Per Internal Revenue Manual 13.1.18.6, TAS cases should be resolved within 30 days when possible, though complex cases may take longer. Has your advocate provided you with their SEID number and direct extension? According to TAS procedures, they should be providing bi-weekly status updates at minimum - are you receiving these?

Based on my recent experience (just resolved in January), here's what actually happened vs. the official timelines: **Reality Check:** My international tax credit case took 8 weeks total from advocate assignment to final resolution - longer than the "30-45 days" estimate but still reasonable given the complexity. **What helped speed things up:** - Had ALL documentation organized and ready (Form 1116, foreign tax statements, country-specific tax calculations) - Responded to advocate requests within 24 hours - Asked for my advocate's direct email and case reference number upfront **Red flags to watch for:** - If you don't hear anything in the first 10 days, call them - If they ask for the same documents twice, there might be a miscommunication in their system - International cases often require coordination with Treaty Administration, which adds 2-3 weeks **Pro tip:** Ask your advocate which specific IRS department is handling your case and what the current processing times are for that department. This gives you a much more realistic timeline than generic estimates. The wait is frustrating, but having an advocate really does make a difference. Just manage your expectations and stay proactive with communication!

I've held TCEHY and other Chinese ADRs for years, and I've always had them treated as non-qualified dividends. From my research and conversations with my tax professional, there are actually a couple of other factors at play: 1. The China-US tax treaty has a "Limitation on Benefits" clause that many Chinese companies don't satisfy 2. For ADRs specifically, there's the question of whether the underlying shares are "readily tradable" on the Hong Kong exchange (which the IRS may not recognize as "established" for this purpose) 3. The entity actually paying you the dividend is often the US depositary bank, not the foreign corporation directly If you really want to fight this, you could potentially take a position on your tax return that they are qualified dividends and include a disclosure statement explaining your reasoning, but be prepared for potential pushback from the IRS.

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange situation is particularly frustrating because it highlights how narrow the IRS interpretation can be. While Hong Kong is indeed a major financial center, the IRS has historically been very strict about what constitutes an "established securities market" for qualified dividend purposes. The key issue is that for the "readily tradable" test, the IRS generally only recognizes major US exchanges (NYSE, NASDAQ) and a very limited list of foreign exchanges. Even though Hong Kong has sophisticated trading infrastructure and high liquidity, it doesn't automatically qualify under US tax law. This is why many investors end up switching to US-listed ETFs that hold these same foreign companies - you get similar exposure but with qualified dividend treatment. For example, instead of holding TCEHY directly, you might consider something like VWO or ASHR that include Tencent in their holdings but structure the dividends to qualify for the lower tax rate. It's one of those situations where the tax code hasn't kept up with modern global markets, leaving investors with perfectly legitimate foreign investments facing higher tax rates simply due to technicalities in how the securities are structured and traded.

Anyone know if FreeTaxUSA lets you import your previous year's return if it was done with TurboTax? That's my biggest concern about switching.

I made the switch from TurboTax to FreeTaxUSA two years ago and it was one of the best financial decisions I've made. For your situation with W-2 income, mortgage interest, and charitable donations, FreeTaxUSA is absolutely perfect and will handle everything you need. The interface might look a bit dated compared to TurboTax's flashy design, but it's actually more straightforward - no upselling at every step trying to get you to upgrade to premium versions. The tax interview process asks all the right questions and the forms are clearly laid out. What really sealed the deal for me was the price difference - I was paying over $120 with TurboTax for federal and state, now I pay $15 total with FreeTaxUSA. The accuracy has been spot-on both years I've used it, and they have the same guarantees as the big names. My advice: give it a try this year. You can always start your return, see how it feels, and bail out if you're not comfortable (though I doubt you will be). The money you save will more than make up for any minor learning curve.

I'm a little confused by some of the advice here. When I had this exact problem (underwithholding on an RMD), I just filed a Form W-4V to increase withholding on my Social Security payments for the remainder of the year. Worked perfectly to make up the difference and avoid any penalties.

For future reference, you might want to consider setting up quarterly estimated tax payments if your father regularly has underwithholding issues. Many retirees find that the standard 10% withholding on RMDs isn't sufficient, especially if they have other income sources like pensions, Social Security, or investment income. The IRS has a pretty good estimated tax worksheet (Form 1040ES) that can help you calculate what percentage to withhold or how much to pay quarterly. It takes into account all income sources and helps avoid the scramble at year-end. I learned this the hard way after dealing with penalties for my mom's underwithholding situation a few years back. Also worth noting - if you do end up with an underpayment penalty despite making the Q4 payment, you can sometimes request a waiver if there were reasonable circumstances for the underwithholding. The IRS is surprisingly understanding about honest mistakes, especially with elderly taxpayers managing complex retirement income.

Does anyone know if you have to pay self employment tax if your net business income was negative? I had about $2,800 in freelance income but spent over $3,000 on equipment and supplies. Will I still have to pay the SE tax even though I technically lost money?

This is a really helpful thread! I'm dealing with a similar situation where I have both W-2 income and some 1099 contractor work. One thing I learned the hard way is that even if you have taxes withheld from your regular job, it doesn't necessarily cover the self-employment tax from your side income. The SE tax is calculated separately and can't be satisfied by withholding from your W-2 job. So even if you think you've had "enough" taxes taken out throughout the year, you might still owe when you file if you have self-employment income. For next year, I'm planning to either increase my W-4 withholding at my main job to cover the expected SE tax, or make quarterly estimated payments specifically for the self-employment portion. The IRS has worksheets to help calculate how much you should set aside - it's usually around 25-30% of your net self-employment income to cover both the SE tax and any income tax on that earnings.