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I actually did exactly this last year - cashed out at about a 20% loss to pay down debt. The mental relief of getting rid of the credit card debt was honestly worth way more than waiting for my investments to maybe recover someday. Plus the guaranteed "return" of not paying 22% credit card interest beats whatever I might have made in the market. Just my two cents!
Just wanted to add that you should also consider the timing of when you sell within the tax year. Since you're already at a loss, selling before December 31st means you can claim that loss deduction on this year's tax return, which could help offset any other income and potentially get you a bigger refund or lower tax bill. Also, once you pay off that credit card debt, try to resist the urge to rack it up again! The guaranteed savings from eliminating 20%+ interest rates is way better than any potential market gains. You're making a smart financial decision here - sometimes cutting losses and focusing on guaranteed debt reduction is the right move.
Has anyone here done the math on whether it's better to max 401k or do some in 401k and some in a Roth for this income level? I'm trying to figure out the best split now that my income is higher.
At that income level ($170k+$45k), I'd prioritize traditional 401k contributions first to reduce current taxable income since you're partially in the 32% bracket. Get your income below the 24% threshold if possible. If you still have savings capacity after that, consider backdoor Roth contributions since you're above the income limits for direct Roth contributions. The tax-free growth can be valuable long-term, especially if you expect to be in a high tax bracket in retirement.
Congratulations on your promotion! I went through a similar situation a couple years ago when my income jumped significantly. One thing that really helped me was calculating my estimated effective tax rate vs marginal rate - the effective rate increase isn't as scary as it first seems. With your combined income of $215k, you're right that some will hit the 32% bracket, but your effective rate will still be much lower. At your income level, definitely consider maxing the 401k ($23,000 for 2024) - every dollar you put in saves you 32 cents in taxes on the portion above $182,100. Also worth noting: make sure to update your W-4 with HR soon. The withholding tables might not automatically adjust properly for such a big jump mid-year, and you don't want to be surprised with a big bill next April. The IRS withholding calculator someone mentioned earlier is really helpful for this. One more tip - if you have an HSA option through your health plan, definitely max that out too ($4,300 individual/$8,550 family for 2024). It's the only triple tax advantage account we have!
This is really helpful! I'm new to thinking about tax strategy at higher income levels. When you mention updating the W-4 with HR - is there a specific allowance number or percentage you'd recommend for someone in a similar situation? Also, I'm curious about the HSA - does that really make that much difference compared to just putting more in the 401k?
One thing to consider - if you don't file your taxes with this 1099-NEC income reported, and your family member already submitted it to the IRS, you're gonna get a lovely letter from the IRS eventually asking why the income they know about doesn't match what you reported. Trust me, you don't want that headache!!
This! Had this happen to me and the IRS tacked on interest and penalties that ended up being waaaay more than if I'd just reported it properly the first time. Not worth the stress.
The bottom line is you need to report this income since your family member is treating it as payment for services (which it sounds like it was - you mentioned doing "odd jobs" for them). The $8,000 you received is definitely over the $600 threshold that requires a 1099-NEC. Since they've already filed their taxes and issued the 1099, the IRS has a record of this income being paid to your SSN. If you don't report it on your return, you'll get an automated notice from the IRS asking about the discrepancy, and that usually comes with penalties and interest. The good news is that as a contractor, you can deduct legitimate business expenses - things like gas to get to their place, tools you bought for the work, etc. This can significantly reduce what you actually owe in taxes on that $8,000. Don't panic about being behind on filing - the IRS would much rather you file late and pay what you owe than not file at all. You might face some penalties for late filing, but it's way better than ignoring it completely.
One thing to consider that hasn't been fully addressed - make sure you're tracking the mortgage principal payments correctly in addition to the interest. While mortgage interest is deductible as a rental expense on the 1065, the principal payments are not deductible but should still be recorded as capital contributions to maintain accurate capital accounts. I learned this the hard way when my tax preparer caught that I was only tracking interest payments as contributions. The principal portion increases your basis in the LLC and affects future distributions or sale proceeds. Keep detailed records separating principal vs interest on each payment - your mortgage statements should break this down monthly. Also, if either partner ever stops making their portion of mortgage payments, you'll need to adjust capital accounts accordingly to reflect who's actually contributing what to the LLC.
This is such a crucial point that I wish I had known when I first set up my LLC rental property! I made the same mistake of only tracking interest payments initially. Just to add to what you're saying - when tracking the principal vs interest split, make sure you're consistent month to month. I use a simple spreadsheet that pulls the principal and interest amounts directly from my mortgage statements. This becomes especially important at year-end when you're calculating total capital contributions for each partner. Also, if your mortgage has PMI (private mortgage insurance), that's also deductible as a rental expense through the LLC, not as a personal deduction. Another detail that's easy to miss but can add up over the year. Thanks for bringing up the point about unequal contributions - that's definitely something to plan for in your operating agreement since life circumstances can change and one partner might not always be able to make their payments.
This is exactly the kind of situation where having proper documentation from the beginning makes all the difference. I went through something similar with my business partner last year, and we ended up having to reconstruct our entire paper trail mid-tax season. A few additional considerations that might help: 1) **Depreciation tracking** - Since the LLC owns the property, depreciation should be claimed on the partnership return (Form 1065), not on your personal returns. Make sure you're calculating this correctly based on the property's basis in the LLC's books. 2) **State tax implications** - Don't forget that your state might have different rules for how partnership rental income is treated. Some states require separate partnership returns even if you don't need to file federally. 3) **Future planning** - Consider whether you want to eventually transfer the mortgage to the LLC's name. Some lenders will allow this after a certain period, which would simplify your tax situation going forward. The key is maintaining clear separation between personal and business transactions while properly documenting the capital contributions. I'd recommend setting up a monthly process where you record these transactions immediately after making mortgage payments rather than trying to reconstruct everything at year-end. Good luck with your filing!
This is incredibly helpful, especially the point about depreciation! I hadn't even thought about that aspect yet. Quick question - when you mention calculating depreciation based on the property's basis in the LLC's books, how exactly do we determine that basis when we personally put down the down payment but the LLC holds title? Is the basis just the purchase price of the property, or do we need to account for the fact that we personally funded the down payment as an initial capital contribution? I want to make sure we're not missing anything that could affect our depreciation calculations going forward. Also, regarding transferring the mortgage to the LLC eventually - did you run into any issues with your lender when you explored that option? I'm wondering if it's worth pursuing or if we should just plan to keep this structure long-term.
Hunter Brighton
I ran into this same issue when I was doing my quarterly business tax reconciliation. The key thing to remember is that the IRS transcript uses different terminology than their public-facing tools. The 846 code with its associated date IS your DDD - it's just not labeled that way on the transcript itself. I've found that most major banks (Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo) typically post these IRS direct deposits in the early morning hours (usually between 12:01 AM and 6:00 AM) on the 846 date. For your Q1 reconciliation purposes, you can confidently use that 846 date as your expected deposit date in your financial records.
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Diego Mendoza
ā¢This is exactly the clarification I needed! As someone new to interpreting IRS transcripts, I was getting confused by all the different terminology between the transcript codes and what I see on Where's My Refund. Your point about the early morning deposit timing is really helpful too - I'll make sure to check my account first thing on my 846 date. Thanks for breaking this down in such a clear way!
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QuantumQuasar
Just wanted to add my experience from this tax season - I had the same confusion about finding the DDD on my transcript! Like others mentioned, the 846 code date is indeed your direct deposit date. What helped me was understanding that IRS internal systems use different language than their taxpayer-facing tools. My transcript showed code 846 with March 12th, and I got my refund deposited at 4:23 AM that exact day. For anyone doing business reconciliation like the original poster, I've found it helpful to screenshot both your transcript (showing the 846 code/date) and your bank statement when the deposit hits - makes it much easier to match everything up for your records later.
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