Had something similar happen to me. The first thing you need to do is get a copy of your Wage and Income Transcript and your Account Transcript from the IRS. These will show what's been reported under your SSN and what returns have been filed. You can request these online at irs.gov/transcripts. Once you see what's actually been filed, you'll have a better idea of what you're dealing with. If what was filed is incorrect, you may need to file Form 14157 (Complaint: Tax Return Preparer) AND possibly Form 14157-A (Tax Return Preparer Fraud or Misconduct Affidavit).

This is absolutely unacceptable professional conduct. As someone who's dealt with IRS issues before, I can tell you that what your EA did - filing your return without your review or signature - is a serious violation that could have major consequences for you. Here's what I'd recommend doing immediately: 1. **Get your transcripts ASAP** - Request your Wage & Income Transcript and Account Transcript from the IRS online. This will show exactly what was filed under your SSN and when. 2. **Document everything** - Keep records of all communications with this EA, your original agreement, and the fact that you never signed Form 8879 for e-filing authorization. 3. **File complaints** - Report them to both the IRS Office of Professional Responsibility AND the National Association of Enrolled Agents. This behavior needs to be on record. 4. **Consider legal action** - Filing tax returns without authorization could potentially be fraud. You might want to consult with a tax attorney, especially since you paid $1,250 for services that weren't properly rendered. The silver lining is that with years of withholding from your paychecks, you may actually be due refunds rather than owing money. Don't let this bad experience discourage you from getting your tax situation resolved properly - just make sure you work with a reputable professional this time who will actually communicate with you and follow proper procedures. You deserve better than this, and there are good tax professionals out there who will treat your situation with the care and transparency it deserves.

Has anyone here actually been audited over depreciation issues? I've been using my "best guess" for business use percentage of my computer for years (about 75%) but don't really have detailed logs to back it up. Starting to worry if that's a red flag.

Just wanted to add something important that might help - the IRS requires "contemporaneous records" for business use claims, which means you should be tracking your laptop usage as it happens, not reconstructing it later. I learned this the hard way when my CPA told me my retroactive estimates wouldn't hold up well in an audit. For laptops and other mixed-use equipment, I now keep a simple spreadsheet noting dates, hours used for business vs personal, and what type of work I did. Takes maybe 2 minutes a day but gives you solid documentation. The IRS Publication 463 has specific guidance on what constitutes adequate records for business use of listed property (which includes computers). Also worth noting - if your business use ever drops below 50% in any year during the depreciation period, you may have to "recapture" some of the accelerated depreciation you took in earlier years. So if you're on the borderline with that 80% figure, definitely keep detailed logs to protect yourself.

I've been using TaxSlayer Pro for my family trust returns and it's been a solid middle-ground option. It's significantly cheaper than Drake or the other high-end professional software, but still handles complex trusts well. The interface is pretty straightforward if you're comfortable with forms mode, and it includes good error checking to catch common mistakes. One thing I really like is that it doesn't try to oversell you on features you don't need - you pay for the 1041 module and that's it. The K-1 generation is reliable and the forms print cleanly. Customer support has been responsive the few times I've needed help. It's not as fancy as some of the newer AI-powered options people are mentioning, but for a straightforward complex trust filing, it gets the job done without breaking the bank or making you want to throw your computer out the window like TurboTax does.

I've been dealing with the same TurboTax frustration for my family trust! After reading through all these recommendations, I'm definitely going to try either TaxAct Estates & Trusts or FreeTaxUSA Business for next year's filing. One thing I'd add - if you do end up needing to contact the IRS about anything related to your trust return (like I did last year when they questioned some of my distributions), definitely keep that Claimyr option in mind. I spent literally an entire day trying to get through to them about a 1041 issue and got nowhere. The automated system kept dropping my calls after hours of waiting. For what it's worth, I've also heard good things about TaxWise from Universal Tax Systems, though I haven't tried it personally. It's supposedly designed more for small practices but might work for individual filers too. The key seems to be getting away from the consumer-grade software that tries to do everything but doesn't do trust returns particularly well. Thanks for starting this thread - it's exactly the kind of real-world comparison I needed to see!

This entire discussion has been incredibly valuable! As a CPA who works with many S-Corp clients, I see this confusion constantly. The key insight that seems to help my clients the most is understanding the "why" behind the reporting rules. Employee 401(k) deferrals appear in Box 12 with Code D because they represent a current-year tax benefit to the employee - they reduce the employee's taxable wages for the current tax year. The IRS needs to track this on the W2 so they know the employee received this tax benefit. Employer matching contributions, however, don't provide any current-year tax benefit to the employee. The employee will be taxed on these funds when they withdraw them from the 401(k) in retirement, but for the current tax year, they're simply a business expense for the S-Corp. That's why they don't appear anywhere on the W2. For S-Corp owners who are also employees: this applies to you exactly the same way. Your employer match (paid by your S-Corp) is a business deduction, but it doesn't appear on your personal W2 because it doesn't affect your current personal income taxes. The Form 5500 that others mentioned is filed by your 401(k) plan administrator and reports all contributions to the IRS at the plan level - but that's separate from individual W2 reporting.

This has been such an educational thread! I'm also running an S-Corp and was completely stumped by this same issue. I kept staring at my draft W2s thinking something was missing because I could see both my employee contributions AND the employer matches on my 401k statements, but only the employee portion showed up in Box 12 of the W2. What really helped me understand this was the explanation about current-year tax impact versus future tax impact. The employee deferrals reduce your taxable income THIS year (which is why they need to be tracked on the W2), but the employer match doesn't affect your current year taxes at all - it's just sitting there growing tax-deferred until you retire and withdraw it. For anyone else going through this confusion: your payroll company is almost certainly doing this correctly. Employer 401k matches simply do not belong anywhere on W2 forms for traditional 401k plans. They're tracked by your plan administrator and reported to the IRS through other forms, but the W2 only cares about things that affect your current year personal income taxes. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and expertise here - this thread should definitely be bookmarked for other S-Corp owners who inevitably run into this same question!

Thanks for bringing up this question - it's one that comes up frequently for small businesses! The consensus here is correct: you do NOT need to file a Form 1099-MISC for rent payments to a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. The key principle is that the corporate exemption takes precedence. Since your vendor is incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, they fall under the general rule that payments to corporations are exempt from 1099 reporting requirements (except for legal and medical services, which doesn't apply to rent). To summarize the requirements: - Payments to corporations = No 1099 required - Your vendor is a corporation (501c3 nonprofit corporation) - Therefore, no 1099 required for your $23,400 in rent payments Just make sure you have their completed W-9 on file showing their corporate status - this serves as your documentation if the IRS ever questions why you didn't file a 1099 for this vendor.

This thread has been incredibly helpful! As someone who just started handling our company's vendor payments and 1099 reporting, I was really confused about the different rules for nonprofits vs. corporations. The clarification that corporate status takes precedence over nonprofit status makes so much sense now. I have three different 501(c)(3) organizations we work with - two are incorporated and one is just an unincorporated association. Based on what I've learned here, I'll need to issue a 1099 to the unincorporated one but not the two corporations. I'm definitely going to start requesting W-9s from all our vendors upfront like someone suggested. It seems like that's the best way to avoid confusion and have proper documentation. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences and knowledge!