Your dad's situation is definitely fixable, but time is critical here. I agree with the advice to apply for Social Security immediately - don't wait for the tax situation to be resolved first. The SSA can work with his earnings record that employers have been reporting all these years. For the tax side, start by requesting wage and income transcripts from the IRS for all the unfiled years. You can do this online at irs.gov or by calling them (though as others mentioned, getting through can be challenging). These transcripts will show what income was reported by his employers and any taxes withheld. Since he had taxes withheld from his paychecks, he likely doesn't owe anything and may even be due refunds for some years. The key is getting those last 6 years filed to bring him into compliance. Given the complexity and the urgency with his health situation, I'd strongly recommend working with a tax professional who has experience with unfiled returns - they can streamline the process and help avoid costly mistakes. The most important thing is to take action now rather than letting this drag on any longer. Both his Social Security benefits and potential tax refunds are time-sensitive.

I went through almost the exact same situation with my father-in-law two years ago. He hadn't filed in about 18 years and was panicking about Social Security eligibility. Here's what we learned that might help: First, definitely start the Social Security application ASAP as others have mentioned - the earnings record from employers is what matters most for benefits, not tax filings. We were amazed to discover his full work history was already in their system from employer reporting. For the IRS side, we found out that since taxes were withheld from his paychecks the whole time, he actually qualified for what's called "substitute for return" status for many years where the IRS basically filed simplified returns on his behalf. This meant he wasn't in as much trouble as we feared. The real breakthrough came when we got his wage and income transcripts for all the missing years. It showed that for 4 of the years, he was actually owed refunds totaling over $3,200 (though we could only claim the ones from the last 3 years). We ended up only needing to file the last 6 years to get him current, and the whole process took about 3 months working with a tax professional who specialized in unfiled returns. The key was getting started immediately - don't let fear of the IRS paralyze you into waiting longer. Your dad's health situation makes this urgent, but it's absolutely manageable. The government actually wants people to get caught up and claim their benefits!

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I've been struggling with this exact issue for my tax preparation. I have three rental properties that I actively manage (tenant screening, minor repairs, property showings) and was completely confused about whether this "active" management meant I should use Schedule C. Based on the discussion here, it's clear that Schedule E is the right choice for my situation since I'm managing my own investments, not providing services to other property owners. The clarification about avoiding self-employment tax while still being able to deduct all legitimate expenses is huge - I had no idea I was potentially overpaying taxes by considering Schedule C. One follow-up question: I sometimes hire contractors for bigger repairs on my properties. Should I be issuing 1099s to contractors who do work on my Schedule E rental properties, or is that only required for Schedule C business activities? I paid my handyman about $3,200 last year and want to make sure I'm handling the reporting correctly. Also, @Emily Parker, your point about QBI deduction eligibility is something I hadn't considered at all. I'll definitely need to look into whether my rental income qualifies - that 20% deduction could be substantial on my rental profits.

This is exactly the kind of confusion I had when I first started with rental properties! The key distinction that helped me understand it was thinking about WHO you're providing services to. If you're managing your own rental properties (even very actively with repairs, tenant screening, marketing vacancies, etc.), you're managing your own investments - that's Schedule E. The income isn't subject to self-employment tax, and you can deduct all ordinary and necessary rental expenses. Schedule C would only come into play if you were providing property management services to OTHER people's properties as a business, or if you were a real estate dealer (buying/selling frequently rather than holding for rental income). One thing I learned the hard way - make sure you're tracking your expenses properly on Schedule E. You can deduct a lot more than you might think: advertising for tenants, legal fees, travel to properties, even a portion of your home office if you use it exclusively for managing your rentals. Just keep good records and receipts for everything. The material participation rules that you mentioned are more about passive activity loss limitations - they don't change whether you use Schedule C vs E. Even if you don't materially participate, rental income still goes on Schedule E (it just might be subject to different loss limitation rules).

I'm a former banking operations specialist, and there may be some additional factors at play here. Chase, like most large banks, typically processes ACH transfers in batches, usually around 2-3 times per day. If the IRS transmission occurred after the final batch on 3/19, it would likely be processed the following business day. Additionally, there could possibly be a security hold if this is a new account, if the amount is significantly larger than previous deposits, or if there have been recent account changes. These holds are generally 2-3 business days but can extend to 5 business days in some circumstances.

I'm dealing with this exact same situation right now! My DDD was 3/19 with Chase and I'm still waiting too. After reading all these responses, I called Chase this morning using the advice from @Lucy Taylor about calling the direct deposit department specifically. The rep told me they can see a "processing deposit" from the Treasury that should post within 24-48 hours. She said it's been in their system since 3/20 but got flagged for their standard tax refund verification process. Apparently this is happening to a lot of Chase customers with DDDs from 3/19. Really frustrating that they don't show these as pending in online banking! I'll update once it hits my account.

I'm fairly new to business ownership myself and this whole discussion has been incredibly helpful! I had a similar misconception about using loans to reduce taxable income - it seemed like such an obvious strategy that I was surprised more people weren't talking about it. Now I understand why - because it doesn't actually work that way! The distinction between loan proceeds (not taxable) and loan payments (not deductible) versus actual business expenses (potentially deductible) is really important. What's been most valuable for me is learning about the legitimate ways to use financing strategically. The Section 179 deduction for equipment purchases sounds like something I should definitely research more. I've been bootstrapping everything so far, but it sounds like there might be real advantages to financing certain business investments rather than paying cash, especially if it helps with cash flow while still providing tax benefits. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences with the various tax services and tools too. As someone who's been trying to handle everything myself, it's clear I probably need some professional guidance to make sure I'm not missing opportunities or making costly mistakes.

This is such a great discussion! As someone who made similar mistakes early in my business journey, I wanted to add a few practical points that might help other newcomers. The loan repayment vs. business expense distinction really clicked for me when my accountant explained it this way: imagine you had $65k in cash sitting in your business account from profits. Whether you use that cash to pay off a loan, buy a car, or invest in equipment doesn't change the fact that you earned $65k in taxable profit. The IRS taxes the earning of income, not how you choose to spend it afterward. What's been game-changing for my business is learning to plan major purchases around tax strategy. Instead of buying equipment when I "feel like I have extra money," I now time purchases strategically - sometimes using financing even when I could pay cash, specifically to preserve working capital while still getting the immediate tax deductions. One mistake I see a lot of new business owners make is thinking they need to spend money at year-end just for tax purposes. But the best approach is identifying what your business actually needs over the next 1-2 years, then timing those purchases and financing decisions to optimize both cash flow and tax benefits. The resources others have mentioned in this thread sound really helpful - it's clear that having good guidance makes a huge difference in avoiding costly misunderstandings about business taxes!

This is such a common problem! I went through the exact same thing last year with employee stock awards. The key thing to remember is that when your employer gives you stock, they're required to report its fair market value as income on your W-2 at the time of grant. So you've already paid income tax on that amount. When you sell the stock later and get a 1099-B, the brokerage often shows $0 cost basis because they don't have access to your employment records. But your actual cost basis should be whatever amount was already taxed as income on your W-2. So in your case, if your pay stub showed $450 in stock compensation that was already taxed, that's your cost basis. You'd only owe capital gains tax on the $150 difference ($600 proceeds - $450 basis). Make sure to adjust this in your tax software or you'll end up paying tax twice on the same $450! Keep good records of when you received the stock and what value was reported as income - you'll need this for future reference.

Great advice in this thread! I just wanted to add that if you're dealing with ESPP (Employee Stock Purchase Plan) shares, the situation can be even more complex. With ESPP, part of the discount you received when purchasing the shares might be treated as compensation income (reported on your W-2), while the rest is treated as capital gains when you sell. For example, if your company offered a 15% discount on stock through ESPP, that discount amount should have been included as taxable income on your W-2 when you sold the shares. Your cost basis would then be the actual price you paid plus any amount that was reported as compensation income. The key is always to check your W-2 and pay stubs for any stock-related compensation that's already been taxed. Don't let the 1099-B fool you into thinking your cost basis is zero - that almost never reflects the true tax situation for employee stock benefits!