Check if your state has a whistleblower program for tax issues! In my state, if you report property tax evasion and they end up collecting, you can actually get a percentage of the recovered taxes. I learned about this when reporting a similar situation with a "nonprofit" that was renting out multiple houses.

This is a really important issue that affects property tax fairness for everyone in the community. From what you've described, it sounds like these properties should definitely be paying taxes since they're being used for commercial rental purposes rather than religious activities. One thing to keep in mind is that even if the church is legitimate in other ways, they might not realize they're supposed to pay taxes on these rental properties. Sometimes religious organizations get bad advice or misunderstand the rules. The tax assessor's office can help clarify whether this is an honest mistake or something more problematic. I'd recommend documenting what you can see publicly - like the rental listings, addresses, and any other evidence that these are regular rental properties. The more specific information you can provide to the tax assessor, the better they can investigate. Thanks for looking out for tax fairness in your community!

does anyone know if there's a statue of limitations on these CP2000 things? i got one for my 2021 taxes but it just arrived last month. feels kinda ridiculous they can come after u years later when i dont even have those documents anymore

@Aisha Ali, I went through almost the exact same situation when I was doing my master's here! The housing scholarship tax issue catches so many international students off guard because it really isn't intuitive coming from other countries where scholarships are completely tax-free. A few things that helped me when I got my CP2000: 1. Don't panic about the 30-day deadline - if you need more time, you can call and request an extension, especially as an international student still learning the system. 2. The IRS calculation might not account for any applicable tax treaty benefits. Depending on your home country, you might qualify for reduced tax rates or exemptions under the tax treaty. 3. When you respond, include a brief letter explaining that you're an international student new to US tax laws and made an honest mistake. This can help with penalty abatement. 4. Check if your university's international student services office has any tax clinics or partnerships with local tax preparers - many do, especially around tax season and for situations like this. The good news is that this is super common and the IRS deals with it all the time. As long as you respond promptly and pay what you legitimately owe, it shouldn't be a big deal. You've got this!

Has anyone used TurboTax to report a business sale? I'm trying to figure out if the self-employed version can handle this or if I need to upgrade to their business version?

I just went through this exact same situation when I sold my consulting firm last year. The key thing that helped me was understanding that you need to treat this as an asset sale, not a stock sale, which means each component of your business gets reported differently. For your client list and goodwill (the intangible value you built up over 8 years), these qualify as Section 197 intangibles and should be reported on Form 4797 Part I since you held them for more than a year. This gives you long-term capital gains treatment, which is much better than ordinary income rates. The installment sale aspect is important too - you'll definitely need Form 6252 to report the payments you'll receive over the next two years. This lets you spread out the tax liability rather than paying it all upfront on the 70% you received. One thing that caught me off guard was Form 8594 (Asset Acquisition Statement) - both you and the buyer need to file this with consistent asset allocations. Make sure your purchase agreement specifies how the sale price is allocated across different asset categories, or you might run into issues later. I'd strongly recommend getting professional help for this if you can. The classification of assets can make a huge difference in your tax bill, and there are specific rules about what qualifies for capital gains vs ordinary income treatment that aren't always intuitive.

I feel your pain - this exact thing happened to me two years ago! Got a modest raise in June and ended up owing $4,200 when I usually get a small refund. The problem was that my employer's payroll system was still withholding based on my old salary rate for most of the year, so when my income jumped up, there wasn't enough withheld to cover the higher tax bracket portions. Here's what I learned: even a "small" raise can push you into situations where more of your income gets taxed at higher rates, and if your withholding doesn't adjust proportionally, you get hit with a big bill. It's not that the tax laws changed - it's that your withholding didn't keep pace with your actual tax liability. The frustrating part is that yes, it IS your responsibility to monitor this, even though it seems like something payroll should handle automatically. They're just following whatever W-4 you have on file. I'd definitely recommend getting your hands on all your pay stubs from this year and comparing the withholding amounts to last year - that should show you exactly where the gap occurred. For next year, consider updating your W-4 to have additional tax withheld, especially if you expect any salary increases. It's better to get a refund than another surprise bill!

I went through something similar last year and it's absolutely maddening when you think you're doing everything right! One thing that really helped me was requesting copies of ALL my pay stubs for both years and creating a simple spreadsheet comparing month-by-month withholdings. What I discovered was that my "small" 4% raise actually pushed me just high enough that a bigger chunk of my income was being taxed at the next bracket rate, but my withholding percentage stayed exactly the same. So even though I was making slightly more money, I was actually taking home less after taxes than I should have been to cover my true tax liability. The other thing to check - and this caught me off guard - is whether any pre-tax deductions changed. Did your health insurance premiums, 401k contribution amounts, or any other pre-tax deductions stay the same? Sometimes when people get raises, they don't increase their 401k contributions proportionally, which means more of their income becomes taxable. Definitely look into setting up a payment plan with the IRS if you can't pay it all at once. They're actually pretty reasonable about it, and it beats trying to scramble for thousands of dollars immediately. This whole situation sucks, but you're definitely not alone in dealing with it!

Great question! I'm in a similar situation with my small business. One thing I'd add to what others have mentioned is to document your decision-making process. I keep a simple spreadsheet showing how I determined my business use percentage - things like "take client calls during work hours," "use for business banking apps," "post inventory photos," etc. Also, since you mentioned you're thinking about using your business credit card - definitely do that! It creates a clean paper trail and makes it obvious this was a business purchase. I learned this the hard way when I mixed personal and business purchases on the same card and had to sort through months of statements later. One last tip: if you're getting a high-end iPhone (like the Pro models), keep the receipt and any documentation about why you chose that specific model for business purposes. Sometimes the IRS questions whether premium features are "necessary" for business use, so having a business justification ready can save headaches later.

Adding to what everyone else has said - make sure you understand the difference between deducting the phone purchase versus the monthly service. The phone itself (especially a new iPhone) is considered equipment and might need to be depreciated over several years unless you elect Section 179 or bonus depreciation to expense it immediately. The monthly service bills, on the other hand, are operating expenses that you can deduct each year based on your business use percentage. Since you're an LLC, you have some flexibility here. If you're planning to expense the phone purchase in full this year (rather than depreciate), make sure your tax preparer knows so they can make the appropriate elections on your return. This is especially important if you're buying a higher-end model that costs over $1,000. Also, I'd recommend taking photos of your current phone setup and any business apps you use - this documentation can help support your business use percentage if questions come up later. Good luck with the RV business!