Has anyone considered the FIREIGN act provisions that went into effect last year? Those rules significantly changed reporting for certain foreign trusts with US beneficiaries. This is even more complicated if your company has intellectual property that would be transferred to the trust.

This is exactly the kind of situation where you need to be extremely cautious. I've seen too many business owners get burned by these "too good to be true" offshore arrangements. The reality is that the IRS has decades of experience dealing with these structures and has built extensive anti-avoidance rules specifically to prevent what your advisor is suggesting. Even if you're no longer the legal owner, the IRS will look at the economic substance - you're still controlling the company, benefiting from its success, and your children are the ultimate beneficiaries. A few red flags I'm seeing: 1. Your advisor is downplaying the complexity and costs 2. The "significant tax benefits" claim without mentioning the substantial compliance burden 3. No discussion of the immediate tax consequences of the transfer Before you even consider this, you absolutely need: - A second opinion from a tax attorney (not a financial advisor) who specializes in international tax law - A detailed analysis of ALL the reporting requirements and penalties - A realistic estimate of annual compliance costs - Understanding of the exit strategy and costs if things go wrong I've seen these arrangements cost people hundreds of thousands in penalties and legal fees when they go sideways. The juice is rarely worth the squeeze, especially for a business of your size.

As someone who's dealt with this exact situation, I'd recommend a two-pronged approach. First, send a brief but firm email to each company stating you never consented to electronic delivery and require paper forms per IRS regulations. Keep it professional but clear about your expectations. Second, document everything - save those consent emails as evidence and keep records of your responses. I learned this the hard way when a company later claimed I had "agreed" to electronic delivery just because I received their email. The good news is that once you establish this preference with your regular clients, most will remember for future years. It's a bit of upfront work now, but it saves headaches later. Don't let these companies push you into electronic delivery if that's not what you want - you have every right to receive paper forms.

I've been dealing with this same issue! What's particularly annoying is that some of these third-party services make it really difficult to actually access your 1099 even after you click their consent link. I had one company use a platform that required me to create an account, verify my identity with multiple documents, and then still had technical issues downloading the PDF. My solution has been to respond immediately to these emails with something like: "I do not consent to electronic delivery of tax documents. Please mail my 1099 to the address on file as required by IRS regulations." I've found that being direct and mentioning the IRS regulations specifically gets better results than just asking nicely. The key is responding quickly - if you wait too long, some companies assume silence means consent and might not send paper copies at all. I learned this lesson when I missed getting a 1099 entirely from one client because I ignored their electronic consent email.

I want to echo what others have said - you absolutely have a strong case for deducting this as a medical expense. Having documentation from four different doctors is exceptional and really strengthens your position with the IRS. One additional point that might help: make sure to ask your doctors to be as specific as possible in their letters about how the mold is directly impacting each child's condition. Phrases like "medically necessary to prevent further deterioration" or "required to manage chronic asthma condition" carry more weight than general recommendations. Also, if you haven't already, consider getting a professional mold assessment report that documents the specific types and levels of mold in your home. This creates an official record of the problem that correlates with your children's symptoms. The fact that your 4-year-old has dropped to the 2nd percentile is extremely concerning from a medical standpoint, which actually works in your favor for the deduction. The IRS recognizes that some medical expenses are urgent and necessary regardless of cost. Keep every single piece of documentation - medical records, test results, photos of the mold, air quality reports, remediation quotes and final invoices. The more comprehensive your documentation, the less likely you'll face any challenges if questioned. Your children's health comes first, and it sounds like you have everything you need to properly claim this deduction. I hope the remediation helps them recover quickly.

I'm so sorry your family is dealing with this situation - having children with serious health issues is stressful enough without the financial burden of necessary medical treatments. Based on everything shared here, you have an exceptionally strong case for deducting the full remediation cost as a medical expense. Having four different doctors document that mold remediation is medically necessary is really compelling evidence. The IRS specifically allows deductions for home modifications that are primarily for medical care, and your situation clearly fits this criteria. A few practical suggestions from someone who works in tax preparation: 1. When you get the final remediation contract, ask the company to itemize the work with medical language where appropriate (e.g., "installation of medical-grade air filtration," "removal of health-hazardous materials," etc.) 2. Keep a detailed health log for both children starting now - document symptoms, medications, doctor visits, emergency room visits, etc. This creates a clear timeline showing the medical necessity and urgency 3. After remediation, continue the health log to document improvements. This demonstrates that the expense was truly effective medical treatment 4. Consider getting a written statement from your children's doctors specifically addressing the tax deduction - many physicians are willing to write letters that explicitly state the remediation is "medically necessary treatment" for tax purposes Your children's health is the priority here, and you shouldn't have to choose between their wellbeing and your financial stability. With your documentation, you should be able to deduct this expense and get some relief to make this possible for your family.

I went through this exact same situation last year and totally understand your confusion! The key thing to remember is that you have control over how to allocate your Pell Grant for tax purposes. Since you paid $9,307 for room and board, you can allocate up to that amount of your $9,243 Pell Grant to those living expenses, making it taxable income. This frees up $9,243 worth of your tuition expenses to potentially qualify for the American Opportunity Credit. Here's the math for your situation: - Tuition: $21,836.80 - If you allocate your full $9,243 Pell Grant to room & board (making it taxable) - You'd have $21,836.80 in uncovered qualified expenses - You can claim up to $4,000 of this for the AOC, getting up to $2,500 in credit The tax you'll pay on the $9,243 in additional income will likely be much less than the $2,500 credit you'll receive, so you come out ahead overall. In TaxSlayer, when it asks about scholarships and grants, you'll report the $9,243 as taxable income rather than as an offset to education expenses. Don't worry - this is a legitimate tax strategy that many students use!

I just want to add my experience as someone who went through this exact same confusion! The Pell Grant allocation strategy really does work, but I'd strongly recommend double-checking your math before filing. In your situation, allocating your $9,243 Pell Grant to room and board expenses makes total sense since you paid $9,307 for housing. This makes the grant taxable income, but then you can claim up to $4,000 of your $21,836.80 tuition for the AOC. One thing that helped me feel more confident was calculating the actual tax impact first. As a student, you're likely in a low tax bracket, so the additional tax on $9,243 might only be around $924-$1,387 (10-15% bracket), but you'd get back up to $2,500 from the AOC - so you'd still come out ahead by over $1,000! Just make sure to keep documentation of your room and board payments to support your allocation decision. The IRS allows this flexibility specifically because they recognize students need to optimize their education tax benefits.

Just to add something important that hasn't been mentioned yet - don't forget about state tax implications! Even if you're handling federal taxes correctly, some states can be aggressive about claiming tax nexus based on your LLC registration. For example, I have a Florida LLC but I'm based in Brazil. Florida has no state income tax, which is great, but when I previously had my LLC registered in California, they tried to tax my worldwide income even though I performed no work there. Just having the LLC registered in CA was enough for them to claim nexus.

Don't forget about FDII (Foreign-Derived Intangible Income) deductions if your LLC is taxed as a corporation! As a non-US resident with a US corporation serving foreign clients, this provision could significantly reduce your effective tax rate.