I've been through this exact confusion with our LLC that has partners in the UK and Australia. The key insight that finally clicked for me is that these are different taxes on different things at different times. Section 1446 withholding (Form 8813) is on the foreign partner's SHARE of partnership income - you withhold this regardless of whether you actually distribute anything. Think of it as withholding on their "allocated" income. Section 1472 (FATCA) withholding is on actual PAYMENTS to foreign entities that haven't provided proper documentation. But here's the crucial part - if you're distributing profits that have already been subject to Section 1446 withholding, and your foreign partner has provided proper W-8 forms, you typically don't need to withhold again under FATCA. The double taxation concern you mentioned is valid - the IRS doesn't want to tax the same income twice. The confusion often comes from not distinguishing between "income allocation" (what triggers 1446) versus "actual distributions" (what might trigger 1472). For your Canadian and UK partners, make sure they provide W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E forms claiming treaty benefits. This documentation helps establish that distributions of previously taxed partnership income shouldn't be subject to additional withholding. I'd recommend documenting which distributions relate to income that's already been subject to 1446 withholding - this creates a clear paper trail showing you're not double-taxing.

As someone who went through this exact maze of confusion with our multi-member LLC, I completely understand your frustration! The interaction between Section 1446 and FATCA withholding is one of the most confusing areas of international tax compliance. The key breakthrough for me was realizing that these aren't necessarily overlapping taxes - they serve different purposes. Section 1446 withholding ensures your foreign partners pay tax on their share of the LLC's US business income, while FATCA withholding is more about ensuring proper reporting and documentation of payments to foreign entities. Here's what worked for us: we created a simple tracking system that shows which distributions relate to income we've already withheld on through Form 8813. When our foreign partners (we have one in Canada and one in Germany) provided proper W-8BEN-E forms claiming treaty benefits, we were able to avoid the 30% FATCA withholding on most of our regular profit distributions. The "double taxation" concern you mentioned is absolutely valid - and the regulations do have mechanisms to prevent this. The trick is making sure you have proper documentation and can clearly trace your distributions back to income that's already been subject to withholding. One thing that really helped us was creating quarterly reconciliation reports that show: (1) income allocated to foreign partners, (2) taxes withheld under Section 1446, and (3) actual distributions made. This documentation has been invaluable for both compliance and explaining our position if questions arise. Don't feel bad about being confused - even many CPAs struggle with this intersection of partnership taxation and international withholding rules!

11 Has anyone noticed if the way TurboTax handles 403b contributions changed from last year? I swear last year it showed me somewhere that it was accounting for these pre-tax contributions, but this year I can't find any mention of it in the review screens.

Just to add another perspective - I work in payroll and can confirm that when we process 403b contributions, they're deducted from gross wages BEFORE we calculate the amounts that go in W-2 Box 1. So by the time your W-2 is generated, Box 1 already reflects your income after the 403b contribution has been subtracted. The Box 12b Code E is purely informational - it tells you and the IRS how much you contributed to your 403b during the year, but it doesn't need any additional tax treatment because the tax benefit was already applied when your employer calculated your taxable wages. TurboTax recognizes this and correctly doesn't make any further adjustments. If you want to double-check, add up all your Box 12 codes that represent pre-tax deductions (like Code E for 403b, Code W for HSA, etc.) and compare that to the difference between your final paystub's gross YTD wages and your W-2 Box 1. They should be pretty close, accounting for any other pre-tax deductions like health insurance premiums.

I feel your pain so much - I went through this exact same nightmare last year! My husband's "filing system" was literally receipts stuffed in his glove compartment and random notebooks with illegible expense scribbles. Here's what I learned the hard way: filing separately then amending to joint later sounds simple in theory, but the IRS systems really aren't designed for it. When I tried this approach, my amended return got stuck in manual processing for 8 months because the computer couldn't reconcile why we suddenly qualified for credits we hadn't claimed initially. What finally worked for us was a combination approach - I made an appointment with a tax pro and told my husband "we're going Tuesday at 2pm, bring whatever records you have." Then I used one of those tax tools mentioned earlier (TaxR.ai) to at least get his bank statements organized beforehand so we weren't starting from complete chaos. The tax pro was able to work with his messy records and we actually discovered some deductions he would have missed entirely. Yes, it cost us $500, but we saved over $3,000 compared to what we would have lost filing separately, plus no amendment headaches. Sometimes you just have to take control of the situation instead of waiting for them to get their act together. Your sanity and financial well-being matter too!

I've been through this exact situation and completely understand the desperation to just get your refund! After reading through all these responses, I think the consensus is pretty clear - filing separately now with plans to amend later is going to create way more problems than it solves. The combination of losing valuable tax credits (like the Earned Income Credit and education credits), plus the nightmare of IRS processing delays when you amend from MFS to MFJ, just isn't worth it. Several people mentioned amendments getting stuck in manual review for 8+ months, which defeats the whole purpose of trying to get your money faster. Here's what I'd recommend based on everyone's experiences: 1. Give your husband a hard deadline - make an appointment with a tax professional for next week and tell him you're both going, organized or not 2. File an extension to buy time until October (you can estimate and pay any taxes owed) 3. Consider using one of those AI tools like TaxR.ai to quickly organize his bank statements before the appointment 4. If you absolutely need cash flow now, look into refund advance loans rather than risking the MFS/MFJ amendment mess Your 2019 refund situation shows this pattern will just repeat if you don't take control. Sometimes being the "bad guy" who forces action is better than being stuck in procrastination limbo indefinitely. You've got this!

Has anyone considered starting a small side business and purchasing the equipment through that entity? I did something similar with photography equipment a few years ago - started doing paid photo shoots on weekends, formed an LLC, and was able to deduct my camera equipment since it was legitimately used for business purposes.

Have you considered just telling your employer that if they won't buy it, you can't do that part of your job? Sometimes being direct works better than trying to find tax workarounds.

Does anyone know if this same TurboTax issue happens with partial Roth conversions? I converted $4000 of my $7000 traditional IRA to Roth in 2022, and I'm worried TurboTax will miss it too.

I had this exact same problem with TurboTax and backdoor Roth conversions! What finally worked for me was going to the "Federal Taxes" tab, then "Wages & Income", and looking for "Retirement Plans and Social Security". From there, click "IRA, 401(k), Pension Plan Withdrawals (1099-R)" and manually enter your 1099-R forms. When TurboTax asks what you did with the money, select "I rolled it over to a Roth IRA" - this is the correct option for conversions. Make sure to answer "Yes" when it asks if you converted the entire traditional IRA balance, since you mentioned your account now has $0. The key thing people miss is that you ALSO need to complete Form 8606 to report your non-deductible contributions. In TurboTax, search for "8606" or look under "Federal Taxes" > "Deductions & Credits" > "Retirement & Investments" > "Nondeductible IRA Contributions". This form is what tells the IRS you already paid tax on your contributions, so you'll only owe tax on any earnings that occurred before conversion. Since this was your first backdoor Roth, make sure you filed Form 8606 in the year you made the non-deductible contribution to establish your basis. Without this, the IRS assumes your entire conversion is taxable!