Ive been a tax preparer for 8 years and ppl get confused about this all the time! Here's a quick cheat sheet for adult kids: 1. Over 19 (or over 24 if student) + income over $4,700 = NOT your dependent 2. Under 19 (or under 24 if student) + income ANY amount = CAN be your dependent if you provide >50% support and they live with you The only exception is permanently disabled adult children who can be dependents regardless of age.

Just to add another perspective - I went through this exact situation with my 19-year-old last year. She made about $6,800 working retail and I was so frustrated that I couldn't claim her even though I was paying for everything else in her life. What helped me was looking at it this way: even though you lose the dependent exemption, your kids will likely get most of their withheld taxes back as refunds since they're in such low tax brackets. In my daughter's case, she got back about $900 that had been withheld from her paychecks. Also, don't forget that you might still qualify for other tax benefits even if you can't claim them as dependents. If either of your kids takes any college courses (even just one class), you could potentially claim education credits. And if you're paying for their health insurance, you can still deduct those premiums in some situations. The IRS rules seem harsh but they're designed to prevent double-dipping - your kids get to keep their refunds, and the system assumes adults earning income should file their own returns.

A $10.5k refund means your essentially giving the government an interest-free loan of almost $900 a month!!! Thats crazy in this economy. I changed my withholdings last february and now i get an extra $600 in my checks every month. Just make sure u have a little cushion in case the calculator is wrong.

I've been using Taxcaster for a few years now and I'd say it's decent for a rough estimate but definitely not perfect. The biggest issue I've found is that it doesn't handle more complex tax situations very well - like if you have multiple income sources, itemized deductions, or any unusual circumstances. That said, a $10.5k refund does sound like you're significantly overwithholding! Even if Taxcaster is off by 20-30%, you're still probably getting way more back than you should be. I'd recommend starting conservatively - maybe adjust your withholdings to reduce your expected refund by half rather than trying to zero it out completely. That way you still get some extra money in your paychecks but have a safety buffer. Also, definitely double-check your inputs in Taxcaster and consider running the numbers through the IRS Withholding Calculator as well. Having two different estimates can help you feel more confident about making changes.

I went through almost exactly your situation in 2023. Filed in January, needed refund urgently, contacted TAS on March 12th, and didn't hear back until April 27th - exactly 46 days later. When they finally reached out, my case was resolved in precisely 3 days. The frustrating reality is that TAS is handling 500% more cases than they were designed for. One thing I learned: document EVERYTHING. Note every call time, representative name, reference number, and promised follow-up date. In my case, having this detailed record of my 14 previous contact attempts actually helped expedite things once I finally got through. If you're facing eviction in 7 days, I'd recommend physically going to your local Taxpayer Assistance Center - they can sometimes intervene in true emergency situations.

I'm so sorry you're going through this - the stress of potentially losing housing with 5 kids while dealing with IRS delays must be overwhelming. From what I've learned lurking in this community, TAS is severely backlogged right now, but there are a few things you might try immediately: 1. **Emergency hardship designation**: Since you're facing imminent eviction, call TAS and specifically use the phrase "emergency hardship case" - this should trigger faster processing according to their own guidelines. 2. **Local Taxpayer Assistance Center**: As Lucy mentioned, showing up in person with documentation of your eviction notice might get you faster help than phone calls. 3. **Multiple congressional offices**: Don't just contact your representative - try both senators too. Sometimes one office is more responsive than others. 4. **Document everything**: Keep a detailed log of every interaction, including times you were hung up on. This creates a paper trail that can be useful for escalation. The system is clearly broken when families are at risk of homelessness while waiting for their own tax money. You shouldn't have to choose between paying for third-party services and keeping a roof over your kids' heads. Have you been able to get any written confirmation from TAS about your case status or timeline?

Hey Freya! I totally understand the confusion - I went through the exact same thing when I first set up my Solo 401k. The distinction absolutely DOES matter, and here's why: You get two separate contribution buckets as a self-employed person. The "employee" contribution is limited to $23,000 for 2025 (this is like your salary deferral), while the "employer" contribution can be up to 25% of your net self-employment earnings (but there's a formula that effectively makes it about 20%). With your $96k income, you could potentially contribute the full $23k as employee contributions PLUS additional employer contributions based on your net profit after expenses and SE tax adjustments. The total combined limit is $69,000 for 2025. The key deadline difference: employee contributions must be made by December 31, 2025, but employer contributions can wait until your tax filing deadline (including extensions). Since you're running out of time for 2025, focus on maximizing your employee contributions first - you can always add employer contributions when you file your taxes next year!

The timing aspect is really crucial here! Since you mentioned you're running out of time, I'd recommend focusing on getting your employee contributions maxed out first before December 31st. You can contribute up to $23,000 as employee deferrals, and this is the portion that has the hard year-end deadline. For your employer contribution calculation with $96k in income, you'll need to factor in your business expenses and the SE tax adjustment that others mentioned. The effective rate works out to about 20% of your net self-employment income after all adjustments, which could be a substantial additional contribution on top of the $23k employee portion. The good news is you have until your tax filing deadline (even with extensions) to make the employer contributions, so don't stress too much about getting that exact calculation perfect right now. Focus on maximizing that $23k employee contribution before year-end, then work with a tax professional early next year to optimize your employer contribution based on your final 2025 numbers. One last tip - if your Solo 401k plan allows Roth contributions, you might want to consider designating some or all of your employee contributions as Roth, especially if you expect higher income in future years. The employer portion will be pre-tax regardless, so this gives you some tax diversification.

This thread has been incredibly helpful in clarifying the S-Corp owning LLCs structure. I'm in a similar situation with multiple business ventures and was also confused about the terminology. One thing I'd add based on my research is that you'll want to consider the state-level implications too. While federally the LLCs owned by your S-Corp will be treated as divisions, some states have different rules for state tax purposes. For example, some states require separate LLC tax filings even when they're federally disregarded entities owned by an S-Corp. Also, regarding the liability protection discussion - make sure you understand that while the LLC structure protects between business lines, it doesn't protect you personally from professional liability in businesses where you're directly involved. If you're providing professional services through any of these LLCs, you'll still have personal exposure for your own actions, regardless of the entity structure. The holding company approach with an S-Corp owning multiple LLCs is definitely a solid strategy for what you're trying to accomplish, just make sure your implementation covers all the operational details mentioned in the comments above.

This discussion has been really enlightening! I've been wrestling with a similar structure question for my consulting and e-commerce businesses. One additional consideration I'd mention is the impact on your Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction under Section 199A. When you have an S-Corp owning multiple LLCs that are treated as divisions, all the income flows through to your personal return as S-Corp income. Depending on your income level and the nature of your businesses, this could affect how much of the 20% QBI deduction you can claim compared to if you structured things differently. For example, if one of your business lines is a "specified service trade or business" (like consulting, law, accounting, etc.), the QBI deduction phases out at higher income levels. But if your other businesses are non-service businesses, they might not have the same limitations. Your tax advisor should be able to model this out for you, but it's worth understanding how the entity structure affects this deduction since it can be pretty significant. The holding company approach is still likely the right move for liability protection, but the QBI implications might influence other decisions like how you take distributions or whether you elect S-Corp treatment for any of the subsidiaries.