Don't forget about education credits too! Since he's in college and you're claiming him as a dependent, YOU would be the one eligible to claim any education credits for his expenses (like the American Opportunity Credit) on your return, not him. Could be worth up to $2,500 if he has qualified education expenses.

Based on what you've described, you should definitely be able to claim your brother as a dependent! Since he's 19 and a full-time college student, he can qualify as a "qualifying child" rather than just a "qualifying relative" - which is actually better for you because there's no gross income limit for qualifying children under 24 who are students. The key tests you need to meet are: 1. Relationship - ✓ (he's your brother) 2. Age - ✓ (under 24 and full-time student) 3. Residency - ✓ (lived with you more than half the year since February) 4. Support - ✓ (sounds like you're covering all his major expenses) His $9k income won't disqualify him since he's a student under 24. Just make sure when he files his own return that he checks the box indicating someone else can claim him as a dependent. And definitely keep good records of all the support you're providing - rent, utilities, food, etc. - in case you ever need to prove you're covering more than half his total support for the year. You're being really generous helping him get started in life!

One thing to remember is that even with zero income/expenses, if your foundation has assets (like money in a bank account), you'll still need to report those on the balance sheet section of the 990-PF. Many first-time filers get hung up on the income portions being zero but forget about reporting the assets. Also, don't forget the minimum distribution requirements for private foundations! Even if you had no income this year, you might still be required to distribute 5% of your investment assets. If you truly have zero assets and zero income, that's different, but make sure you're clear on which situation applies to you.

As someone who's dealt with this exact situation, I completely understand your frustration! The key issue you're running into is that the 990-PF has mandatory sections that must be completed even with zero activity - you can't just leave them blank. For TurboTax Nonprofit, try entering "$0" explicitly in those flagged fields instead of leaving them empty. The software often interprets blank fields as incomplete rather than zero. Also, make sure you're filling out Part VIII (Information About Officers, Directors, etc.) completely - this section is required regardless of financial activity. That said, if you continue having issues with TurboTax, you might want to consider switching to software specifically designed for 990-PF forms. The general tax software packages sometimes struggle with the unique requirements of private foundation returns, especially for inactive organizations. One last tip - double-check that you actually need to file a 990-PF and not a 990-EZ or 990-N. The filing requirements depend on your foundation's gross receipts and total assets, not just current year activity. If you qualify for a simpler form, that might solve your headache entirely!

Has anyone had experience with getting a refund of the withholding later? I've heard the Canadian seller can file for a refund if the actual tax liability is less than what was withheld, but curious how complicated that process is.

I just went through this exact situation 6 months ago when buying from a Canadian seller! The stress is real, but you'll get through it. A few things that might help: First, definitely confirm with your title company what their role is here. In my case, they handled the actual withholding and filing - I just had to provide the buyer information and sign off on the calculations. They should NOT be dumping all of this on you at the last minute. Second, double-check if you qualify for the primary residence exemption. If this will be your main home and the purchase price is under $1 million, you should only need to withhold 10% (or 0% if under $300k). That could save you thousands. The form itself isn't as scary as it looks once you understand what goes where. The key boxes are pretty straightforward - your info, seller info, property address, purchase price, and withholding amount. Don't let them rush you into making mistakes because of their poor planning. You have every right to push back on the timeline if they're not providing proper support. This is a standard part of foreign seller transactions and they should have processes in place to handle it smoothly. Hang in there - you're almost at the finish line!

Has anyone successfully e-filed their return with an NOL carryforward? Last year I had to paper file because TurboTax kept rejecting my return when I tried to include my S-Corp NOL. Wondering if any software handles this correctly for 2025 filing season?

I went through this exact situation two years ago with my S-Corp consulting business. Here's what I learned that might help: For question 1 - No, the NOL doesn't go directly on line 21. Since you have an S-Corp, your losses flow through on Schedule K-1 and get reported on Schedule E of your 1040. The actual NOL calculation happens separately using Form 1045 Schedule A as a worksheet. For question 2 - You can claim your full share of the S-Corp loss, but it's limited by three things: your basis in the S-Corp stock, your at-risk amount, and passive activity rules (Form 8582). Make sure you have sufficient basis to absorb the loss - this includes your initial investment plus any loans you made TO the company. For question 3 - You're looking for Form 1045 Schedule A. Even though Form 1045 is technically for carrying losses back, Schedule A is the IRS worksheet used to calculate NOL amounts for carryforwards too. There's no separate "NOL worksheet" form number. One tip: Keep meticulous records of your basis calculations. The IRS doesn't provide a specific form for tracking S-Corp basis, so you'll need to maintain your own detailed worksheet showing contributions, distributions, prior income/losses, and any loans to the company. This becomes crucial if you ever get audited. Hope this helps! The NOL rules can be confusing but once you understand the flow-through nature of S-Corp losses, it becomes much clearer.

I'm seeing alot of zeros on mine too. Called IRS and was on hold for 2hrs just to get hung up on 🤡

Same thing happened to me last year! All zeros across the board even though I had W2 income. Turns out the IRS was just behind on processing - took about 3-4 weeks for my transcript to update with the actual numbers. Since you mentioned self-employment income, make sure all your 1099s were filed correctly by your clients. Sometimes if there's a mismatch between what you reported and what was filed, it can cause processing delays. Don't panic yet, but definitely keep an eye on it and maybe call if it doesn't update in the next couple weeks.