Has anyone else noticed that the AMT exemption amount actually phases out at higher incomes? Like it starts to reduce once you hit around $523,900 for single filers in 2023. Just mentioning because talking about being "above the exemption" can be misleading. You have to actually do the calculation to know.

You're probably overthinking this! With income in the mid-to-high 80s and what sounds like a straightforward tax situation, you're likely not going to owe AMT even though you're above the exemption threshold. The exemption amount is just where the calculation starts - being above it doesn't automatically mean you owe additional tax. AMT really kicks in when you have significant "tax preference items" like large state/local tax deductions, certain investment income, or stock option exercises. If you're using tax software, it will automatically run the AMT calculation for you and include Form 6251 if needed. You don't have to manually figure it out. Even if it turns out you do need to file the form, the software handles all the complexity. My advice? Don't stress about it too much. Let your tax software do the heavy lifting, and if you end up owing AMT, it's probably not going to be a huge amount at your income level. The IRS designed this system to catch high-income taxpayers with complex situations, not people with regular W-2 income.

I'm in a similar boat and want to share what I learned from my tax advisor. Since you already filed without an extension, you're unfortunately stuck with the April 15th deadline for SEP IRA contributions. The key lesson here is that filing an extension BEFORE the deadline would have given you until October 15th, even if you ended up filing early. For your current situation, your CPA's amendment approach is correct - you'll need to remove the SEP IRA deduction and pay the additional tax. It's painful but unavoidable. Going forward, consider filing an extension every year as a safety net, even if you plan to file on time. It only costs you the time to file Form 4868 and gives you that crucial October deadline for SEP contributions. I now set a calendar reminder for March 1st to file an extension just in case. Also, consider setting up your SEP IRA contributions earlier in the year or even making estimated contributions throughout the year. Waiting until April is risky for exactly the reason you experienced.

I've been through this exact scenario before and it's frustrating, but unfortunately once you've filed your return without having filed an extension beforehand, you're locked into the April 15th deadline for SEP IRA contributions. The extension needs to be filed BEFORE your original due date to be valid. Your CPA is taking the right approach with the amendment. You'll need to remove the SEP IRA deduction you claimed and pay the additional tax owed. It's an expensive lesson, but not uncommon. For future years, I'd strongly recommend: 1. File Form 4868 (extension) by March 15th every year as insurance, even if you plan to file on time 2. Set up quarterly SEP IRA contributions throughout the year rather than waiting until April 3. Keep a separate account for tax payments so unexpected situations like this don't create cash flow issues The silver lining is that you can start making 2025 SEP IRA contributions immediately, so you could get ahead of the game for next tax year. Many people don't realize you can make the current year's contribution as early as January 1st.

Quick question for anyone using automated tax solutions - do they handle local taxes in states like Colorado where home-rule cities have their own separate tax systems? I've found those especially difficult to manage.

The destination-based system also reflects a fundamental principle of tax policy - that taxes should be paid where public services are consumed, not just where they're produced. When you ship a product to a customer in another state, that customer benefits from local infrastructure (roads for delivery), emergency services (if there's an issue with the product), consumer protection laws, and courts (if there's a dispute). From an economic fairness perspective, it makes sense that the tax revenue goes to the jurisdiction providing those services to your customers. Otherwise, you'd have states with major distribution centers or tech companies collecting all the sales tax revenue while customer states bear the costs of supporting those purchases. I know it's complicated for businesses, but the alternative would essentially allow customers to avoid their local sales taxes just by shopping online, which would devastate brick-and-mortar stores that have to compete with tax-free online retailers. The current system at least levels the playing field between online and local businesses.

I had a very similar issue with my 2024 return! TurboTax kept blocking me from filing because of the Form 4684 delay, even though my hurricane damage was from 2017. I spent way too much time researching this before realizing the software was just being overly broad with its questions. The key thing to understand is that the current Form 4684 delays only affect specific disaster provisions that were updated for recent disasters (mainly 2023-2024). If you already claimed all your Hurricane Florence losses on your 2018 return and have no new casualty losses for 2024, you can safely answer "No" to the disaster question. I changed my answer and filed without any problems. The IRS isn't going to flag you for not reporting a disaster that was already fully handled on a previous year's return. Sometimes tax software errs on the side of asking too many questions rather than missing something, but in this case it's just creating unnecessary confusion for people whose disasters were properly reported years ago.

I went through this exact same frustration last year! The Form 4684 delay message in TurboTax can be really misleading when it applies to older disasters that were already properly reported. From what you've described, since you already claimed all your Hurricane Florence losses on your 2018 return and there are no ongoing insurance settlements or newly discovered damage, you should be able to change your answer to "No" on the disaster question without any issues. The current Form 4684 delays are specifically related to updates for certain 2023-2024 disasters, not older ones like Hurricane Florence from 2018. Tax software sometimes casts a wide net with these screening questions, but if your disaster was fully resolved years ago, there's no need to involve Form 4684 on your current return. I'd recommend going back in TurboTax, changing that disaster answer to "No," and filing your return. You won't miss any deductions since you already took them in the correct year, and you'll avoid unnecessary delays waiting for form updates that don't even apply to your situation.

Chiming in as someone who works at a company that uses a PEO (we use Insperity though, not BBSI). This is 100% normal and how it's supposed to work. The whole point of a PEO is that they become the "employer of record" for tax and insurance purposes while your actual company handles the day-to-day employment relationship. In fact, this arrangement often benefits employees because larger PEOs can negotiate better health insurance rates and retirement plans than small employers could get on their own. So your wife might actually be getting better benefits because of this setup!

I went through the exact same thing last year with my W-2! My employer uses ADP Total Source as their PEO, and I was completely panicked when I saw their name and EIN instead of my actual company's information. I spent way too much time researching this online and even called my tax preparer in a panic. Turns out it's completely legitimate - PEOs like BBSI, ADP, Insperity, etc. are required to issue W-2s under their own EIN since they're handling all the payroll tax obligations. The key thing that helped me feel confident about filing was realizing that the IRS computer systems are expecting to see the PEO's information because that's who's been making the quarterly tax deposits and filing the employment tax returns all year. If you tried to use your wife's actual employer's EIN instead, it would create a mismatch in their system. Just file exactly as the W-2 shows and you'll be fine. This arrangement is actually becoming more and more common as small businesses outsource their HR and payroll functions to these professional employer organizations.