Has anyone mentioned quarterly estimated taxes yet? If ur making ANY profit with ur LLC, ur supposed to be paying taxes quarterly, not just at year end. I learned this the hard way and got hit with penalties my first year!!

Just wanted to add something that might help with the quarterly tax situation - if your business had a loss last year (like yours did), you don't need to make quarterly payments for that year. But if you expect to be profitable in 2024, you'll want to start making estimated payments. The safe harbor rule is helpful too - if you pay at least 100% of what you owed last year (110% if your prior year AGI was over $150k), you won't get penalties even if you end up owing more. Since you had no business profit in 2023, your safe harbor amount would just be based on any other income you and your spouse had. Also, don't stress too much about the amendment process. I amended my return last year to add my LLC income and it was pretty straightforward through TurboTax. The key is just making sure you have all your business expenses properly categorized. Keep digital copies of everything - receipts, bank statements, platform fees from Etsy, etc. The IRS is actually pretty reasonable when you're clearly trying to comply and report everything correctly.

Has anyone considered the Alternative Minimum Tax implications here? I'm not a tax expert, but I think large capital gains can sometimes trigger AMT, which might change the math on this decision.

One additional consideration that hasn't been mentioned yet is the Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT). If your modified adjusted gross income exceeds $200k (single) or $250k (married filing jointly), you'll owe an additional 3.8% tax on investment income, including capital gains. Realizing $675k in gains could potentially push you into NIIT territory if you weren't already there, which would add another layer to your tax calculation. This applies regardless of which state you're in since it's a federal tax. Also, consider whether you might benefit from tax-loss harvesting in your portfolio before the move. If you have any unrealized losses, you could realize those alongside some of your gains to reduce the overall tax impact while still achieving your goal of avoiding Georgia's state tax on the net gains. The timing strategy could work well, but make sure you're accounting for all the federal tax implications, not just the state tax savings.

Has anyone tried calling Green Dot directly? I'm in the same situation but wondering if they can give status updates on pending transfers. The IRS says my refund was sent 6 days ago but still nothing in my account.

I completely understand your panic - I went through the exact same thing two years ago when I accidentally selected "pay fees with refund" without really thinking about it. My refund was $7,800 and I was terrified I'd lose it all. Here's what actually happened: The process took about 10 days total from when the IRS said "refund sent" to when I got my money. Green Dot received it from the IRS, deducted the TurboTax fees (around $120 in my case), and then transferred the remainder to my bank account. No issues at all. The key is to stay on top of tracking it. Use the IRS "Where's My Refund" tool religiously - check it every morning. Once it changes to "refund sent," start counting business days. If you don't see anything after 7 business days, that's when you should start making calls to TurboTax support. I know the horror stories online are scary, but remember that millions of people use this option every year without problems. The people who post online are usually the ones who had issues, not the vast majority who got their refunds normally. You're going to be fine - just keep monitoring and don't hesitate to contact support if needed.

Has anyone here actually been audited for their IRA conversions? I've been doing backdoor Roth for years but always worry I'm doing something wrong with the Form 8606.

Your tax reporting breakdown looks correct! Just to reinforce what others have said - the key is maintaining accurate Form 8606 documentation for all your non-deductible contributions. One thing to double-check: make sure your brokerage statements clearly show the dates and amounts for each transaction. For your 2025 taxes, you'll want to verify that your 1099-R reflects the full $13,000 conversion amount. Sometimes brokerages split these into separate 1099-Rs if the conversions happened on different dates. Also, since you're doing this strategy regularly, consider setting up a simple spreadsheet to track your non-deductible basis year over year. It makes the Form 8606 preparation much easier and gives you a clear audit trail. The IRS wants to see consistent reporting, so having your own records beyond what the forms show can be really helpful if questions ever come up. Good luck with your tax filing!

Just a heads up that Venmo payments over $600 are now being reported to the IRS anyway through 1099-K forms. So even if your employer doesn't send a 1099-NEC, Venmo might send you a 1099-K for all those payments. Either way the IRS will know about the income.

Just to add some practical advice - make sure you're keeping detailed records of ALL your contractor expenses too! Since you're getting paid through Venmo and working as an independent contractor, you can deduct legitimate business expenses on Schedule C. Things like your home office space, internet bills, computer equipment, software subscriptions, travel for work, and even a portion of your phone bill can potentially be deducted. This can significantly reduce your taxable income and the self-employment taxes you'll owe. Also, don't forget you'll need to pay quarterly estimated taxes if you expect to owe $1,000 or more for the year. With $18,500 in contractor income, you'll likely owe both income tax and self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare). The IRS expects payments throughout the year, not just at filing time. Consider setting aside 25-30% of each payment you receive to cover your tax obligations. It's better to overpay slightly than get hit with underpayment penalties!