I completely understand your frustration - that 17% is definitely a shock when you're not expecting it! Unfortunately, this has become pretty standard in major cities. As others have mentioned, it's usually a combination of state sales tax, city occupancy tax, and various tourism fees that can easily add up to 15-20%. The most important thing you can do right now is call your hotel directly and ask for a detailed breakdown of that 17%. Sometimes booking sites bundle optional resort fees or facility charges in with actual government taxes, and those might be negotiable or waivable if you're not using the amenities they cover. For future bookings, I'd recommend always using the "sort by total price including taxes and fees" feature on booking sites rather than just looking at base rates. It completely changes which hotels offer the best value once you factor everything in. Also, budget an extra 15-20% on top of quoted room rates when traveling to major tourist destinations - it's annoying but prevents the sticker shock. One last tip - if you're staying multiple nights, it might be worth asking if they have any package deals that include taxes in the quoted rate. Some hotels offer "all-inclusive" pricing that makes budgeting easier even if it doesn't necessarily save money. Good luck with your trip!

I feel your pain on this! I just went through something similar when booking a hotel in Denver last month. The base rate looked reasonable at $189/night, but then I got hit with 16.8% in taxes and fees that added almost $100 to my three-night stay. What I learned from that experience (and from reading through this helpful thread) is that these high tax rates are unfortunately becoming the norm in major cities. The key is understanding what you're actually paying for - some of it is legitimate government taxes that fund city services and tourism infrastructure, but sometimes there are optional fees mixed in that you might be able to avoid. I'd definitely recommend calling your hotel directly to get that 17% broken down line by line. When I did this with my Denver booking, I found out that about $8 per night was actually a "destination fee" for WiFi and gym access that I was able to get waived since I wasn't planning to use either. For future trips, I now always budget that extra 15-20% on top of the base room rate for major cities, and I use the "sort by total price" feature on booking sites instead of just looking at the advertised rates. It's frustrating that booking hotels has become this complicated, but at least once you know what to look for, you can avoid some of the unnecessary charges. Hope this helps!

Just a heads up that you'll want to pay attention to basis calculations too. Your basis in your S-Corp will be increased by the K-1 income flowing in, which affects how much you can take out as distributions without triggering tax consequences.

For basis tracking with your S-Corp receiving K-1 income, I'd recommend creating a simple spreadsheet that tracks your beginning basis, additions (like the K-1 income flowing through), and subtractions (distributions you take). Your beginning basis in the S-Corp starts with your initial investment plus any loans you've made to the corporation. Then you add your share of S-Corp income (including that K-1 income from the partnership) and subtract any distributions you receive. The key thing to remember is that the partnership K-1 income will flow through your S-Corp and increase your S-Corp stock basis, not your basis in the partnership itself. This is different from if you held the partnership interest personally. Since your accountant hasn't mentioned basis tracking yet, it might be worth bringing this up proactively. Many practitioners get focused on the current year tax return and sometimes overlook the ongoing basis calculations that become crucial when you want to take distributions or if you eventually sell your S-Corp interest.

Has anyone dealt with Edward Jones specifically for estate accounts? They rejected my EIN too initially because I had selected "Estate" on the SS-4 form but apparently there was some additional coding they needed. Had to call the IRS back to get it adjusted.

I'm going through almost the exact same situation right now with my father's estate. After reading all these responses, I applied for the EIN online using Form SS-4 and made sure to select "Decedent's Estate" specifically (not just "Estate"). Got the number immediately. However, I'm still waiting on the official letters testamentary from probate court - our attorney said it could take another 2-3 weeks. In the meantime, I've been using the EIN to set up a basic estate checking account at our local bank, which has been helpful for paying ongoing bills like utilities and property taxes. One thing I learned is that some financial institutions are more familiar with estate procedures than others. The smaller local bank was much more helpful than the big national one I initially tried. They walked me through exactly what documents they needed and even gave me a checklist for dealing with other institutions. @Xan Dae - definitely get that EIN application in ASAP even while you're waiting for other paperwork. It's free and you'll need it for pretty much everything moving forward.

I'm in the exact same situation and this thread has been such a relief to read! I filed my return on February 14th using my old SunTrust routing number and have been worried sick about whether my refund would make it through the banking merger chaos. It's so reassuring to hear from so many people who have successfully received their refunds with no issues. The fact that Truist has set up automatic forwarding through the end of 2024 really shows they've planned for this transition well. I'm definitely going to call Truist tomorrow to confirm everything is set up correctly on my account. The mobile alert tip is genius - I've been driving myself crazy refreshing my account multiple times a day. Setting up notifications will save my sanity! One thing I'm curious about - for those who have received their refunds already, were the processing times pretty much the same as previous years? I'm hoping the automatic routing redirect doesn't add any delays to the usual IRS timeline. Thank you all for sharing your experiences and advice. This community is incredibly helpful during tax season stress!

I'm dealing with this exact same situation and honestly, reading through everyone's experiences here has been incredibly reassuring! I filed my return on February 10th using my old SunTrust routing number and have been anxiously checking my account every day wondering if my refund would just disappear into the banking void. It's so helpful to see multiple people confirming that their refunds went through smoothly with the old routing number. The fact that Truist has set up automatic forwarding through the entire 2024 tax season really shows they've prepared well for this transition. I'm definitely going to call Truist customer service tomorrow to double-check my account status and get that peace of mind. The mobile alert suggestion that several people mentioned is brilliant - I'm setting that up right now to stop my obsessive manual checking! For anyone else in the same boat, it sounds like we really don't need to worry. The banking systems are designed to handle these merger transitions, and from what everyone has shared, the redirect process is working seamlessly behind the scenes. Tax season is stressful enough without adding unnecessary banking anxiety! Thanks to everyone for sharing their timelines and experiences - this community is such a lifesaver during tax season stress!

Can someone explain how CashApp Taxes handles wash sales on 1099-B forms? I have a similar merger situation but some of my trades might fall under wash sale rules.

I'm dealing with a very similar situation! My merger stocks also don't have acquisition dates on the 1099-B. Based on what everyone's saying here, it sounds like "Various" is the way to go, but I'm still nervous about getting it wrong. One thing I discovered that might help others - if you still have your original brokerage statements from before the merger, those sometimes show the original purchase dates of the stocks that got converted. I found mine buried in old PDF statements and was able to piece together the holding periods that way. Also worth noting that some mergers are tax-free reorganizations where your holding period carries over from the original stock, while others might create a new acquisition date. The type of merger matters for tax purposes, so if you're unsure, it's definitely worth getting clarification rather than guessing.