ur almost at the finish line! 846 is what we all pray for 🙏

Congrats on getting your 846! In my experience, once that code appears with a date, it's pretty solid. The IRS has already scheduled your refund for processing. I've been tracking refunds for years and rarely see the 846 date itself change - maybe bank issues could delay deposit but the IRS side is locked in. Your 3/13 date should be good to go! 🎉

One thing that might help speed up the process is to gather all your documentation before you start. For the CNC application, you'll need bank statements, proof of expenses, and documentation showing you have no assets or income. Having everything ready when you call the IRS will make the process much smoother. Also, when you contact the DMV about reinstatement requirements, ask specifically about their "tax debt suspension release" procedures. Some states have streamlined processes for people who are working with the IRS on tax issues. They might have specific forms or procedures that are faster than the general reinstatement process. Keep in mind that even with CNC status, you'll want to stay in compliance going forward. Once you start earning income again, you'll need to file returns on time and may need to make payments to maintain your agreement with the IRS. Good luck with getting your CDL - having that skill set will definitely help you get back on your feet financially.

I'm dealing with a very similar situation right now - about $185k in back taxes and just discovered my license is suspended when I tried to renew it last week. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful, especially the advice about tackling both the IRS and DMV simultaneously. One thing I wanted to add that I learned from my initial call to the DMV yesterday: make sure to ask them specifically about their "administrative hold" vs "court-ordered suspension" policies. In my state, tax-related suspensions are administrative holds, which have different reinstatement procedures than court-ordered suspensions. The DMV rep told me that for administrative holds related to taxes, they can often process reinstatement much faster once they receive the proper documentation from the IRS. Also, if you're completely broke like I am, ask the IRS about waiving the user fees for payment plans during your CNC application. They can waive the $31 setup fee and $43 restructuring fee if you meet low-income guidelines, which sounds like you definitely would. The key seems to be getting that compliance/release letter from the IRS as quickly as possible. I'm going to try the Claimyr service mentioned above to actually get through to a human at the IRS - spending a few bucks to save weeks of phone tag seems worth it when you need to get back to work ASAP.

What tax software do u guys use for business expenses? I've been using TurboTax but it feels like it doesnt really explain the warranty stuff very well...wondering if theres something better for small business owners?

Just wanted to add something that might be helpful - make sure you keep the warranty documents separate from your equipment receipts in your tax files. I learned this the hard way when my accountant needed to see the breakdown between equipment cost and warranty cost for my deductions. Also, if you're buying multiple pieces of equipment at once (like your camera and laptop), some retailers will give you a discount if you bundle the warranties together. I saved about $75 doing this last year, and the bundled warranty was still fully deductible since it was all for business equipment. One more tip: if you end up not needing to use the warranty and it has a money-back guarantee or partial refund option, any refund you receive would need to be reported as income if you already deducted the full warranty cost. Just something to keep in mind for future tax years!

My company just went thru this last year. One thing to watch for in some states is that sales tax registration can sometimes AUTOMATICALLY register you with the Sec of State as a foreign entity!!!! We didn't know this and ended up with penalties for not filing annual reports in 2 states where we thought we were just registered for sales tax.

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm dealing with a similar situation expanding from my home state into multiple others. One thing I'd add for anyone reading this - make sure you understand the difference between "doing business" and just having sales tax nexus. Some states have a lower threshold for requiring foreign entity registration than they do for income tax obligations. You might trigger the requirement to register as a foreign entity (and file annual reports) even if you don't owe income tax in that state. Also, keep detailed records of WHERE your sales are coming from geographically. Some states look at where your customers are located, others look at where you ship from or deliver to. This can affect both your nexus calculations and how you apportion income if you do end up owing tax in multiple states. The tools mentioned here sound really useful - I've been trying to track all this manually in spreadsheets and it's becoming unmanageable as we grow. Definitely going to check out some of these resources before we hit our next threshold states.

Just wanted to add my experience - we handled a similar situation differently. Our foreign investor (30% shareholder) paid some corporate expenses directly, and our CPA advised us to treat these as capital contributions rather than loans. The key factors in our decision were: 1. There was no expectation of repayment 2. No loan agreement was created at the time 3. The payments were relatively small (under $5k total) We documented this with a corporate resolution acknowledging the payments as capital contributions, which increased the shareholder's basis in the company. This was reported on line 19 of Part IV ("Capital contributions") instead of line 9 or 22. The approach you take really depends on whether there's an expectation of repayment or not.

I think everyone is overlooking the simplest approach here. When a foreign shareholder pays expenses on behalf of the corporation, you can treat this as a reimbursable expense. The corporation should record an account payable to the shareholder, and then when funds are available, reimburse them. This wouldn't need to be reported on Form 5472 at all if the reimbursement is done within a reasonable timeframe and at the exact amount (with no interest or other compensation). It's only when the arrangement becomes a long-term financing solution that it should be treated as a loan or capital contribution requiring 5472 reporting.