Former Walmart employee here (not in accounting). Our tax department was huge - like a whole floor of people. They worked crazy hours but made serious bank. I remember during tax season they'd bring in catered meals every night because everyone was working 80+ hour weeks. The head tax guy drove a Maserati... just saying.

This is such a fascinating topic! As someone who works in corporate finance, I can add that the coordination between different departments is incredible. Beyond just the tax teams, you have treasury, accounting, legal, and international subsidiaries all feeding information into the process. One thing that hasn't been mentioned is the quarterly estimated tax payments - companies like Walmart are making payments to the IRS throughout the year based on projections, so there's constant reconciliation happening. They can't just wait until year-end to figure everything out. The technology aspect is really evolving too. I've heard that some of the largest corporations are starting to use AI-powered systems to help with data validation and flagging unusual transactions across their hundreds of entities. It's not replacing the human expertise, but it's definitely changing how the work gets done. The days of armies of junior accountants manually entering data are numbered.

Just a heads up - if you file and pay your back taxes, make sure you also remember to CHARGE AND COLLECT the correct sales tax going forward!!! Seems obvious but I made this mistake. I was so focused on fixing the past problem that I didn't immediately update my online shop to start collecting sales tax, and it caused me a whole second headache. Most e-commerce platforms (Shopify, Etsy, etc.) have built-in tools to automatically calculate and collect the right sales tax rates. Turn those on ASAP so you don't dig yourself a deeper hole while trying to fix the original problem.

I work for a state revenue department and wanted to clarify something important about marketplace facilitator laws. As of 2019-2021, most states (including yours likely) passed laws requiring large online marketplaces like Etsy, Amazon, eBay, etc. to collect and remit sales tax on behalf of sellers. HOWEVER - this only applies to sales made THROUGH those platforms. If you're selling directly through your own website, at craft fairs, or through other channels, you're still responsible for collecting and remitting the tax yourself. The good news for your situation is that if some of your sales were through marketplaces during the period in question, you can subtract those amounts from your total liability since the platforms should have already handled the tax collection and remittance for those transactions. When you respond to the revenue department, make sure to break down your sales by channel - marketplace sales vs. direct sales. This could significantly reduce what you actually owe. Also, don't forget that many states have small seller exemptions (usually around $100K in sales or 200 transactions annually), so double-check if you even exceeded the threshold that would require registration.

According to the IRS.gov support page at https://www.irs.gov/help/account-help, you need to use the "Secure Access" recovery process. I'm in a similar boat - need my transcript ASAP for a mortgage application! The quickest way is to call the IRS Transcript request line at 800-908-9946 and request a mailed transcript (takes 5-10 business days) while you sort out your online access. You can also use Form 4506-T from the IRS website to request transcripts by mail.

I went through this exact same frustration last year! The key thing to know is that you can't actually "reset" your old account if you don't have access to that email anymore - you'll need to create a completely new account. Here's the step-by-step that worked for me: 1. Go to IRS.gov and click "Get Transcript Online" 2. Instead of trying to sign in, click "Create Account" 3. You'll be redirected to ID.me for identity verification 4. Have your driver's license ready - you'll need to take a photo of it 5. You might need to do a video call for verification (took about 10 minutes for me) 6. Once verified, you can immediately access your transcripts The whole process took me about 30 minutes, but it was so worth it to finally get access again. Since you mentioned this is urgent for your mom's medical expenses, I'd also suggest calling the transcript line at 1-800-908-9946 as a backup - they can mail you a transcript in 5-10 business days while you work on getting online access sorted out. Hope this helps and hope your mom is doing okay!

Pro tip: If you can't get through on the phone, try reaching out to your local Taxpayer Advocate Service. They can sometimes help navigate tricky situations like this.

Another option to consider: if you have your old tax returns or W-2s handy, the IRS can sometimes verify your identity using info from those documents instead of relying on ID.me. When you call, ask specifically about alternative identity verification methods. I had a similar issue last year and they were able to walk me through it using my prior year AGI and some other basic info. Takes longer but it works!

I went through this exact same process with Charles Schwab about 6 months ago as a UK resident. The confusion around Article 13 is really common because most people expect to see a percentage rate, but for capital gains, UK residents actually get 0% withholding under the treaty. Here's what I learned: Article 13 covers capital gains, and under the US-UK tax treaty, these gains are only taxable in your country of residence (UK), not in the US. So you literally write "0%" in the treaty rate field. It feels wrong when you're filling it out, but that's the correct answer. The other thing that tripped me up initially was understanding that if you plan to receive dividends, you'd also need to reference Article 10, which typically gives you a 15% rate instead of the standard 30% non-treaty rate. Charles Schwab's customer service can help verify this if you're still unsure, but based on my experience and what others have confirmed here, 0% for Article 13 capital gains is definitely correct for UK residents. The form was accepted without any issues when I submitted it.

I just went through this exact same process with Charles Schwab last month as a UK resident, and I can confirm what everyone else is saying about Article 13. The correct rate to enter is indeed 0% for capital gains. What helped me understand this was realizing that the US-UK tax treaty essentially says "capital gains from US investments are only taxed in your country of residence (the UK), not in the US." So when the form asks for the treaty rate, you're telling them the US withholding rate is zero percent. I was initially confused because most tax forms involve entering positive percentages, but in this case, 0% is the actual treaty benefit you're claiming. My form was processed and accepted by Charles Schwab within about 3-4 business days. One practical tip: if you're planning to invest in dividend-paying stocks as well, make sure you understand Article 10 for dividend withholding (typically 15% for UK residents). You might need to claim benefits under both articles depending on your investment strategy. The key is being confident that as a legitimate UK tax resident, you're absolutely entitled to these treaty benefits. Don't let the unusual 0% rate make you second-guess yourself!