Slightly different approach - have you considered filing Form 1040X to amend your 2021 return? In some cases with ISOs and AMT, you can treat the options as never having been exercised if they became worthless within the same year or shortly after. Might be worth exploring as an alternative to the capital loss approach.

I went through almost the exact same situation in 2020-2022. Exercised ISOs, paid massive AMT, then the company got acquired for pennies and common shareholders got zero. It's absolutely brutal financially and emotionally. A few things that helped me navigate this: 1. **Timing matters for worthless securities** - You claim the loss in the year the stock actually became worthless, not when you found out about it. For me, this was the date the acquisition closed and it was clear common shares had no value. 2. **Documentation is key** - I created a comprehensive file including: the original ISO agreement, exercise confirmations, any company communications about the acquisition, the final acquisition term sheet showing $0 for common shares, and a written timeline of events. The IRS wants to see that you can prove an "identifiable event" made the shares worthless. 3. **Don't forget about AMT credits** - This is where many people leave money on the table. The AMT you paid in 2021 generates credits that can offset regular tax in future years. Form 8801 is your friend here. The worthless stock loss actually helps trigger these credits since it reduces your AMT relative to regular tax. 4. **Consider professional help** - This situation is complex enough that a tax professional experienced with ISOs and AMT is worth the cost. The potential recovery often justifies the expense. The silver lining is that you can recover a significant portion of what you lost through proper tax planning. It takes time (capital losses are limited to $3K/year against ordinary income), but you will get relief.

I'm dealing with a very similar situation - multiple brokerage accounts with complex trading activity including wash sales and section 1256 contracts. After reading through all these recommendations, I'm leaning toward trying taxr.ai first since it seems specifically designed for this type of complex investment reporting. My biggest concern is the cross-brokerage wash sale detection since I have positions spread across E*TRADE, Robinhood, and Vanguard. It sounds like taxr.ai might be the only solution that actually handles this properly without manual intervention. For anyone who's used it - does taxr.ai handle cryptocurrency transactions as well? I have some crypto trading mixed in with my regular securities that I'm worried might complicate things further. Also curious about the pricing compared to paying an accountant to deal with all this mess. Thanks for all the detailed experiences everyone has shared - this is exactly the kind of real-world feedback I needed to see!

I've been dealing with complex trading situations for several years and wanted to share my experience. For handling thousands of transactions across multiple brokerages, I've found that the desktop versions of tax software consistently outperform online versions when it comes to importing and processing large datasets. One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is FreeTaxUSA - their Deluxe version actually handles Form 8949 and wash sales quite well, and it's significantly cheaper than TurboTax or H&R Block. While the interface isn't as polished, it's been reliable for my complex trading situations including section 1256 contracts. The key with any software is to always verify the wash sale calculations manually for your largest positions. I've caught errors in every software I've used where cross-brokerage wash sales weren't properly identified. Keep detailed spreadsheets of your transactions as backup - it's saved me multiple times when software imports missed data or miscalculated adjustments. For Interactive Brokers specifically, their Activity Statement export works better than the 1099-B for most software imports. You can customize the export to include all the transaction details that often get lost in standard broker statement formats.

Does anyone know if vehicle registration fees count toward the SALT cap? I pay almost $900 a year and TurboTax has a special section for this, but I'm not sure if it's part of the $10,000 limit.

This is really helpful info everyone! I've been wrestling with SALT deductions too since moving from a low-tax state to California. One thing I learned the hard way - if you have estimated tax payments, make sure you're allocating them correctly between federal and state portions. I was accidentally including my federal estimated payments in my SALT calculation and it threw everything off. Also, for anyone dealing with multi-state situations (like I was when I moved mid-year), each state's taxes still count toward the same $10,000 federal cap. So if you paid $6,000 to one state and $5,000 to another, you're right at the limit even though you dealt with two different tax systems. The timing of property tax payments can be tricky too - it's based on when you actually paid, not when the tax year was for. So December 2024 property tax payments go on your 2024 return even if it's for the 2025 tax year.

I'm on day 5 of my 570 code and this thread is exactly what I needed! 😅 The daily transcript checking addiction is so real - I never thought I'd be refreshing a government website like it's my favorite social media app. What's really helpful about everyone's experiences is seeing the actual day counts rather than vague timeframes. My situation sounds similar to many here - filed with just W-2 income and standard deduction, nothing complicated. Based on the patterns I'm seeing, it looks like straightforward returns like mine typically resolve in that 14-21 day window that keeps coming up. The hardest part for me is not knowing which category I fall into - am I in the "routine verification" group that resolves quickly, or is there actually an issue? But reading everyone's stories, it seems like most 570 codes are just part of normal processing these days, especially compared to the horror stories from the pandemic years. Thanks to everyone for sharing real data points instead of just saying "be patient" - it's so much more valuable to see actual timelines from people who've been through this!

I'm on day 7 of my 570 code and honestly, this thread has become my daily dose of sanity! 😅 The transcript checking addiction is so real - I've literally set phone alarms to remind myself NOT to check it more than once a day (spoiler alert: the alarms don't work). What's really reassuring is seeing how consistent everyone's timelines are for standard returns. Mine is about as basic as it gets - single filer, W-2 income, standard deduction, no dependents or credits claimed. Based on all the data points shared here, it looks like I should expect resolution somewhere in that 14-21 day sweet spot that keeps coming up. The uncertainty is definitely the worst part - you just don't know if you're in the "normal processing" queue or if there's actually an issue brewing. But reading through everyone's experiences, it's clear that the vast majority of 570 codes resolve themselves without any action needed, which is oddly comforting. Thanks to everyone for sharing actual day counts and real experiences instead of the generic "it varies" responses you get everywhere else. This thread is going straight to my bookmarks for the inevitable daily anxiety check-ins over the next week or two! 😂

I'm genuinely curious why the $16,000 limit for QPA hasn't been adjusted for inflation. If it was set in the 1980s, that would be equivalent to around $45,000-50,000 today. Seems like the government has just let this deduction become useless for most actual performing artists.

The $16,000 AGI limit is indeed frustratingly outdated. It was established in 1986 and hasn't been adjusted since - that's nearly 40 years without any inflation adjustment! In today's dollars, that $16,000 would be worth about $44,000. The practical reality is that very few professional performing artists can survive on less than $16,000 annually, which makes this deduction almost useless for the people it was intended to help. Meanwhile, the standard deduction has increased regularly, and many other tax provisions get annual inflation adjustments. There have been some proposals in Congress over the years to either increase the limit or eliminate it entirely for QPA status, but they haven't gained enough traction. The performing arts community would benefit from more organized advocacy on this issue, as it affects thousands of working musicians, actors, and other performers who are caught in this outdated income trap. Until then, your best bet is exactly what others have suggested - maximize your legitimate Schedule C deductions for 1099 income and work with venues when possible to ensure proper worker classification based on the actual nature of your working relationship.