9 Tax preparer here. Just to add some clarity: The "under $600" confusion is one of the most common issues I see with clients. The $600 threshold only determines whether the PAYER must issue a 1099 form. It has absolutely nothing to do with whether YOU must report the income. All income from any source is legally required to be reported on your tax return, even if it's $5. The IRS computer matching system will catch discrepancies between what's reported by others using your SSN and what you report on your return, regardless of amount.

4 Does anyone know if this applies to stuff sold on Facebook Marketplace too? I sold some old furniture and made maybe $400 total last year. No 1099 forms or anything, just cash and Venmo. Do I seriously need to report that??

As someone who recently passed all three parts of the SEE exam, I wanted to add a few thoughts to this great discussion. The advice here is spot-on, especially about the importance of practice questions and understanding the "why" behind tax rules rather than just memorizing. One thing I'd emphasize that hasn't been mentioned much is the value of creating your own study schedule and sticking to it religiously. I found that consistency was more important than intensity - studying 1-2 hours daily for 8 weeks worked better for me than cramming for 4 weeks. Regarding which part to start with, I'd actually recommend Part 1 first since it covers individual taxation concepts that form the foundation for understanding business and representation topics in Parts 2 and 3. Plus, getting that first pass under your belt builds tremendous confidence. For timing between parts, I spaced mine about 6-8 weeks apart to allow proper preparation time without losing momentum. The entire process took me about 7 months from start to finish, including one retake on Part 2. Don't get too caught up in finding the "perfect" study materials - whether it's Gleim, Surgent, or Fast Forward Academy, they're all solid. The key is picking one comprehensive system and committing to it fully rather than jumping between resources. Best of luck to everyone on this journey - becoming an EA is absolutely worth the effort!

Coming from someone who just scheduled my Part 1 exam for next month, I want to thank everyone for this incredibly comprehensive discussion! The range of study approaches and resources mentioned here has been eye-opening. I've been using Surgent as my main course and found their adaptive learning technology really helpful for identifying my weak areas. But reading about the supplemental resources like taxr.ai and the specific IRS publications Dylan listed has me thinking I should diversify my approach a bit. One strategy that's been working well for me is creating flashcards for the trickier concepts (like the various AGI thresholds and phase-out ranges) using Anki. The spaced repetition really helps cement those details that are easy to mix up under exam pressure. For anyone just starting out, I'd also recommend taking a diagnostic test early on to see where you stand. Most of the major prep courses offer them, and it really helped me understand the scope of what I needed to learn. Don't be discouraged if you bomb it - I scored a 32% on my first diagnostic and now I'm consistently hitting 75-80% on practice exams. The journey is definitely challenging but this community makes it feel much less overwhelming. Thanks for sharing all your experiences and insights!

Everyone's talking about the tax benefits, but don't forget about stimulus checks or recovery rebates! If there's another round of those in 2025 for the 2024 tax year (you never know!), having extra dependents could mean more stimulus money. During the last rounds, it was an extra $1400-$1600 per dependent. This is separate from the regular tax benefits and something to consider if you legitimately qualify to claim them. Just make sure you're eligible first - as others said, the living situation makes this complicated.

The key thing everyone's missing here is that your mom not filing taxes doesn't automatically make you eligible to claim your brothers. The IRS looks at who actually has the right to claim them based on the dependency tests, not who chooses to file. Since your brothers don't live with you, you'd need to meet the "qualifying relative" test, which means providing more than 50% of their total support AND they can't be claimed by anyone else who has a stronger claim (like your mom). Even if your mom doesn't file, she still technically has the stronger claim as their parent and primary caregiver. Your $800-1000 monthly support might be substantial, but you'd need to prove it covers more than half of ALL their expenses - housing, food, medical, clothing, education, etc. The IRS will want detailed records showing exactly what your money paid for. My advice: before doing anything, calculate the total cost of supporting your brothers for the year (including the value of housing your mom provides) and see if your contributions truly exceed 50%. If not, you don't qualify regardless of whether your mom files. If yes, get Form 8332 signed by your mom and keep meticulous records of every expense your money covers. Given the audit risk mentioned by others, this might be a situation where paying a tax professional for guidance upfront is worth it to avoid potential penalties later.

lmao good luck understanding that mess. I stared at mine for hours and gave up 🤮

Look for these key codes on your transcript: 150 means they received your return, 570 is a hold (could be for review or missing info), and 846 is the golden one - that's your DDD! The date next to 846 is when your refund gets deposited. If you only see 570 with no 971 notice code, it might just be a routine review. Check back in a few days - transcripts usually update overnight between Tuesday-Friday.

Just wanted to add another perspective on the business structure aspect. Since your wife would be the owner of the B&B as a NZ citizen, you'll also need to consider whether this creates any issues with US gift tax rules if you're contributing funds to a business you don't legally own. Also, regarding the rental property in the US - even if you're breaking even cashflow-wise, don't forget that you'll be taking depreciation deductions which will reduce your basis. When you eventually sell, you'll have depreciation recapture to deal with, which is taxed as ordinary income up to 25%. This could create a significant tax bill down the road that many people don't anticipate. One more thing to research: NZ has something called the "bright-line test" for property investments, which could affect the tax treatment of your B&B if you sell within a certain timeframe. Since you're planning to reinvest profits initially, this might not be immediate concern, but it's worth understanding for long-term planning. The international tax situation is definitely complex, but with proper planning and the right resources, it's totally manageable. Good luck with the move!

One more consideration for your move to NZ - make sure you understand the timing of when you become a New Zealand tax resident. NZ uses a combination of factors including days present, permanent place of abode, and center of vital interests. This matters because it determines when you start being subject to NZ tax on your worldwide income. If you're keeping your US house initially and spending time setting up in NZ, you might have a period where both countries could claim you as a tax resident. The US-NZ tax treaty has tie-breaker rules, but it's something to plan for carefully. Also, since you mentioned potentially applying for NZ citizenship eventually, be aware that this could complicate your US tax situation if you ever want to renounce US citizenship down the road. The IRS has an "exit tax" (covered expatriate rules) that can be quite punitive for high-net-worth individuals, and they look at your net worth and tax compliance history over the 5 years before expatriation. Not saying you'd want to renounce, but it's good to understand all the long-term implications as you make these decisions. The expat tax world has lots of moving pieces that interact in unexpected ways!