Quick tip from someone who's been through this: wherever you are in the calendar, CALL ON TUESDAY OR WEDNESDAY MORNINGS! Monday = catching up on weekend emails Thursday/Friday = racing to finish weekly deadlines Afternoons = meetings and current client work When I called tax pros on Tuesday mornings around 10am, I got responses from 5 out of 6. When I tried Friday afternoons, 0 out of 4 called back.

Great question about timing! I just went through this process myself last year and learned some hard lessons. I'd actually add one more consideration to the great advice already shared: many tax professionals are also doing year-end tax planning consultations from November through December. So while September-October might be ideal for initial conversations, don't be surprised if they're busy again in November/December with existing clients. One thing that really helped me was being super prepared when I reached out. I had my previous year's tax return, a list of any changes in my situation, and specific questions ready. This showed I was serious and made it easier for them to quickly assess if they could help me. Also, don't overlook smaller, local firms. I initially only looked at big-name places and got nowhere. Found an amazing EA through a local business referral who had immediate availability and has been fantastic to work with. For investment income like you mentioned, definitely look for someone with specific experience in that area - ask them directly about similar clients they've worked with. It makes a huge difference in catching deductions and planning opportunities you might miss otherwise.

Has anyone tried using bonus depreciation instead of Section 179 to avoid this carryover headache? For 2023, bonus depreciation is 80% instead of 100%, but at least you don't have to deal with the business income limitation.

I had this exact same frustration last year! The key insight that helped me was understanding that Form 4562 is designed to handle multiple scenarios, which makes it confusing for straightforward carryover situations. Here's what I learned: Your carryover from 2022 should go on Line 10, but the critical step many people miss is ensuring your business income limitation on Line 11 is calculated correctly. If your business income is too low to absorb both your current year Section 179 election AND your carryover, then yes, you'll create another carryover. However, there are a few strategies to consider: 1. As Freya mentioned, make sure you're including ALL business income when calculating the limitation 2. Consider splitting your current year purchases between Section 179 and bonus depreciation to optimize your deductions 3. If you know your business income will be higher next year, it might make sense to carry more forward The carryover isn't "lost" - it will continue indefinitely until you have sufficient business income to use it. With $48K in equipment, you definitely want to maximize this deduction when possible!

This won't help your current situation, but for anyone else reading this thread - if you have a car you think might actually appreciate or at least hold value (certain collectible models, limited editions, etc.), there's a strategy where you can document that you're buying it primarily as an investment rather than for personal use. You'd need to maintain records showing it's an investment (limited miles driven, storage conditions, maintenance records, documentation of its collectible status, etc.). You would still need to pay capital gains on any profit, but you might be able to deduct losses if you can prove investment intent.

This is such a frustrating aspect of the tax code that I've dealt with personally. The asymmetry really does feel unfair - they want their cut when you win but won't let you offset when you lose. One thing that might help future readers: if you use your vehicle for ANY business purposes (rideshare, delivery, real estate showings, business meetings, etc.), keep meticulous records. Even partial business use can sometimes allow you to claim a proportional loss deduction. The key is having contemporaneous documentation - mileage logs, business trip records, receipts showing business-related vehicle expenses. I learned this the hard way after selling my truck at a $8,000 loss and initially being told I couldn't deduct any of it. Turns out about 30% of my usage was for my consulting business, so I was able to reclaim some of that loss. It's not perfect, but it's something. The moral of the story: if you're buying a vehicle and think there's ANY chance you might use it for business, document everything from day one. You never know when those records might save you thousands in taxes later.

can somebody explain why they make this so confusing?? i mean why not just call it all the same thing?? spent 2 hours on the phone today with irs and even THEY couldn't explain it clearly lol. btw the woman i talked to also confirmed SSN and TIN are same for most people. wish theyd simplify this stuff!!

I totally get the confusion! I went through the exact same thing when I first looked at my transcript. The terminology is really misleading because "TIN" sounds like it should be a separate number, but for most of us regular taxpayers, it's literally just our SSN with a fancier name. What helped me understand it was thinking of TIN as the "category" and SSN as the "type" within that category. It's like saying "vehicle" (TIN) when you specifically mean "car" (SSN). The IRS uses the broader term because their systems need to handle all kinds of taxpayers - individuals with SSNs, businesses with EINs, foreign workers with ITINs, etc. So yeah, if you're a regular US citizen or resident filing personal taxes, when you see "TIN" on any IRS document, just mentally replace it with "SSN" and everything will make more sense. They're the same number, just different labels depending on the context!

One tip I don't see mentioned yet - check your investments' tax status on their websites. Many partnerships and MLPs have dedicated tax information pages where they post expected K-1 mailing dates. For example, I own XYZ Energy Partners and they have a whole investor tax section that lists historical K-1 mailing dates and projected dates for this year. Also, when you're buying new investments, you can usually tell if they'll generate K-1s by looking at their structure. Anything with "Partners," "Partnership," or "LP" in the name is likely to generate a K-1. ETNs (Exchange Traded Notes) typically don't issue K-1s even if they track MLPs.

Does anyone know about late K-1s and extensions? If I know I'm getting a K-1 that won't arrive until after April 15, should I just automatically file for an extension? Or can I file my return and then amend it later? Which is easier?