Has anyone else noticed that TurboTax seems to handle RSUs differently this year? Last year I had no problems but this year it keeps throwing errors even though my situation is exactly the same. Is there a specific version of TurboTax that handles RSUs better? Currently using Premier.

I've been dealing with RSU issues in TurboTax for years and there's actually a specific workflow that usually fixes the "unaccounted shares" error. The key is making sure you enter everything in the right order: First, enter your W-2 completely (this includes the RSU income in Box 1). Then when you get to the investment section, enter your 1099-B transactions but make sure to check the box that says "This sale was already reported as income on a W-2 or 1099-MISC" for the shares that were sold to cover taxes. The critical part is in the cost basis adjustment - you need to enter the fair market value on the vesting date as your cost basis for ALL the shares (including the ones sold for taxes), not just the ones you kept. TurboTax gets confused when people only adjust the cost basis for the shares they kept. Also double-check that your total vested shares (1300 in your case) equals sold shares (672) plus delivered shares (628). Sometimes there are small fractional shares that get missed in the count.

Here's a specific example. My daughter. Age 17. Two jobs last year. Made $4,800 total. Under filing threshold. We included both W-2s. IRS has automated matching system. They know about both jobs. They will send notice if one is missing. Could trigger audit. Not worth the risk. Better to file correctly. Teach good habits now. She can use the refund for college savings. Tax compliance is important life skill.

As someone who's been through this exact scenario, I can confirm what others are saying - you absolutely must report ALL income if you choose to file. The IRS has sophisticated matching systems that will catch missing W-2s within months. I learned this the hard way when I helped my niece with her taxes two years ago. What might help is understanding WHY her state refund drops with the second W-2. Often it's because: - The combined income pushes her into a higher state tax bracket - She loses eligibility for certain state credits or deductions - The additional withholding from the second job wasn't proportional to the tax owed Instead of omitting income, consider if she's eligible for any legitimate deductions or credits she might be missing. Sometimes there are education-related credits or deductions that can help offset the tax impact. The $60 difference, while frustrating, is much better than dealing with IRS notices, penalties, and the stress that comes with them later.

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.