14 Have you considered muni bonds? The interest is generally tax-free at the federal level, and if you buy bonds issued in your state, they're often exempt from state taxes too. Nice option for taxable accounts, especially in higher tax brackets.

Great question! Since you're debt-free with a paid-off house, you have some unique opportunities. A few additional strategies to consider: 1. **Backdoor Roth IRA conversions** - If your income ever pushes you out of direct Roth IRA eligibility, this keeps that option open. 2. **Tax-loss harvesting** in taxable accounts - Systematically realize losses to offset gains and reduce your tax burden. 3. **Asset location optimization** - Keep tax-inefficient investments in tax-advantaged accounts and tax-efficient ones in taxable accounts. 4. **Consider a small business or side hustle** - Opens up business deductions and potentially a Solo 401(k) for additional retirement savings. 5. **Health Sharing Plans** - If available in your area and you're comfortable with them, these aren't insurance but can reduce healthcare costs while maintaining HSA eligibility. 6. **Energy-efficient home improvements** - Federal tax credits are available for things like heat pumps, solar panels, and energy-efficient windows. Since you don't have dependents, maximizing tax-advantaged space and being strategic about investment placement becomes even more important. You're already doing great with the debt-free lifestyle!

Anybody here messed around with QOFs (Qualified Opportunity Funds)? My buddy was talking about them for deferring capital gains but I don't really understand how they work or if they're legit tax strategy or just something sketchy.

Great thread! One strategy I haven't seen mentioned yet is tax loss harvesting in taxable investment accounts. If you have any investments outside your 401k that are at a loss, you can sell them to offset capital gains or even up to $3,000 in ordinary income annually. Just be careful about the wash sale rule - you can't buy the same or "substantially identical" security within 30 days. Also, if you're self-employed at all or have any 1099 income (even small amounts), consider setting up a Solo 401k or SEP-IRA. The contribution limits are much higher than traditional IRAs. For example, with a Solo 401k you can contribute up to $69,000 for 2025 (or $76,500 if you're 50+) based on your self-employment income. Another often overlooked deduction is continuing education related to your current job. Courses, certifications, books, and even conference attendance can be deductible if they maintain or improve skills needed in your present work. Your employer might even reimburse you, making it essentially tax-free money.

Did they say anything about how long refunds might take for prior year returns? I finally filed my 2022 taxes through a tax preparer but haven't received my refund yet after 2 months.

This is such a heartwarming success story! As someone who's dealt with IRS processing delays myself, I can totally understand the stress you must have felt with those lost returns. It's amazing how much money the VITA volunteers were able to find for you - that $1,350 difference on your 2022 return alone probably made the whole experience worth it! I had no idea VITA could e-file prior year returns. That's a game changer since mailing anything to the IRS feels like throwing it into a black hole these days. The fact that they caught the childcare expenses too shows how valuable having trained eyes look over your return can be. Those credits and deductions can really add up but are so easy to miss when you're doing it yourself. Thanks for sharing the income threshold too ($88,000) - that's really helpful for people who might be wondering if they qualify. Stories like yours make me want to volunteer with VITA myself to help other families in similar situations!

If your income is right on the edge of the threshold, don't forget that any traditional 401k or IRA contributions will lower your AGI for determining eligibility! Contributing more to retirement could potentially keep you under that $150k limit. In my case, I was projected to be about $3k over the threshold, so I increased my 401k contribution for the last few months of the year to get my AGI back under the limit. Saved me thousands in credits while also boosting my retirement savings.

Great advice about the retirement contributions! I wanted to add that you should also consider HSA contributions if you have a high-deductible health plan. HSA contributions reduce your AGI just like traditional 401k contributions, and the 2024 limit is $4,300 for individuals or $8,550 for families. Also, if you're self-employed or have any 1099 income, don't overlook SEP-IRA contributions - you can contribute up to 25% of your self-employment income and make the contribution all the way up until your tax filing deadline (including extensions). This could be another way to get your AGI under that $150k threshold while the window is still open. The key is that all these strategies reduce your Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI), which is what the IRS uses to determine eligibility for these energy credits.

Has anyone dealt with Edward Jones specifically for estate accounts? They rejected my EIN too initially because I had selected "Estate" on the SS-4 form but apparently there was some additional coding they needed. Had to call the IRS back to get it adjusted.

I'm going through almost the exact same situation right now with my father's estate. After reading all these responses, I applied for the EIN online using Form SS-4 and made sure to select "Decedent's Estate" specifically (not just "Estate"). Got the number immediately. However, I'm still waiting on the official letters testamentary from probate court - our attorney said it could take another 2-3 weeks. In the meantime, I've been using the EIN to set up a basic estate checking account at our local bank, which has been helpful for paying ongoing bills like utilities and property taxes. One thing I learned is that some financial institutions are more familiar with estate procedures than others. The smaller local bank was much more helpful than the big national one I initially tried. They walked me through exactly what documents they needed and even gave me a checklist for dealing with other institutions. @Xan Dae - definitely get that EIN application in ASAP even while you're waiting for other paperwork. It's free and you'll need it for pretty much everything moving forward.