Just a heads up that NY has some of the most aggressive non-resident income tax policies in the country! If you physically worked in NY, they will definitely want their cut. Make sure you're tracking exactly which days you worked in which state. NY has the notorious "convenience of employer" rule where they might try to tax income you earned while physically in NC if it was for a NY-based company and you were working remotely "for convenience" rather than necessity.

Just went through this exact situation last year with W2s from Texas and Florida! Here's what I learned that might help: 1. Yes, you combine all income ($132k total) on your federal return - that part is straightforward. 2. For state taxes, since NC has income tax but NY has higher rates, you'll likely end up paying some additional tax to NY beyond what was withheld from your NY paychecks. 3. The key thing that saved me money was making sure I understood the timing - if you had taxes withheld from both W2s throughout the year, you might actually get a refund from one state while owing the other. 4. Keep detailed records of your work locations and dates. I used a simple spreadsheet tracking which days I was physically in each state. This becomes crucial if either state audits your return. One thing that really helped was calling both state tax departments early in the process to confirm I understood their specific rules correctly. Each state has slightly different interpretations of multi-state income, and getting it right the first time saved me a lot of headache later. Good luck with your filing!

This thread has been incredibly informative! I'm also doing tax loss harvesting for the first time this year and had the exact same confusion about the December 31 deadline. One additional consideration I learned from my research: if you're planning to harvest losses but also want to maintain exposure to the market, you might want to consider using the proceeds to immediately buy a similar (but not substantially identical) investment to avoid missing out on potential gains while staying compliant with wash sale rules. For example, if you're selling an individual stock at a loss, you could use those proceeds to buy a broad market ETF, or if you're selling a large-cap growth fund, you might switch to a total market fund temporarily. Just make sure to wait the full 31 days before buying back the original position if you want to avoid wash sale treatment. Thanks everyone for confirming the December 31 trade date rule - that removes a lot of uncertainty from my year-end planning!

This has been such a valuable discussion! As someone who's been putting off tax loss harvesting because I was confused about the timing, you've all given me the confidence to finally execute my strategy. Just to summarize what I've learned for anyone else who might be reading this: - December 31st is the absolute deadline (trade date, not settlement date) - After-hours trades on 12/31 still count for the current tax year - Watch out for wash sale rules (30 days before/after) - Keep good documentation, especially for last-minute trades - Consider the order of trades (losses first, then gains) - Be mindful of mutual fund distribution dates I'm planning to sell my underperforming positions this week to avoid any last-minute stress, but it's reassuring to know I have until December 31st if needed. The tools mentioned (taxr.ai for analysis and Claimyr for IRS questions) also sound like they could be really helpful resources. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences and expertise - this community is amazing!

To add some historical context to this discussion, the authority for the Treasury Department to issue tax regulations comes from 26 U.S. Code § 7805, which gives the Secretary of the Treasury the power to "prescribe all needful rules and regulations for the enforcement" of tax laws. This delegation of authority has been around since the Revenue Act of 1916! Sometimes Congress will specifically direct Treasury to issue regulations on a particular topic. These are called "legislative regulations" and they carry the full force of law. Other times, Treasury issues "interpretative regulations" on their own initiative to clarify how they understand the tax code.

Something nobody has mentioned yet is that sometimes courts effectively "write" tax regulations when they interpret ambiguous parts of the tax code or regulations. I had a case where I followed what I thought the regulation clearly stated about rental property depreciation, but my accountant explained that a Tax Court decision had effectively changed how that regulation is applied.

Slightly off-topic but related - make sure you check if your home country requires you to report your US LLC interest or allows you to claim the losses on your home country tax return! I'm from Australia, and I have to report my US LLC interest on my Australian tax return too, even though I already file a 1040-NR in the US. Some countries treat US LLCs as corporations while others treat them as flow-through entities like the US does. This "hybrid entity" issue can create tax mismatches where losses get trapped in one country.

As someone who went through a similar situation last year, I can confirm what others have said - you absolutely need to file Form 1040-NR even with only losses from your LLC partnership. The filing requirement is triggered by being "engaged in a trade or business in the United States," not by having positive income. One thing I'd add that hasn't been mentioned yet - make sure you keep detailed records of these losses because they become valuable when carried forward. The IRS may ask for supporting documentation in future years when you try to use the losses against profitable income. Also, if your LLC made any estimated tax payments on your behalf during 2024 (which sometimes happens even in loss years for various reasons), you'll want to make sure those are properly reported on your 1040-NR so you can get credit for any overpayments. Check box 16 on your K-1 to see if there were any payments made. The $17,400 loss figure you mentioned should go on Schedule E of your 1040-NR. Don't let the complexity intimidate you - it's a standard filing requirement for non-US persons with US business interests.

Can someone explain what happens if you just put $0 for this question? I've honestly never reported any use tax in my life and I buy stuff online constantly. Never had an issue with my returns. Is the IRS really going to come after me for not tracking every random purchase I make on the internet??

I totally get the confusion! I went through the same thing last year. Here's what I learned: that question is basically asking about "use tax" - which is what you owe on purchases where the seller didn't collect sales tax from you. Don't stress too much about tracking every single purchase perfectly. Most states know this is unrealistic for regular people. Here's what I'd suggest: 1. Check if your state offers a "safe harbor" amount - this is usually a flat fee based on your income that you can pay instead of calculating exact amounts 2. Focus on any big purchases you made from smaller online retailers (especially out-of-state ones) 3. Major retailers like Amazon usually collect sales tax everywhere now, so those probably aren't an issue For this year's filing, if you can't track everything perfectly, most people either use the safe harbor amount or make a reasonable estimate. The key is being honest and making a good faith effort. You're definitely not alone in finding this confusing - it's one of those tax questions that trips up tons of people!