Ok I think I have a stupid question, but I'm confused about something basic. If I'm buying directly from the partner, not from the partnership itself, why does the partnership's 754 election even matter? Isn't this just between me and the selling partner?

Just wanted to add something that might be helpful - make sure you get a written breakdown of exactly what you're buying for that $175k. In accounting firms specifically, a lot of the value is often in client relationships and work-in-progress, which can have different tax treatment. I'd also strongly recommend getting the partnership agreement reviewed before you commit. Some partnerships have "clawback" provisions where if you leave within a certain period, you might have to restore negative capital account balances or forfeit certain distributions. Since you mentioned the managing partner brought up negative capital accounts, there might be some partners in that situation already. One more thing - ask about any pending Section 199A deductions or suspended passive losses that might transfer with the interest. These can be valuable but are easy to overlook in the purchase negotiations.

Military families sometimes get priority processing. Did you indicate military status? Check box 1d on Form 1040. Might help. Also check DFAS info matches W-2. Common error point. Military spouse relief provisions might apply. Worth looking into. Processing centers have different timelines too. Where was your return filed from?

I'm going through something very similar right now! Filed on 2/18 and my transcript still shows N/A while my neighbor who filed later already got her refund. The waiting is driving me crazy, especially since I have some unexpected medical bills to pay. Reading through these comments is actually really helpful - it sounds like the N/A status is more common than I thought. I had no idea that different types of income and credits could cause such different processing times. Going to try to be more patient and stop checking the transcript every single day (easier said than done though!).

For any other Australians filling out W-8BEN, remember to write your date in MM-DD-YYYY format instead of the DD-MM-YYYY format we use here. I had my form bounced back because I wrote the date "Australian style" and the US company's system couldn't process it. Also, make sure to write "Australia" as your country of citizenship in Part 1, not "Australian" or "AU". These little details can save you a lot of back-and-forth!

As a fellow Australian who's been through this process multiple times, I can confirm that Sean's advice about Article 14 is spot on for most freelance editing work. Just wanted to add a couple of practical tips that helped me avoid headaches: 1. When you write "Australia" in the country field, make sure it's consistent throughout the form - don't mix "Australia" and "Australian" 2. For the treaty article description, I usually write something like "Article 14 - Independent Personal Services - Video editing services provided remotely from Australia" 3. Keep a scanned copy of your completed W-8BEN for your records - some clients lose them and you'll need to provide another copy The key thing to remember is that without completing Section 2 properly, you'll have 30% withheld instead of 0% for independent contractor services. That's a huge difference when you're trying to make a living as a freelancer! The Australia-US tax treaty is actually quite favorable for our type of work, so it's definitely worth taking the time to get it right.

I've been dealing with this exact situation for the past three years with my company's ESPP through Solium Shareworks. One thing I learned the hard way is that you should also keep documentation showing the Canadian address on your 1099 forms - the IRS may ask for proof that the account was indeed foreign-based if they ever audit your FBAR filing. Also, don't forget that if you're married filing jointly, you need to consider your spouse's foreign accounts too when determining if you hit that $10,000 threshold. My wife had a small foreign savings account from when she lived abroad, and combined with my Solium account, we crossed the reporting threshold even though neither account was over $10k individually. One more tip: if you're participating in both ESPP and RSU programs through Solium, make sure you're counting both when calculating your maximum balance. I initially only counted my ESPP shares and missed that my RSUs were also held in the same Canadian-based account system.

I just want to emphasize how important it is to get this right with Solium Shareworks accounts. I made the mistake of not filing FBAR for two years when my account was over $10k, thinking that since Morgan Stanley owned Solium it was somehow a "US account." When I finally discovered my error and used the Streamlined Filing procedures to get compliant, I had to pay penalties even though it was non-willful. The process took months and required hiring a tax professional to help navigate the paperwork. For anyone reading this thread who thinks they might have missed filing FBAR in previous years - don't wait. The longer you delay, the more complicated it gets. The IRS has access to foreign account information through various reporting agreements, so they may eventually discover unreported accounts even if it takes a few years. Also, make sure you're using the correct exchange rates when reporting your Canadian-held account values in USD on the FBAR. The Treasury Department publishes official exchange rates that you should use, not just whatever rate you find on Google. These details matter if you ever get audited.

I'm surprised nobody has asked this yet - but what tax software is your accountant using? Some programs organize the information differently. In Drake Tax software, for example, all the detail about owner payments might be in a supplemental worksheet that doesn't print with the final return unless specifically selected. Ask your accountant for the "full return with all worksheets" rather than just the filing copy. That might show more detail about how your payments were categorized.

Just wanted to add that you should also check if your accountant provided you with a "client organizer" or summary sheet that breaks down how your payments were treated. Many accountants create these internal documents that show the logic behind how owner compensation was handled, even if it doesn't appear explicitly on the tax forms themselves. Also, don't feel bad about not understanding this - the tax treatment of LLC owner payments is genuinely confusing and even some accountants don't explain it clearly. The key thing to remember is that if you're a regular LLC (not S-Corp elected), your "salary" and "draws" are treated the same way for tax purposes - they're just you taking your share of the profits, which you owe tax on whether you take the money out or not. If you're still concerned, you could always get a second opinion from another tax professional. Sometimes a fresh perspective can help clarify things your current accountant might have assumed you understood.