This has been such a comprehensive discussion! As someone who just went through the L2 visa remote work situation myself, I wanted to add a few practical tips that might help others avoid some of the pitfalls I encountered. **Documentation is everything**: Start keeping meticulous records NOW, before you even move. I created a spreadsheet tracking every day I was physically present in each country, all tax payments made, and copies of every form filed. This saved me countless hours during tax season and will be invaluable if USCIS ever questions my compliance history. **Banking strategy**: I kept my foreign accounts open but opened a dedicated US account specifically for tax obligations. Having separate "buckets" made it much easier to track what I owed to each country and avoid accidentally spending money I'd earmarked for taxes. **Quarterly payments are crucial**: Don't underestimate the importance of making quarterly estimated payments to the US. Even if you expect foreign tax credits to offset most of your liability, being late on estimated payments can trigger penalties that add up quickly. **State tax research**: Definitely research your destination state's specific rules. I moved to a state I thought would be tax-friendly, only to discover they had very aggressive sourcing rules for foreign income that cost me more than I'd budgeted for. The immigration compliance angle mentioned earlier is spot-on - proper tax compliance really is an investment in your future US immigration prospects. Getting professional help upfront is much cheaper than trying to fix mistakes later when you're applying for permanent residence. For anyone just starting this journey, feel free to reach out if you have specific questions about the practical day-to-day aspects of managing this situation!

This thread has been incredibly helpful - I'm in almost the exact same situation as the original poster! Planning to move to the US on an L2 visa in about 3 months while continuing remote work for my UK employer. One thing I wanted to add based on my research so far: it's worth checking if your UK employer has any existing US business registration or tax obligations. Even if they don't have a physical presence, they might already be registered for sales tax or other purposes in certain states, which could affect how they handle your employment situation. Also, for those mentioning the substantial presence test calculation - I found the IRS has a helpful online tool (Publication 519) that walks through the weighted calculation including prior years. It's worth running the numbers early to understand exactly when you'll trigger US tax residency. The banking advice about keeping separate tax savings accounts resonates with me. I'm already setting aside about 35% of my income in preparation, figuring it's better to over-save initially and adjust based on actual filing experience. One question for those who've been through this: did any of you encounter issues with your UK employer's insurance coverage while working from the US? I'm wondering if their professional indemnity or workers' compensation policies have geographical restrictions that could create gaps in coverage. Thanks again to everyone who's shared their experiences - this discussion has probably saved me from making several costly mistakes!

11 Don't forget about education tax credits! Even as a dependent, you might qualify for the American Opportunity Credit or Lifetime Learning Credit if you're paying for education expenses yourself. Made a huge difference for me when I was in your situation.

This is such a helpful thread! I'm a tax preparer and see this confusion all the time. Your mom's concern is understandable but misplaced - the "kiddie tax" only applies to unearned income (dividends, interest, capital gains) for dependents, not wages from a job. With $27k in earned income and 35% withholding, you're looking at roughly $9,450 withheld. Your taxable income after the standard deduction would be around $12,400 ($27k - $14,600 standard deduction). At current tax rates, your actual tax liability would be much less than what was withheld, so you should definitely expect a refund. One tip: make sure you file your own return even though you're claimed as a dependent. You need to file to get your refund, and being claimed as a dependent doesn't prevent you from filing - it just affects certain deductions and credits available to you.

This is incredibly helpful information from everyone! I'm dealing with this exact same checkbox issue and was getting really worried about messing up my return. Just to summarize what I've gathered from this thread for anyone else who finds this: **The main solutions seem to be:** 1. Manually enter the correct standard deduction amount on line 12a (thanks Oliver for the specific amounts!) 2. Try the save/close/reopen workaround that Dmitry mentioned 3. Switch to a different tax software like TaxAct or TurboTax 4. Use services like Claimyr to get through to the IRS for official confirmation 5. Use taxr.ai to double-check your return before submitting I think I'm going to try the manual calculation first since multiple people confirmed the IRS said this would work. If I'm still nervous about it, I might use one of those analysis tools to double-check everything before hitting submit. Really appreciate everyone sharing their experiences - this community is so much more helpful than the official IRS help pages!

I'm so glad I found this thread! I've been struggling with this exact same checkbox issue for the past three days and was starting to panic that I'd have to pay for tax software or miss the deadline. Reading through everyone's experiences, it sounds like the manual calculation approach is the safest bet. I'm 67 years old, so if I understand correctly from Oliver's explanation, I need to add $1,850 to my base standard deduction of $14,600, giving me $16,450 for line 12a. I'm still a bit nervous about submitting with that broken checkbox, so I think I'll also try that taxr.ai service Miguel mentioned to double-check everything before I file. At this point, spending a few dollars on peace of mind is worth it compared to dealing with potential IRS correspondence later. Has anyone who used the manual calculation method already received their refund or gotten confirmation that it processed correctly? That would really help ease my anxiety about this whole situation!

@e97069fb8802 Welcome to the US tax system! Your concern is completely understandable and you're definitely not alone - I had the exact same reaction when I first saw my transcript a couple years ago. That partial information display really does look weird when you're not expecting it! Everyone here has given you great advice about this being a normal security feature. What helped me the most was realizing that the IRS has actually gotten much more protective with our data over the years, which is a good thing even if it looks confusing at first. Since you mentioned being new here and needing your refund for bills, here's what I wish someone had told me: the most important thing is that you filed accurately, not what the transcript header looks like. If you used tax software or had professional help, and your income/withholding amounts look correct on the transcript, you're almost certainly fine. The waiting is definitely nerve-wracking when you're counting on that money! But the good news is that most refunds come through pretty reliably within the timeframe they give you. You're being smart by staying on top of it and asking questions when something seems off - that's exactly what you should do as you're learning the system. Hope your refund comes through soon! 🤞

@e97069fb8802 Don't worry at all - what you're seeing is completely normal! I had the exact same concern when I first checked my transcript after moving to the US. That partial information display is actually the IRS's way of protecting your identity while still letting you verify it's your account. I remember calling the IRS in a panic about this same issue, and they explained that they intentionally mask personal details on transcripts as a security measure. You'll see partial name, partial address, and only the last 4 digits of your SSN - but all your tax data (income, withholdings, credits) will be complete and unmasked. Since you're counting on your refund, focus on making sure those key tax numbers match what you filed rather than worrying about the header info. The partial masking won't affect your refund processing at all! If you filed electronically with direct deposit, most refunds come within 21 days. You're doing exactly the right thing by double-checking everything - that careful attention will serve you well as you get more familiar with the US tax system. The "Where's My Refund" tool on IRS.gov will give you the most current updates on your refund status. Good luck! 🤞

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm dealing with a very similar situation and want to make sure I understand the Form 8606 requirements correctly. I made non-deductible contributions in 2021 and 2023 but didn't file Form 8606 for those years because I didn't do any conversions at the time. I just assumed I only needed to file it when I actually converted. Now I'm planning to do a backdoor Roth conversion in 2025 and I'm realizing I may have created a mess for myself. Should I file amended returns for 2021 and 2023 to include the missing Form 8606s before doing my conversion? I'm worried that without proper documentation of my non-deductible basis, the IRS will treat my entire conversion as taxable income. Also, for anyone who's been through this - how far back does the IRS typically look when auditing backdoor Roth conversions? I want to make sure I have all my documentation in order before proceeding.

This is such a comprehensive thread - thank you everyone for sharing your experiences! I'm in a very similar boat with mixed deductible/non-deductible contributions and was completely overwhelmed by the pro-rata calculations. One thing I want to add for anyone still confused: the IRS Publication 590-A has some helpful examples of how the pro-rata rule works in practice. It's dense reading, but seeing the actual calculations worked out step-by-step really helped me understand what was happening with my own situation. Also, I learned the hard way that you need to keep meticulous records of ALL your IRA contributions and their deductible status. I had to dig through years of tax returns and bank statements to reconstruct my contribution history when I finally decided to do my conversion. Start organizing this documentation now if you're planning future backdoor Roths - your future self will thank you! The Form 8606 tracking is absolutely critical. Even if you think you'll never convert, circumstances change and you don't want to be scrambling to prove your non-deductible basis years later.