his girlfriend worked this out with her parents - they calculated everything and determined he provided 48% of support while her parents provided 52%. But since he needed the tax break more as a young professional with student loans, her parents agreed to sign the form and let him claim her.

Don't forget there are two types of dependents: qualifying child and qualifying relative. GF would fall under qualifying relative, which means: 1. They don't need to be related if they lived with you all year 2. Their gross income must be under $4,700 3. You must provide over half of total support 4. They can't be claimed as a qualifying child by someone else The support test is the big one. Calculate EVERYTHING: - Housing (fair rental value of space) - Food - Utilities - Medical/dental - Education - Clothing - Transportation Car insurance, health insurance and phone are definitely part of support calculation, so add those to her parents' side.

Does anyone know if HRBlock handles this Form 8606 issue better than FreeTaxUSA? I'm considering switching tax software because I keep having issues with where to enter non-deductible contributions.

I ran into this exact same issue last year! The key is that FreeTaxUSA separates current year contributions from the basis tracking questions, which is super confusing. Here's what you need to do: 1. Go to the **Deductions** section (not the retirement/IRA section where you'd expect) 2. Look for "Traditional and Roth IRA Contributions" or similar wording 3. Enter your $7000 contribution for 2024 4. When it asks if the contribution is deductible, select **"No"** or **"Non-deductible"** 5. Complete any follow-up questions about income limits, etc. Once you do this, FreeTaxUSA should automatically populate Form 8606 Line 1 with your $7000. The form should then show: - Line 1: $7000 (2024 non-deductible contribution) - Line 2: $6500 (prior year basis) - Line 3: $13500 (total basis) The software will then correctly calculate that only the $1400 in gains from your 1099-R is taxable, not your $13500 in contributions. This workflow has caught me off guard before because logically you'd think all IRA stuff would be in the retirement section, but FreeTaxUSA requires you to enter contributions as potential deductions first before it knows to treat them as non-deductible basis.

Wait I'm confused about something else on my W-2 now. If box 1 shows my taxable wages after the Cafe 125 deductions, why are the amounts in boxes 3 and 5 (Social Security and Medicare wages) different from box 1? Shouldn't they all be the same number?

This is exactly the kind of confusion I had when I first started looking at my W-2! The relationship between Cafe 125 and Box 12a DD can definitely be tricky to understand. Just to summarize what others have explained perfectly: Your Cafe 125 deduction of $2,540.23 is money YOU contributed pre-tax to benefits (likely health insurance premiums). The Box 12a DD amount of $11,187.45 is the TOTAL cost of your health coverage - both what you paid ($2,540.23) AND what your employer paid (roughly $8,647.22). The good news is that Cafe 125 deduction saved you money! By paying for health insurance with pre-tax dollars, you avoided paying federal income tax, Social Security tax, and Medicare tax on that $2,540.23. That's probably around $600-800 in tax savings depending on your tax bracket. The DD amount is just informational - it doesn't affect your taxes at all. It's there to help you understand the full value of your employee benefits package. Pretty generous employer contribution you have there!