Im confused about something else too. I sold a rental last year and my tax guy said I needed to file form 8949 along with the 4797. Is that right or was he just making extra work?

I just went through this exact situation last month! For a rental property that was never your primary residence, you definitely don't need the Sale of Home Worksheet - that's only for homes where you lived and might qualify for the $250K/$500K exclusion. You'll use Form 4797 to report the sale. One thing to watch out for: even though you didn't receive rental income in 2023, you should still file Schedule E if you had any deductible expenses during the time you owned the property that year. Things like property taxes, insurance, utilities (if you paid them), maintenance, or repairs are all deductible even during vacancy periods as long as you were holding it as rental property. Also, make sure you have good records of all the depreciation you claimed over the years - you'll need this for the depreciation recapture calculation on Form 4797. The recapture gets taxed at 25% regardless of your normal capital gains rate, so it's important to get this number right.

I completely understand your frustration, Hunter! I went through this exact same process a few months ago and felt like I was going in circles. What helped me was realizing that there are actually TWO separate things happening: 1) Having an ID.me account (which you already have), and 2) Authorizing that account specifically for IRS access. Think of it like having a driver's license but still needing to register to vote - they're related but separate steps. The key is making sure you complete that authorization step when you log in through the IRS website. Once I understood this distinction, the whole process made much more sense. You've got this!

Hunter, I completely feel your pain on this! I just went through the exact same thing two weeks ago and was pulling my hair out. What finally worked for me was going to irs.gov, clicking "Sign into Your Online Account," then selecting ID.me, and here's the crucial part - when it asks you to authorize the IRS to access your ID.me information, you HAVE to click "Allow" or "Authorize." I had been logging into ID.me successfully but kept missing that final authorization screen. It's like having the right key but forgetting to actually turn it in the lock! The whole process took me about 10 minutes once I realized what I was missing. Don't give up - you're probably closer than you think!

Anyone have experience with how QBI works if you have business losses? I started a business similar to the original poster but had a $12,000 loss my first year. Now in my second year I'm profitable (about $27,000). Does that previous loss affect my QBI calculation?

Great question about QBI! As someone who's been through this maze myself with my small consulting business, I can definitely relate to the confusion. Since your total income is $72,000, you're well below the 2025 threshold of $182,100 for single filers, which means you get the simplified treatment. Your handmade jewelry business absolutely qualifies - it's exactly the type of legitimate trade or business the QBI deduction was designed to help. Here's what you need to know: You'll use Form 8995 (the simple version, not 8995-A) along with your Schedule C. The calculation should be straightforward - 20% of your $45,000 business profit, so roughly $9,000 deduction. One tip that saved me headaches: double-check that all your business expenses are properly categorized on Schedule C first, because that directly affects your QBI calculation. Things like shipping supplies, Etsy fees, materials, and even a portion of your home workspace if you use it exclusively for business. Most tax software should handle this correctly, but if you're getting conflicting results between different programs, it might be worth having a tax professional review it once to make sure you're not missing anything. The peace of mind is often worth the cost, especially in your first year claiming QBI.

Be careful with the QBI deduction if your income goes up! My wife and I file jointly and she has a therapy practice (1099 income). Once our combined income went over $340k last year, her QBI deduction started phasing out. And its completely gone if you make over $440k jointly. Also, tutoring might be considered a "specified service business" by the IRS which has stricter income limits for QBI.

One thing nobody mentioned yet - make sure you're paying quarterly estimated taxes on your tutoring income! I got hit with an underpayment penalty my first year as a contractor because I didn't realize I needed to make payments throughout the year.

This is probably a stupid question, but does anyone know if group term insurance through professional associations (not employers) gets the same tax treatment? My employer doesn't offer benefits, but I can get group life insurance through my professional organization and I'm trying to figure out the tax implications.

Great question about maximizing group term insurance tax benefits! One strategy that hasn't been mentioned yet is coordinating your group term coverage with your overall estate planning. If you have dependents, you might want to consider keeping coverage at the optimal tax level (around that $50,000 threshold to minimize imputed income) and then supplementing with term life insurance purchased separately if you need more coverage. Also, don't forget that some employers offer "voluntary" or "supplemental" group term life insurance that you pay for with after-tax dollars but still get at group rates. While this doesn't have the same tax advantages as employer-paid coverage, it's often still cheaper than individual policies due to the group purchasing power. One more tip: keep good records of any imputed income reported on your W-2. This shows up in Box 12 with code "C" and while your employer should handle the calculations correctly, it's worth understanding how they arrived at the numbers in case you need to verify them during tax preparation.