13 You won't lose eligibility for the child tax credit by filing late. The enhanced child tax credit was for 2021, and 2022 went back to the regular credit (up to $2,000 per qualifying child). As long as you file within the 3-year window to claim a refund, you can still receive those credits. As for stimulus payments, the last economic impact payment (stimulus) was issued in 2021, so there weren't any new stimulus payments for the 2022 tax year. If you missed claiming any previous stimulus payments, you would have needed to claim them on your 2021 return as a Recovery Rebate Credit.

This is really helpful information about the de minimis rule! I'm new to dealing with foreign taxes and had no idea about the PFIC complications. Quick question - how can I tell from my brokerage statement if any of my investments might be PFICs? Is there usually some kind of designation or code that indicates this, or do I need to research each foreign investment individually? I'm trying to avoid any nasty surprises when I file, especially since I have some international ETFs in addition to individual foreign stocks.

@Aurora Lacasse Great question about identifying PFICs! Unfortunately, brokerage statements don t'always clearly mark PFIC status, which is one of the most frustrating aspects of this rule. For ETFs, most US-domiciled ETFs even (those tracking foreign markets are) generally NOT PFICs. However, foreign-domiciled ETFs usually ARE PFICs. You can often tell by looking at the fund s'domicile - if it s'incorporated in Ireland, Luxembourg, Canada, etc., it s'likely a PFIC. For individual foreign stocks, regular operating companies traded on major exchanges typically aren t'PFICs, but foreign mutual funds and some foreign REITs often are. Your broker might provide a year-end tax summary that identifies PFIC investments, but don t'rely on this alone. When in doubt, you can check the fund s'prospectus or contact the fund company directly. The consequences of missing PFIC reporting can be severe including (losing the ability to use foreign tax credits ,)so it s'worth being extra careful with the research.

This is exactly the kind of practical advice I wish I had when I first started dealing with foreign taxes! The timing aspect you mentioned about when taxes were withheld vs. when dividends were received is something that caught me off guard too. Your point about the exchange rate is particularly important - I made the mistake of using year-end rates my first time and had to go back and recalculate everything. For anyone reading this, the IRS has historical exchange rates available on their website that you can use for the conversion. The spreadsheet idea is brilliant. I've been keeping everything in a messy folder of brokerage statements, but tracking it throughout the year would save so much time. Do you have any specific columns you'd recommend beyond what you mentioned? I'm thinking maybe adding the security name and CUSIP might help with record-keeping too.

The main reason we set it up this way was for probate avoidance and simplified transfer if something happens to either of us. We have young kids and wanted to make sure the business could continue operating smoothly if either of us passed away unexpectedly. We did consider having just one of us own the LLC, but since we both actively work in the business, we wanted the structure to reflect our actual roles. The revocable trust seemed like a good solution for keeping everything under one umbrella, but I'm definitely open to simplifying if this creates unnecessary tax complexity.

That makes sense for probate avoidance, but you might be overcomplicating things. A revocable trust can own business interests directly without needing the LLC layer in between if you're mainly concerned about probate. If you want liability protection AND probate avoidance, you might consider having the LLC owned directly by you and your wife (as joint tenants with right of survivorship or as tenants by the entirety if Georgia allows it), then creating transfer on death provisions in your operating agreement that specify how ownership transfers. This would still provide liability protection while simplifying the tax structure. For business continuity with minor children, you could include specific succession planning provisions in your operating agreement and potentially use life insurance held in an irrevocable trust to provide liquidity. I'd recommend consulting with an estate planning attorney who specializes in business succession planning - they might be able to suggest a cleaner structure that accomplishes your goals without creating tax filing complexity.

This is really helpful - thank you for summarizing everything so clearly! As someone who's been lurking on tax forums trying to figure out similar issues, it's great to see such a thorough discussion with practical advice. One quick follow-up question for the group: if they do end up filing Form 1065, are there any specific things to watch out for in terms of how to allocate the income between the spouses on the K-1s? Since they're both actively working in the business, I assume it would be 50/50, but I'm wondering if there are any nuances with the trust ownership structure that might affect this. Also, @4d3a8e299772, have you considered whether you need to make quarterly estimated payments differently now that you're potentially moving from Schedule C to partnership taxation? The timing and calculation might be slightly different.

You can file for an automatic 6-month extension using Form 7004 if you need more time. Just remember that the extension only gives you more time to file, not more time to pay any taxes owed (though partnerships themselves don't typically pay tax).

This is really helpful! I'm in a similar boat with our 4-partner partnership and was getting overwhelmed by all the different software options. The TaxACT Business recommendation is exactly what I needed - something that's not crazy expensive but still handles the e-filing properly. Quick question about the EIN - did you need to have any special paperwork or documentation ready when setting up the e-filing, or was it just the EIN and partner info? I want to make sure I have everything prepared before I start so I don't run into any delays like you mentioned. Also really appreciate the heads up about double-checking the SSNs. That's exactly the kind of mistake I could see myself making when I'm rushing to meet the deadline!

This is really helpful, thank you! I'm new to dealing with foreign financial assets and the reporting requirements seem overwhelming. Could you clarify what happens if I've been missing the Form 8938 filing? I've been diligent about FBAR but only recently learned about FATCA reporting. Also, regarding the PFIC determination - is there a specific ratio or threshold that determines when a life insurance policy crosses into PFIC territory? My policy does have some investment options but the death benefit is still the primary component.

@Ella Lewis Great questions! For missed Form 8938 filings, you have a few options. If the failure was due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect, you might be able to file late returns without penalties. The IRS also has programs like the Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures for taxpayers who weren t'aware of their filing obligations. I d'recommend consulting with a tax professional to determine the best approach for your situation. Regarding PFIC determination for life insurance, there isn t'a single bright-line test, but the IRS generally looks at whether the policy is primarily insurance or primarily investment. Key factors include: the death benefit to cash value ratio, whether you can direct investments within the policy, and the policy s'overall structure. A traditional whole life or term life policy with modest cash value growth typically won t'be a PFIC, but variable or universal life policies with significant investment components might be. The determination really depends on the specific policy features and how it s'structured under your home country s'laws.

This is an excellent point about tax treaties that I hadn't considered! I'm actually from Japan, and I know there's a US-Japan tax treaty, but I've never looked into whether it has specific provisions for life insurance. Do you know if there's a way to determine which specific articles of a tax treaty apply to life insurance policies? I've tried reading through some treaty language before and it can be pretty dense. Also, since I'm maintaining my green card but might eventually return to Japan for work, understanding those tie-breaker rules could be really important for my long-term planning. Thanks for bringing this up - it sounds like I need to do some homework on the treaty provisions!