One thing nobody mentioned yet - if you form a foreign corporation or LLC to hold the property (which some countries require for foreigners), you might get hit with GILTI tax or Subpart F income rules. This can dramatically change your tax situation. I own property in Thailand through a Thai company (required by their law) and now have to file Form 5471 every year plus deal with complex controlled foreign corporation rules. Sometimes the simplest ownership structure is best from a US tax perspective. Also watch out for foreign gift tax if someone overseas is helping you buy the property!

Great question about foreign property deductions! I actually went through something similar when I bought a rental property in Ireland a few years back. One key thing I learned that wasn't mentioned yet - make sure you understand Portugal's tax obligations for foreign property owners too. Portugal has its own property taxes and rental income reporting requirements that you'll need to comply with regardless of US tax implications. For the US side, the rental vs. personal use calculation is crucial like others mentioned. I found it helpful to keep detailed records from day one - not just financial records but also a calendar tracking personal use days vs. rental days. The IRS can be very particular about this if you ever get audited. Also, don't underestimate the complexity of depreciation on foreign property. The rules can be different from US property, especially regarding land vs. building value allocation in foreign countries. Portugal may assess these differently than what you can use for US tax purposes. One last tip - consider the exit strategy too. When you eventually sell, you'll likely owe capital gains taxes in both countries, though the foreign tax credit should help avoid double taxation. Portugal's capital gains rules might be more favorable than US rules depending on how long you hold the property. Would definitely recommend getting professional help for the first year's filing to make sure you set up all the reporting correctly from the start!

I've been with Wells Fargo for about 3 years now and can confirm they're pretty strict about waiting until the exact date. Unlike some of the smaller banks and credit unions that release early, Wells Fargo processes these right on schedule. Your June 12th date should be solid - I'd expect it to hit your account sometime during business hours that day. The one thing I've noticed is that if June 12th falls on a weekend, they usually process it on the Friday before, but since you're looking at a weekday you should be good. Just don't refresh your app at midnight expecting it to be there immediately - these usually post during normal banking hours.

Based on my experience with Wells Fargo, they're pretty conservative with deposit timing - they'll release your refund exactly on June 12th as shown on your transcript, not earlier. I switched to Wells Fargo two years ago from a local credit union that always gave me deposits 1-2 days early, so I totally understand the adjustment! The good news is that Wells Fargo is very reliable - if your transcript says June 12th, you can count on getting it that day (usually sometime during business hours). Just manage your expectations and don't expect the early release you were used to with your credit union. For future refunds, you might want to consider keeping a secondary account with an online bank like Chime or SoFi if early access to funds is important to you - many people do this specifically for the early deposit feature while keeping their primary banking with traditional banks.

Don't overlook your bank! Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo all offer payroll services for small businesses that are surprisingly affordable if you're already a business customer. Worth checking what yours offers.

Just wanted to add another perspective here - we went with Gusto Simple for our 2-person setup and it's been solid. Yes, it's a bit more than some options at $40/month + $6 per employee, but the peace of mind is worth it. What really sold me was their customer support. When we had questions about setting up our S-Corp payroll correctly (since we're owners paying ourselves), they actually helped walk us through the reasonable compensation requirements and made sure we were structured properly from day one. The automatic tax filing has been flawless for over a year now, and the year-end W-2 generation was seamless. Sometimes paying a little extra upfront saves you from much bigger headaches down the road with compliance issues.

22 Has anyone used TurboTax to report their portion of losses from a JTWROS account? Is there a specific section for this? I'm in a similar situation with a joint account with my sister, and we had about $5,800 in losses last year.

I went through this exact situation two years ago with my business partners. We had a JTWROS account that generated about $4,500 in capital losses, and I was completely confused about how to handle it on our tax returns. What I learned is that you absolutely can split the losses proportionally among the actual owners, but documentation is key. Since Jake's SSN is on the 1099-B, he'll need to report the full $7,000 initially on his Schedule D. However, each of you should also report your $2,333 portion on your individual returns. The critical part is including a statement with each return explaining the joint ownership arrangement. I used language like: "This capital loss represents my 1/3 ownership share of losses from jointly-owned brokerage account [account number], with total losses of $7,000 reported under SSN [Jake's SSN]." Make sure you all keep records of your equal contributions to the account - bank statements, transfer records, etc. The IRS wants to see that your claimed ownership percentages match reality. Also, consider drafting a simple written agreement between the three of you documenting the equal ownership split, even if it's after the fact. One tip: file your returns around the same time so if the IRS has questions, they can easily see all three related returns and how the total adds up correctly.

One strategic tax planning tip related to capital losses: if you anticipate having substantial capital gains in the near future, you might want to consider NOT claiming the full $3,000 deduction against ordinary income in some years. While this sounds counterintuitive, if you're in a relatively low tax bracket now but expect to be in a much higher bracket when you realize those future gains, it might be more tax-efficient to preserve more of your carried-over losses to offset those future gains. For example, if you're currently in the 12% bracket but expect to have gains that would be taxed at 20% plus the 3.8% NIIT in the future, saving those losses could give you a better overall tax benefit.

This is such a helpful thread! I'm in a very similar situation - had about $22k in crypto losses from 2020-2021 and I'm finally seeing some recovery in my portfolio this year. One thing I want to emphasize for anyone reading this: definitely keep meticulous records of everything. I learned this lesson when I tried to reconstruct my loss carryover amounts last year and had to dig through old exchange records, some of which were from platforms that no longer existed! Also, a practical tip - if you're using tax software, double-check that it's correctly carrying forward your losses year to year. I caught an error in TurboTax where it somehow "lost" about $3k of my carryover between 2022 and 2023. Had to manually correct it. The peace of mind knowing these losses can eventually offset future gains makes the whole painful experience a bit more bearable. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - really valuable information here!