Great question about the 1095-A as a dependent! I ran into this exact issue. Even though you're claimed as a dependent, you still need to report the 1095-A information on your return using Form 8962. The key thing is that you'll likely need to "repay" any advance premium tax credits that were paid to your insurance company during the year, since as a dependent you're not eligible to receive those credits. Make sure you have the correct SLCSP (Second Lowest Cost Silver Plan) amount from your 1095-A - that's often where the software errors come from. If your software keeps giving you errors, double-check that you're entering the monthly amounts exactly as they appear on the form, including any zeros for months you weren't covered. The good news is that this situation is pretty common and the IRS system handles it routinely. Just make sure you file the form even if it results in owing money - not filing it when you received advance credits can cause bigger problems later.

The 1095-A dependent situation can be really tricky! I went through this last year and learned the hard way that timing matters a lot with these forms. Since you mentioned filing so close to the deadline, just wanted to add that if your return does get rejected due to 1095-A issues (which happened to my friend), make sure you act quickly during that 5-day grace period someone mentioned earlier. One thing that really helped me was calling the marketplace directly (not the IRS) to verify the SLCSP amounts on my 1095-A were correct. Sometimes there are errors on the form itself, and the marketplace can issue a corrected version if needed. This is especially important if you switched plans mid-year or had coverage gaps. Also, since you're being claimed as a dependent, make absolutely sure your parents aren't also trying to claim any premium tax credits related to your coverage on their return. That can create a nightmare scenario where both returns get flagged. Coordination is key! The payment timing advice everyone gave is spot on though - always pay by the deadline regardless of acceptance status. I learned that lesson the expensive way a few years back.

Just a heads up, my cousin tried filing as MFJ without being legally married and got audited. The IRS made them refile separately and they had to pay about $4,200 in back taxes plus a 20% accuracy-related penalty on top. They also got flagged in their IRS account and have been getting more scrutiny on their returns for the last 3 years. The tax difference between filing properly vs improperly wasn't even worth the risk. Just get legally married if you want those MFJ benefits, or make sure one of you qualifies for Head of Household, which gets you some better tax breaks than just filing Single anyway.

This is a really important question that comes up a lot. Just to add to what others have said - the IRS is very clear that your marital status for tax purposes is determined by your legal status on December 31st of the tax year. No exceptions for "basically married" situations, unfortunately. One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is that if you do decide to get legally married before December 31st, you can file as MFJ for the entire year, even if you only got married on December 30th. That's something to consider if you're planning to get married anyway. Also, when filing as Head of Household, make sure you keep good records of your household expenses (rent/mortgage, utilities, groceries, etc.) to prove you paid more than half the cost of maintaining the home. The IRS sometimes asks for this documentation during audits. The penalties for filing incorrectly aren't worth the risk. Head of Household status will give you better tax benefits than Single anyway, and you'll avoid the stress and potential financial consequences of an audit.

This is really helpful information everyone! I'm dealing with a similar situation where I need to understand my deceased uncle's financial situation for probate purposes. He lived in the US for about 10 years before passing away, and I'm his executor but live in Mexico. From what I'm reading here, it sounds like I definitely need his Form 1040 rather than just the W-2s his employer sent me. The estate attorney mentioned we need to account for ALL his income sources, and now I understand why - the W-2 would only show his job income, not any investments, rental properties, or other income he might have had. Does anyone know if there's a specific process for getting tax documents when you're handling an estate? I'm worried about the IRS phone situation that others mentioned - I can't afford to spend days on hold trying to get through to them.

For estate purposes from Mexico, you're absolutely on the right track wanting the Form 1040 instead of just W-2s. As executor, you have legal authority to request tax transcripts using Form 4506-T, but there are a few important things to know: 1. You'll need certified copies of your letters testamentary or letters of administration from the probate court 2. Request Form 4506-T specifically for estates - it's slightly different from the regular version 3. Consider requesting transcripts for the last 3-4 years, not just the final year, as courts often want to see the complete financial history The IRS can mail transcripts internationally, but it takes 6-8 weeks. If you need them faster, you might need a US address for delivery. One tip: if your uncle had any business income (Schedule C), rental properties (Schedule E), or significant investments (Schedules B/D), those details will be crucial for the estate valuation. The probate court will want to see ALL income sources, not just his employment. Given the international complexity and time constraints of probate proceedings, getting connected to an IRS agent who can walk you through the estate-specific process could save you months of back-and-forth paperwork corrections.

Isn't this covered under Section 195 for startup expenditures? That's what I've used in the past when filling out the 4562 for similar costs.

Based on the discussion here, it sounds like Section 163 is the right approach for your loan acquisition costs. I went through something similar last year with our partnership's commercial property financing. One thing to double-check though - make sure you're distinguishing between different types of loan costs. Some costs like appraisal fees or environmental assessments might need to be capitalized into the property basis rather than amortized separately. The true financing costs (origination fees, points, etc.) are what go on the 4562 under Section 163. Also, just as a heads up, if any of those loan costs were paid by the seller on your behalf, those typically get added to your property basis instead of being amortized as financing costs. The IRS can be pretty specific about how these different costs are treated, so it's worth reviewing exactly what's included in your total. Good luck with the filing! The 4562 can be tricky but once you get the right code section it's much more straightforward.

Make sure you're entering Form 5498-SA information in the right place in TurboTax! I had this exact issue. When you get to the HSA section, there's a question that asks something like "Did you make contributions to your HSA outside of payroll deductions?" Answer yes to that. Then it should ask for contributions not reported on your W-2. That's where you enter the amount from the 5498-SA that isn't shown on the W-2. TurboTax will calculate the deduction for you on Form 8889.

I went through this exact same confusion last year! The key thing to understand is that HSA contributions can be made in different ways, and each affects your tax forms differently. If your wife's HSA contributions don't show up in box 12 of her W-2, it's likely because either: 1. She made direct contributions to her HSA (not through payroll), or 2. Her employer made the contributions directly as a benefit For TurboTax, you need to navigate to the HSA section under "Deductions & Credits" and look for something like "HSA contributions not on W-2" or "Did you make HSA contributions outside of payroll?" This is where you'll enter the amount from her 5498-SA form. The 5498-SA shows all contributions made to the HSA during the year, but only certain types need to be claimed as deductions. If they were direct contributions (not through payroll), you can deduct them. If they were employer contributions, they're already tax-free and don't need to be deducted. Check her paystubs to see if HSA amounts were deducted from her paycheck. If not, they were likely either direct contributions she made or employer contributions. This will help you determine how to handle them in TurboTax.