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So grateful for this tax community! You all seem like wizards at this stuff. I'm hitting a wall with TaxSlayer (probably switching next year) and reporting my stock losses from Fidelity's 1099-B. I've been reading about Form 8949 everywhere, but I don't see it included in my Fidelity packet. I've got a few basic questions that are driving me crazy: A) Do I seriously need to report EVERY single stock purchase and sale from 2023? I made a bunch of trades and that seems excessive. B) If I don't need to report everything individually, what dates am I supposed to put in the "acquired" and "sold" fields? C) Where the heck do I enter wash sales in TaxSlayer? Is there a specific section for this? I don't mind complicated stuff usually, but it's frustrating having to ask strangers online just to file my taxes correctly. Any help would be amazing!
Got approved for my Maryland state refund on 2/6 with Chime bank but still no deposit. I'm looking at the Maryland Comptroller website right now and it clearly states: "Your refund has been adjusted and was approved on 2/6/2025. If you requested a direct deposit of your refund, it was released to your account on the approved date. According to Federal Reserve Guidelines, the funds should be available within 48 hours. You will receive a letter explaining the changes." It's been well over 48 hours now and I still haven't seen anything hit my Chime account. The website specifically states that the funds should be available within 48 hours after approval according to Federal Reserve Guidelines, but here I am still waiting with nothing. They mention I'll get a letter explaining what changes they made to my refund amount, but I haven't received that either. Is anyone else waiting on Maryland refunds to hit their account? I checked the website again and it says that if I haven't received my deposit or explanation letter, I can contact Taxpayer Service at 410-260-7980 from Central Maryland or at 1-800-MD TAXES from elsewhere. Assistance is available Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. I noticed they also mentioned that "Taxpayer Services Division offers extended telephone hours for individual income tax assistance from February 1 - April 15, 2025" but they're "experiencing high call volume" right now since it's tax season. As an alternative, they suggest sending an email to taxhelp@marylandtaxes.gov to receive an answer in 2-3 business days, but I was hoping to get this resolved faster. Has anyone else had their Chime deposit delayed like this? The Maryland tax website (interactive.marylandtaxes.gov) shows everything should be good to go, but the money just isn't showing up in my account. Should I just wait for the letter or try calling despite the high volume?
I'm dealing with a similar situation but with federal refunds. Sometimes there can be additional processing delays when there's an adjustment made to your refund - the system might need extra time to verify the changes before releasing funds. Since your refund was "adjusted" (not just approved), that could explain the delay beyond the normal 48-hour window. The fact that you haven't received the explanation letter yet also suggests they might still be processing everything on their end. I'd definitely call tomorrow if nothing shows up - even with high call volume, they should be able to give you a status update on both the deposit and the adjustment letter.
My wife's ITIN application (Form W7) was just rejected by the IRS. We submitted it at our local Taxpayer Assistance Center a few weeks ago, but apparently they didn't tell us we needed to include our tax return with the W7 form. Now we got this rejection letter saying we need to include her original passport AND our tax return when we resubmit. The timing couldn't be worse with tax season ramping up. The letter mentions an 11-week processing time, which is stressing me out since we need this sorted. I'm wondering if anyone knows if we can just go back to the Taxpayer Assistance Center to have her passport verified there instead of mailing in her original passport? I really don't want to send her actual passport through the mail. The only other option I found online was getting some kind of certification from the embassy that issued her passport, but that's not really doable for us right now. Has anyone successfully submitted a W7 form recently and had their passport verified at a Taxpayer Assistance Center? Any advice would be super helpful!
Just wanted to add something important - when we had our ITIN rejected, we learned that timing matters! If you submit your W7 with your tax return during the peak filing season (February-April), the processing time can be much longer than the estimated 11 weeks. We resubmitted in June after our initial rejection, and got the ITIN in about 7 weeks instead of 11. If your tax situation allows for it (like if you're getting a refund or don't owe much), consider filing an extension and then submitting when the IRS isn't as swamped.
I went through this exact situation last year! The TAC verification route is definitely your best bet - I was terrified to mail my wife's original passport too. One thing I learned that might help: when you call for the TAC appointment, ask specifically about their ITIN verification hours. Some locations only do ITIN services on certain days or during specific time slots, so you want to make sure you're booking during those times. Also, bring copies of everything in addition to the originals. The agent will verify the originals but keep copies for their records. And definitely bring that rejection letter you received - it helps the agent understand exactly what went wrong the first time. The 11-week timeline is frustrating, but once you get that stamped W7 from the TAC, you're in much better shape. Just make sure your tax return is completely filled out and accurate before you go to the appointment, because they'll review both documents together.
So I've got this situation where a family friend wants to give me a personal check for $1,300 as a gift/thank you for helping them move. They want to write me a check instead of cash, but I'm wondering about the tax implications here. If I take this check and just cash it at their bank or a check cashing place instead of depositing it in my account, is there any way for the IRS to know about this money? Would I need to report this on my taxes? I'm not trying to do anything shady, just wondering how this all works with personal checks and if cashing vs depositing makes any difference for tax purposes.
The real question is: how likely is the IRS to come after you for a single $1,300 check? I'm not saying to evade taxes, but realistically the IRS is looking for bigger fish...they're understaffed and focused on larger amounts. Just sayin.
This is terrible advice. The IRS uses automated systems that can flag discrepancies regardless of amount. If the person writing the check deducts it as a business expense and you don't report it as income, that's exactly the kind of mismatch that can trigger an automated review. Don't play with fire!
Just to add another perspective here - I work in banking and see this situation a lot. The method of receiving payment (cash vs deposit vs check cashing) really doesn't change your tax obligations. What matters is the substance of the transaction. If you performed work (helping with a move) and received payment for it, that's generally taxable income regardless of what anyone calls it or how you receive it. One thing I'd recommend is getting something in writing from your friend clarifying the nature of the payment. If it's truly a gift given out of friendship/gratitude with no expectation of services, document that. If it's payment for your time and labor helping them move, then be prepared to report it as income. The IRS looks at the economic reality of transactions, not just what people call them. Also worth noting - even if this particular transaction flies under the radar, establishing good tax compliance habits now will save you headaches later if your side income grows or if you face any kind of audit down the road.
Hey tax folks, I'm in a bit of a jam trying to wrap up a partnership return for my husband and his business associate. Their LLC is closing down and I'm confused about the capital accounts section on the K1 forms. When I'm filling out the K1s, should the entire capital (cash) amount the LLC had at year start be reported on each partner's K1 form? Or am I supposed to divide that cash balance between them somehow? Some additional context: - This is the final return since they're shutting down the business - They split all remaining cash exactly 50/50 - My husband was the only one who used personal funds for some business expenses last year I've been staring at these forms for hours and just can't figure out the right way to handle the capital accounts. Any help would be super appreciated!
Don't forget to check if either partner had a negative capital account before the final distribution! This can create unexpected tax consequences. If one partner's capital account went negative during operations (meaning they took out more than they put in plus their share of profits), that negative balance is treated as income to that partner when the partnership dissolves. Also, make sure you file Form 8594 (Asset Acquisition Statement) if the partnership is selling any assets as part of the dissolution. And don't forget to file Form 966 to formally dissolve the entity with the IRS.
Neither partner has a negative capital account, fortunately. But I hadn't heard about Form 8594! They didn't really sell any physical assets though - they just distributed the remaining cash and closed their bank account. Are there other forms I need to file beyond the 1065 and K-1s to properly close the partnership?
If they only distributed cash and didn't sell any assets to a third party, then you don't need Form 8594. That form is only required when business assets are sold. For properly closing a partnership, you'll need: Form 1065 with the "final return" box checked, Schedule K-1s for each partner marked as final, and potentially Form 966 (Corporate Dissolution or Liquidation) depending on how the LLC was classified for tax purposes. If it was always treated as a partnership, Form 966 isn't typically required. Also, don't forget state-level filings! Most states require some type of formal dissolution filing with the Secretary of State or similar agency. This is separate from the tax filings but equally important to properly close the business and prevent future filing requirements or penalties.
One more thing - check if either partner had any unreimbursed business expenses (UBE) they paid personally. These can be reported on Schedule E of their personal returns rather than being treated as capital contributions on the K-1. This is often better tax treatment since capital contributions don't directly reduce tax liability but UBEs can.
I thought the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act eliminated unreimbursed business expenses for partners? Isn't that part of the miscellaneous itemized deductions that were suspended through 2025?
You're absolutely right - the TCJA did suspend unreimbursed employee business expenses as miscellaneous itemized deductions through 2025. However, for partnership purposes, when a partner pays business expenses personally that should have been paid by the partnership, these are typically treated as capital contributions to the partnership rather than personal deductions anyway. The partnership then gets the deduction, and it flows through to the partners via their K-1s. So in this dissolution case, treating them as capital contributions on the K-1 is likely the correct approach.
Keith Davidson
Just to add another option since people are discussing alternatives - I gave up on trying to do all this manually and just imported my 1099-B directly into TaxSlayer. There's an import function that's somewhat hidden: 1. Go to the Income section 2. Select "Import Data" 3. Choose your broker (Fidelity is supported) 4. Follow the login prompts It automatically categorizes everything, including the wash sales. Saved me hours of manual entry and math. You might need to pay for the premium version though - I don't think this feature is in the free version.
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Ezra Bates
Does this actually work well? Last year I tried importing from TD Ameritrade and it missed half my transactions. Ended up having to do everything manually anyway and it was a nightmare.
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Keith Davidson
It worked pretty well for me with Fidelity, but I've heard mixed results with other brokers. The key thing is to verify everything after import - click through each category and make sure the totals match your 1099-B. I did have to manually adjust a few things, particularly some transactions that had basis adjustments. But even with those fixes, it was still way faster than entering 80+ trades manually. If you have a reasonable number of transactions (under 20 or so), manual entry might actually be simpler than dealing with potential import issues.
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Ana ErdoΔan
FYI - TurboTax handles 1099-B and Form 8949 reporting much better than TaxSlayer in my experience. I switched this year after having similar frustrations. They have a direct import feature that works with most brokerages, and they're much clearer about how to handle wash sales and basis reporting. Yes, it costs more, but when you're dealing with investment transactions, the extra guidance is worth it. They also have much better support if you get stuck.
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Sophia Carson
I see people recommending TurboTax for everything, but it's so expensive compared to TaxSlayer! Is it really that much better for investment reporting? Does it generate Form 8949 correctly? I day trade so I have hundreds of transactions...
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Aisha Hussain
For day trading with hundreds of transactions, TurboTax is definitely worth the extra cost. It handles bulk imports much better than TaxSlayer and automatically generates Form 8949 correctly. The wash sale calculations are also more reliable when you have that volume of trades. However, if you're already stuck in TaxSlayer for this year, you might want to check out taxr.ai like others mentioned above. It can help organize your transactions properly for TaxSlayer's format, which could save you from having to switch mid-filing. But definitely consider TurboTax for next year - the time savings alone justify the price when you're dealing with day trading volumes.
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