Worth noting that if you ever convert a personal residence to a rental property, the depreciation basis is the LOWER of your adjusted basis or the fair market value at the time of conversion. Made this mistake my first year and had to file an amended return. Also remember depreciation is mandatory even if you don't claim it - the IRS will treat you as if you took it when you sell the property (called "depreciation recapture").

Great question! As others have mentioned, since this is your first year with the rental property, you won't have any depreciation carryovers to enter - you can leave that section blank or enter zero. One thing I'd add that might be helpful for your situation: make sure you're aware that you can only depreciate the portion of time the property was actually available for rent. Since you bought in April and presumably needed some time to get it rental-ready, you'll want to prorate your first-year depreciation accordingly. Also, keep really good records from day one! Track all your rental income, expenses (repairs, maintenance, insurance, property management fees if any), and any improvements you make. The component depreciation mentioned by Aaron is definitely worth considering - if your duplex came with appliances, you can depreciate those over 5 years instead of 27.5. One last tip: consider setting up a separate bank account just for rental income and expenses. It makes tax time so much easier when everything is clearly separated from your personal finances. Good luck with your first year as a landlord!

Random tip from someone who's been in your shoes - if this is your first time having a significant underpayment, look into "first-time penalty abatement" from the IRS. You might qualify to have penalties (but not interest) waived if you have a clean compliance history for the past 3 years. I owed a bunch in 2022 and got the penalty portion removed completely by just asking for this consideration. Saved me almost $700!

Just wanted to add my experience to this discussion - I was in almost the exact same situation last year with messed up withholdings from a job change mid-year. The key thing I learned is that filing early is definitely worth it even if you can't pay immediately. Like others mentioned, you can file your return now and schedule the payment for April 15th without any additional penalties. This gives you the peace of mind of knowing exactly what you owe and lets you plan accordingly. One thing that helped me was setting up automatic payments through EFTPS (Electronic Federal Tax Payment System) right after I filed. You can schedule the payment weeks in advance for exactly April 15th, so there's no risk of missing the deadline or having to scramble at the last minute. Also, if you're really strapped for cash, consider paying just enough by April 15th to avoid the failure-to-pay penalty (which is pretty steep), and then set up an installment agreement for the rest. The installment plan interest rate is usually more reasonable than credit card rates, and you avoid the bigger penalties.

Just wanted to add my experience as someone who actually went through a long jury trial last year. I served for 3 weeks and the daily pay was similarly pathetic - $8/day in my county. The mileage really does add up when you're driving 40+ miles roundtrip every day for weeks. What frustrated me most was that I had to use vacation days from my regular job to serve, so I was essentially paying to do my civic duty. The lost wages were way more than any potential tax benefit anyway. One thing I learned though - some counties will reimburse parking fees if you keep receipts and ask. Mine didn't advertise this but when I complained about the $5/day parking on top of everything else, they actually reimbursed me for the full trial period. Worth asking about if you're dealing with expensive courthouse parking! The whole system really needs reform. It's basically a financial penalty for participating in our justice system.

This whole thread has been super helpful! I'm dealing with the same issue - got called for jury duty and it's a 35 mile drive each way. The compensation in my county is even worse at $5/day, which doesn't even cover gas. One thing I wanted to add that I learned from my accountant: if you're self-employed and have to reschedule client meetings or lose business income because of jury duty, you still can't deduct those lost earnings. It's considered a personal obligation, not a business expense, even though it directly impacts your business. The parking reimbursement tip from Mateo is gold though - I'm definitely going to ask about that when I report. Every little bit helps when you're basically volunteering your time and money for civic duty. It's frustrating that the tax code doesn't recognize the real costs of jury service, especially when courts are already struggling to get people to show up. Making it financially neutral would probably improve participation rates.

I noticed nobody mentioned this yet - if your client's original refund was already in process when you filed the superseding return, there's a chance they'll actually receive two separate refunds: the original amount and then the additional amount later. I've seen this happen a few times with superseding returns filed close to but not immediately after the original. The IRS systems don't always catch the superseding return in time to stop the original refund processing, especially during busy filing season. Just a heads-up so you're not surprised if this happens!

This is really helpful information! I'm dealing with my first superseding return situation and was getting confused by the same refund calculation display issues. One thing I want to add for other newcomers like me - make sure you keep detailed documentation of both the original and superseding returns in your client files. I learned this the hard way when a client called me months later asking about their refund amount and I had to piece together what happened. Also, if you're using tax software that shows confusing displays like the OP mentioned, don't hesitate to call your software support line. Most of the major tax software companies have specific help documentation for superseding returns, and their support teams are usually pretty good at walking through the calculation logic to confirm everything is correct. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - this thread is going to save me a lot of stress this filing season!

Remember to adjust your state tax withholding too! Everyone's talking about federal taxes but you might have state tax issues as well. Check if your state taxes are being properly withheld - some employers that mess up federal withholding also mess up state withholding.

This is definitely fixable! I went through something similar when my employer incorrectly processed my W-4 as "exempt" - turned out someone in payroll misread my handwriting during data entry. Here's what I'd recommend doing immediately: 1. **Document everything** - Take screenshots or photos of all your paystubs showing $0 federal withholding. You'll need this evidence when talking to HR and potentially the IRS. 2. **Meet with HR/Payroll ASAP** - Bring your paystubs and a copy of your original W-4 if you have it. Ask them to show you exactly how your withholding information is entered in their system. 3. **File a new W-4 immediately** - Even if they say they'll "fix it," submit a brand new W-4 to ensure there's a clear paper trail. Consider adding extra withholding on line 4(c) to help catch up. 4. **Calculate your shortfall** - For $62k salary, you're probably looking at around $800-900 per month in federal taxes that should have been withheld. So roughly $4,800-5,400 for 6 months. 5. **Make estimated payments** - Don't wait for your employer to catch up. Make quarterly estimated payments through IRS Direct Pay to avoid underpayment penalties. The silver lining is you caught this in April, so you have 8+ months to correct course before tax season. Act fast and you should be able to avoid any penalties!