One important aspect that hasn't been fully addressed is the Spanish tax implications once you establish residency there. Spain has a "Beckham Law" (Ley Beckham) that might be relevant to your situation - it allows new Spanish tax residents to pay tax only on Spanish-sourced income for up to 6 years, rather than on worldwide income. However, this special regime has specific requirements: you must not have been a Spanish tax resident in the 10 years prior to moving, your work must be performed in Spain, and you need to apply within 6 months of becoming a Spanish tax resident. If you qualify, this could significantly simplify your Spanish tax obligations while you're running your US S-Corp. Also, regarding your S-Corp distributions - these will likely be treated as dividends under Spanish tax law and may be subject to different rates than your salary income. Spain generally taxes dividend income at progressive rates (19-28% depending on the amount), but the US-Spain tax treaty should allow you to credit Spanish taxes paid against your US tax liability. Make sure you're aware of Spain's Modelo 720 reporting requirement if you have foreign assets (including your US bank accounts and S-Corp shares) exceeding €50,000. The penalties for non-compliance are severe, so it's crucial to stay on top of this reporting obligation. I'd strongly recommend consulting with a Spanish tax advisor who specializes in US expats to ensure you're taking advantage of all available benefits and meeting all compliance requirements.

One crucial aspect I haven't seen mentioned yet is the potential impact on your S-Corp election itself. The IRS has specific rules about S-Corp shareholders, and extended foreign residency can sometimes complicate things, especially if you end up becoming a non-resident alien for tax purposes (though as a US citizen, this is less likely). More importantly, you'll want to be very careful about how you document your work location for the IRS. Since you're physically in Spain but working for your US S-Corp, make sure you can clearly demonstrate that your business activities and decision-making are still US-based if questioned. This can help support your position that the S-Corp income is US-sourced rather than Spanish-sourced. Also, consider the timing of your S-Corp distributions carefully. Since Spain taxes dividend income progressively and you might be able to use the foreign tax credit, it could be beneficial to time larger distributions in years when your Spanish tax rate is lower or when you have other foreign tax credits available. One last tip: keep meticulous records of your physical presence in each country. This will be essential for both the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion calculations and for Spanish tax residency determinations. I use a simple spreadsheet tracking entry/exit dates, but there are also apps designed specifically for this purpose. The intersection of S-Corp taxation and international living is complex, but definitely manageable with proper planning and documentation!

Something that might be worth considering is the timing of when you actually take possession of these stocks. Since you mentioned they've grown from $5,500 to $63,000, and assuming your parents are in a higher tax bracket than you, there could be some strategic timing considerations. If you're planning to sell any of these stocks in the near future, you might want to consider whether it makes sense to do the transfer now versus waiting until after you've held them for the full long-term capital gains period (assuming they already qualify). Also, if you're currently in a lower tax bracket than your parents, the eventual capital gains tax burden might be lower when you sell. Another thing to keep in mind is that once these stocks are transferred to you, any future dividends will be taxed at your rate rather than your parents' rate. Depending on your respective tax situations, this could be beneficial. I'd also recommend getting a current fair market value appraisal of all the stocks on the date of transfer - this will be important for the gift tax reporting and for your own records. Most brokerages can provide this documentation easily.

One additional consideration that hasn't been mentioned is the potential impact on your financial aid if you're still in school or planning to pursue graduate education. Once these investments are transferred to your name, they'll count as your assets on the FAFSA, which could significantly impact your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and reduce your eligibility for need-based financial aid. Student assets are assessed at a much higher rate (20%) than parent assets (up to 5.64%) for financial aid calculations. With $63,000 in investments, this could potentially reduce your aid eligibility by over $12,000 per year compared to keeping them in your parents' names. If you're planning to apply for financial aid in the near future, you might want to consider delaying the transfer until after you complete your education, or at least factor this into your decision-making process. Of course, if financial aid isn't a concern for your situation, then this wouldn't be relevant. Just thought it was worth mentioning since this can be a significant overlooked consequence of asset transfers to young adults!

The advance is basically a contract. Your required to file with them to get the loan paid back properly. Its in the fine print noone reads lol

Yeah unfortunately that's how these refund advance loans work - they create a binding agreement that ties you to their filing service. The advance is essentially a short-term loan against your expected refund, and Jackson Hewitt needs to be the one processing your return to ensure the loan gets repaid directly from your refund. If you file elsewhere, you'd have to manually repay the advance which defeats the whole purpose. Lesson learned for next year - if you want flexibility in choosing your tax prep service, skip the advance and just wait for your actual refund!

This thread has been incredibly educational! I'm in a very similar situation with my employer's HSA through US Bank - terrible investment options and high fees. After reading through everyone's experiences, I'm convinced that Giovanni's hybrid approach is the way to go. I just called my HR department to confirm the details of our HSA program, and they confirmed we can do unlimited outgoing transfers with just a $20 fee per transfer. So quarterly transfers to Fidelity would cost me $80/year, but I'd still save the full FICA tax benefit (about $317 for me at the max contribution) plus get access to much better investment options. One thing I wanted to add for anyone else considering this - make sure to factor in your state tax situation too. Some states don't allow HSA deductions, so if you're in one of those states, the FICA savings become even more important since that's one of the few tax breaks you'll actually get on your HSA contributions. Thanks to everyone who shared their real-world experiences with this strategy. It's so much better than the theoretical advice you usually see online!

This has been such a valuable discussion! I'm in almost the exact same situation with my employer's HSA through PNC Bank - limited investment options and high fees. After reading through all the experiences shared here, I'm definitely going with the hybrid approach that several people have recommended. I just ran the numbers for my situation: I'd lose about $317 in FICA tax savings if I went straight to self-funding my own HSA, but with quarterly transfers from my employer's plan to Fidelity, I can capture those FICA savings while still getting access to better investment options. My employer's HSA charges $25 per outgoing transfer, so that's $100/year, but I'm still coming out $217 ahead on taxes alone, not even counting the long-term investment growth benefits. One thing I discovered when calling my HSA provider is that they actually waive the transfer fee if you maintain a minimum balance of $1,000 in the account. So I'm planning to keep about $1,200 in the employer HSA and transfer everything above that quarterly. This way I get the FICA savings, avoid transfer fees, and maximize my investment growth at Fidelity. For anyone else considering this strategy, definitely call your current HSA provider to ask about their specific transfer policies and fee structures - you might find some beneficial details that aren't obvious from their standard documentation!

I'm wondering if it matters that the OP only made $13.5k as a substitute teacher? Isn't that below the filing threshold anyway? Maybe they wouldn't have owed taxes regardless of this fake business?

This is absolutely tax fraud, and you need to act quickly to protect yourself. The fact that the preparer was so casual about creating a fictional business shows this isn't their first time doing something like this - which is terrifying. Here's your immediate action plan: First, file Form 1040-X (amended return) to remove the fake business loss. Even if you end up owing some taxes, it's infinitely better than having fraudulent information on your return. Second, report this preparer using Form 14157 and consider contacting your state's tax preparer licensing board if they have one. The good news is that with only $13,500 in income, you're likely under the standard deduction anyway, so you probably won't owe much (if anything) once you remove the fake business. But don't wait - the longer fraudulent information stays on your return, the worse it looks if the IRS discovers it during an audit. Document everything - save copies of your original return, any communications with the preparer, and notes about what happened. This will help if you need to prove you weren't complicit in the fraud. The preparer's casual attitude about this suggests they've done it before and will do it again to other unsuspecting clients.