Has anyone used the IRS Form 8801 (Credit for Prior Year Minimum Tax) worksheet to calculate this? I think that's where you'd see how much of your prior AMT can be used this year. In my experience, the credit can be limited if your current year regular tax isn't sufficiently higher than your tentative minimum tax.

This is a really common confusion with ISOs and AMT! The key thing to understand is that AMT adjustments are tied to specific shares, not transferable between different ISO exercises. Since you exercised different ISOs in 2022 (which triggered AMT) versus the ones you sold in 2023, you cannot adjust the cost basis of the 2023 sale using the 2022 AMT payment. Each ISO exercise creates its own AMT adjustment that only applies to those specific shares when sold. The AMT credit you're seeing in TurboTax is separate from basis adjustments. This credit can only be used in years when your regular tax exceeds your tentative minimum tax (AMT). If it seems smaller than expected, it's likely because your 2023 tax situation is limiting how much you can use - the unused portion will carry forward to future years. For the tender offer complication, make sure you're reporting the correct cost basis for the shares you actually sold (without any AMT adjustment since those weren't the shares that triggered AMT). The different companies handling the transactions shouldn't affect the tax treatment, but you'll want to ensure you have accurate documentation of your original exercise dates and prices. Consider reviewing Form 8801 to see exactly how your AMT credit is being calculated and limited. The math can be tricky but it will show you why you're only able to use a portion of your available credit this year.

I'm dealing with a similar situation where my tax preparer missed energy credits on my 2023 return. Reading through everyone's experiences here has been really helpful - it sounds like amending for missed energy credits is pretty straightforward and there shouldn't be penalties for claiming something you were entitled to. A few questions for those who've been through this process: When you filed your Form 1040-X, did you need to include copies of your original return or just the corrected forms? Also, has anyone had issues with the IRS questioning the manufacturer certifications during processing, or do they typically just accept them if the documentation is clear? I'm planning to file electronically like some of you mentioned, but I want to make sure I include everything needed to avoid delays. Thanks for sharing your experiences - it's given me confidence to move forward with the amendment!

I went through this exact same situation last year with my energy-efficient windows that my tax preparer completely missed. The frustration is real when you realize you left money on the table! A couple of things that helped me through the amendment process: First, make sure you have all your receipts and that manufacturer certificate showing CEE compliance - sounds like you're already covered there. Second, when you file the 1040-X, be very specific in your explanation about which credit was missed and why you're amending. One thing I wish someone had told me earlier - if H&R Block made the error, you might want to contact them about it too. Some preparers will help with the amendment process or even cover any fees if they acknowledge the mistake was on their end. Worth a shot before you do all the work yourself! The 16-20 week processing time mentioned earlier is pretty accurate based on my experience. I filed my amendment in February and got my refund in June. No penalties, no hassle, just had to be patient. You're definitely doing the right thing by catching this and fixing it!

Mite help to understand WHY basis matters for inherited IRAs. Traditional IRA contributions r usually tax-deductible (pre-tax $$$), so distributions r fully taxable. But if the original owner ever made NON-deductible contributions (after-tax $$$), those amounts shouldnt be taxed again when distributed. The non-deductible portion = "basis". When u inherit, u inherit their basis proportionally. So if 10% of their IRA was basis, 10% of each distribution u take is tax-free.

This is such a helpful thread! I'm dealing with a similar situation with my grandmother's IRA that I inherited last month. Reading through everyone's explanations finally made the "basis" concept click for me. One thing I learned from my tax preparer that might help others: even if you can't find complete documentation about nondeductible contributions, the IRA custodian (like Fidelity, Vanguard, etc.) sometimes has better records than you'd expect. When I called Schwab about my grandmother's account, they were able to pull up contribution records going back 15 years showing which deposits were marked as nondeductible. They couldn't go back to the very beginning of her account from the 1980s, but they had enough info to establish that she'd been making regular nondeductible contributions since 2009 when her income got too high for deductible contributions. This saved me from having to assume everything was taxable. Worth making that call to the custodian before you give up on finding basis information!

This is such a helpful thread! I'm dealing with a similar situation where I want to gift some Nvidia shares to my grandson for his college fund. Based on what everyone's shared here, it sounds like I should definitely use specific identification to choose which shares to transfer rather than just defaulting to FIFO. One question though - does the timing of when I actually execute the gift matter for tax purposes? Like if I set up the transfer in December but it doesn't complete until January, which year does it count for gift tax purposes? And does that affect which tax year my grandson would report any gains if he sells them relatively quickly? Also really appreciate the mentions of taxr.ai and Claimyr - going to check both out since my broker (Schwab) has been just as unhelpful as Vanguard was for the OP!

Just wanted to add something that might help with your Vanguard situation - I had a similar experience where customer service wouldn't explain the tax implications, but I found their online resource center actually has some decent explanations about cost basis methods for gifts and transfers. The key thing to understand is that when you gift shares, you're essentially passing along your "tax history" with those shares to your niece. The cost basis method you select determines exactly which shares (with their specific purchase dates and prices) get transferred. Since you've held these tech stocks for 7 years, you probably have multiple "tax lots" purchased at different times and prices. FIFO (which you selected) means you're giving away your oldest shares first. This could be good or bad depending on whether those early purchases were at higher or lower prices than your more recent ones. If the stock price has generally gone up over those 7 years, FIFO would transfer your lowest-cost-basis shares, meaning higher potential capital gains for your niece when she sells. For future reference, "specific identification" gives you the most control - you can literally pick and choose which exact shares to transfer based on what's most tax-advantageous for your niece's situation. But since you already completed the transfer, don't stress too much about it. The main thing is that you documented everything properly for both your records and hers.

Has anyone used TurboTax to handle the excess HSA contribution reporting? I'm wondering if it walks you through Form 5329 clearly or if I should go to a tax professional this year.

Just went through this exact situation last month! I over-contributed by $380 to my HSA and initially thought about just paying the penalty too. But after reading through all the IRS documentation, I realized it's definitely worth removing the excess. Here's what I learned: You need to contact your HSA provider and request an "excess contribution removal" before your tax filing deadline (including extensions). They'll calculate the earnings attributable to that excess amount and remove both the excess contribution AND the earnings. The earnings portion gets added to your taxable income for the year, but you avoid the recurring 6% penalty. The process was actually much easier than I expected - took one phone call and about 10 business days to process. My provider (HSA Bank) had a specific department that handles these requests, so they knew exactly what to do. Don't let the $441 turn into a recurring annual headache!