One important thing to consider is the timing of your sale relative to your tax year. If you're planning to retire after the sale, you might have lower overall income in future years, which could put you in a lower tax bracket for the depreciation recapture. You might want to explore an installment sale structure where you receive payments over multiple years instead of a lump sum. This can spread the tax liability across several years and potentially keep you in lower tax brackets, especially for the depreciation recapture portion which gets taxed as ordinary income. Also, make sure you're maximizing any available deductions in the year of sale - things like professional fees for the sale, legal costs, broker commissions, etc. These can all reduce your overall tax liability. Given the complexity of business sales and the significant dollar amounts involved, it's definitely worth getting a second opinion from a tax professional who specializes in business transactions. Your regular accountant might not deal with business sales frequently enough to catch all the potential tax planning opportunities.

Just wanted to add another perspective on installment sales since Malik brought it up - they can be incredibly effective for business sales, but there are some important considerations to keep in mind. Most business assets can qualify for installment sale treatment, but there's a key exception: inventory and depreciation recapture on personal property (like your laundry equipment) generally cannot use installment treatment. This means the depreciation recapture portion would still hit you in year one, even with an installment sale structure. However, the portion of your sale allocated to goodwill, customer relationships, and other intangible assets CAN qualify for installment treatment. So you'd still get some benefit from spreading those gains over multiple years. The buyer would need to agree to seller financing for a true installment sale. Alternatively, if they want to pay cash upfront, you could potentially structure it as a sale to a buyer who then immediately sells to the actual purchaser with seller financing - though this gets complicated and you'd definitely need legal and tax counsel. Another option to consider is a charitable remainder trust if you're charitably inclined. You can transfer the business to the trust, get a partial tax deduction, receive income for life, and potentially reduce the overall tax bite significantly. Not right for everyone, but worth exploring given the size of your transaction.

Just to clarify what others have said - H&R Block partners with MetaBank for their Emerald Card and refund transfers. If you're looking at their refund advance products, that's also through MetaBank. The important thing to understand is that you have options: you can get a direct deposit to your own bank account (fastest, no fees), use their Emerald Card (quick, but has fees for certain transactions), or get a refund transfer if you're paying for tax prep with your refund (convenient but comes with fees). Hope this helps with your post-divorce financial organization!

As someone who just went through a similar situation last year, I can confirm MetaBank is H&R Block's banking partner. What really helped me during my divorce process was creating a completely fresh start - I opened a new checking account at a different bank entirely and used that for direct deposit. It eliminated any possibility of confusion or complications with previous joint accounts. The IRS doesn't care which bank receives your refund, so you have total flexibility there. Also, if you're worried about timing, direct deposit to your own account is typically 1-2 days faster than their Emerald Card option. Good luck getting everything sorted out - the first tax season post-divorce feels overwhelming but it gets easier!

Also - watch out for health insurance! If you own >2% of an S-Corp, your health insurance premiums should be paid by the S-Corp, reported as income on your W-2, and then deducted on your 1040. Don't double-dip by having the S-Corp deduct them AND taking a personal deduction. That's an audit flag.

Thanks everyone for all the detailed advice! This is exactly what I needed. Just to clarify a few things based on what I'm reading: 1. My S-Corp should reimburse me for the laptop and software I paid for personally, then deduct those on the 1120-S 2. For my cell phone, I need to document the 70% business use and have the S-Corp reimburse only that portion 3. I should set up a formal accountable plan for ongoing reimbursements Quick follow-up question - if I get reimbursed by my S-Corp now (in April) for expenses I paid in January-March, does that still count for the 2024 tax year or does it become a 2025 deduction? I want to make sure I'm handling the timing correctly. Also really appreciate the warnings about reasonable salary and health insurance - I definitely need to review those areas too!

Filed 2/22, got state refund in a week, federal still says "processing" on WMR. Just checked transcripts after reading this post and I also have an 846 for 3/29! Never got any updates or notifications, it just appeared. The IRS website is a joke.

Congratulations on finally getting your 846 code! I'm currently on week 7 of waiting myself - filed 2/28 and accepted same day but transcripts still showing N/A. Your post gives me hope that movement can happen suddenly even after weeks of nothing. Quick question - when you say your transcripts were "completely empty" until today, do you mean they showed N/A for return transcript or that there was literally nothing there? I'm trying to figure out if my situation is normal delay or if something's actually wrong. The WMR tool has been useless - just the generic "still processing" message for over a month now. Really hoping I see some movement soon like you did! April 1st deposit date sounds amazing right about now 🤞

Don't you all realize you can just check your credit report? It should show both loan servicers and you can see the balance transfer date. Then use your bank statements to see what payments you made to Mohela before the transfer date.

I went through this exact same nightmare with Mohela last year! Here's what finally worked for me: Try calling Mohela super early in the morning (like 7-8 AM) when their call volume is lowest. I got through in about 15 minutes versus the 2+ hours I was waiting during normal business hours. When you do get through, ask them to email you the 1098-E directly - don't rely on mail. They can usually do this immediately while you're on the phone. If that still doesn't work, you can absolutely use your bank statements to calculate the interest. The IRS is fine with this approach. Look for any monthly statements or payment confirmations you might have saved that show the principal/interest breakdown. Also, double-check your tax software or tax preparer - sometimes they can help you estimate the interest based on your loan balance and interest rate if you have that information. The student loan interest deduction is too valuable to miss out on, so don't give up!