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This is such a helpful thread! I'm in a similar situation - got my green card approved and will be entering the US in December 2024. Reading through all these responses, it's clear that the tax residency starts on the actual entry date with the green card, not during any previous visits. One question I haven't seen addressed - if I have investment income from my home country that's automatically reinvested (like dividends going back into mutual funds), do I need to report that for the period after I become a tax resident? Or only if I actually withdraw/receive the money? My investment account will continue generating returns even after I move to the US, but I won't be actively managing it or taking distributions. Also want to thank everyone who shared the resources about getting IRS help and FBAR requirements - definitely going to bookmark those for when I start preparing my first US tax return!
Welcome to the community! Yes, you'll need to report that investment income even if it's automatically reinvested. Once you become a US tax resident (on your green card entry date), the IRS requires you to report your worldwide income - and that includes dividends, capital gains, and other investment returns from your home country, regardless of whether you physically receive the money or it gets reinvested. The automatic reinvestment doesn't change the fact that you earned the income. You'll typically receive tax documents from your foreign investment company showing these transactions, and you'll need to convert the amounts to USD using the exchange rate from when the income was earned. This can get complex with foreign mutual funds since the US has special rules for "Passive Foreign Investment Companies" (PFICs) that can result in higher tax rates and additional reporting requirements. Definitely something to research or get professional help with for your first filing!
As someone who just went through this process last year, I can confirm everything that's been said here is accurate! Your tax residency definitely starts on August 30, 2024 when you enter with your green card, not during your earlier tourist visit. One additional tip I wish someone had told me - keep detailed records of your entry and exit dates from the US, especially that August 30 date. The IRS may ask for proof of when your residency began, and having your passport stamps or I-94 records makes this much easier. Also, since you mentioned income from your home country between January-August 2024, make sure to keep all tax documents from your home country for that period. Even though you won't report that income on your US return, you might need those records to prove you properly paid taxes in your home country and to calculate any foreign tax credits for the post-August 30 period. The dual-status filing can be intimidating, but it's actually pretty straightforward once you understand the timeline. Just remember: non-resident rules for January 1 - August 29, resident rules for August 30 - December 31. Good luck with your move!
One thing to remember about AMT is that you might get some of it back as a credit in future years! Form 8801 lets you claim a credit for prior year minimum tax. So if you pay AMT in one year, you can potentially use that as a credit against regular income tax in future years when your regular tax exceeds your AMT. This is especially relevant for ISO exercises - you might pay AMT now, but if you sell the shares later, you can often recover some of that AMT through the credit system. Keep your tax records from previous years!
Is there a time limit on using those AMT credits? Like if I paid AMT three years ago from ISO exercises but haven't been able to use the credits yet, do they expire?
Good news - AMT credits don't expire! You can carry them forward indefinitely until you're able to use them. The credit is available whenever your regular tax liability exceeds your AMT liability in future years. Just make sure to keep filing Form 8801 each year to track your available credit balance, even if you can't use any of it that year. The IRS needs to see the continuity in your filings to validate the credit when you eventually claim it. @Dylan Wright - So those credits from three years ago are still good! You ll'just need to make sure you have all the supporting documentation from those prior years when you eventually use them.
This is exactly the kind of detailed AMT breakdown I've been looking for! I'm in a similar situation with upcoming ISO exercises and have been struggling to understand the calculation steps. One question about your step 10 - when you say "take the SMALLER of this and the step 9 result," I think there might be a mix-up there. From what I understand, you actually take the LARGER of the two amounts as your tentative minimum tax. The whole point of AMT is that you pay whichever is higher - your regular tax or your AMT calculation. Also, for anyone dealing with AMT planning, don't forget about the timing of when you actually exercise versus when you sell. The AMT hit comes in the year you exercise (based on the spread), but if you do a disqualifying disposition in the same year, you can sometimes eliminate the AMT impact entirely since the ordinary income from the disqualifying disposition removes the ISO adjustment. Has anyone here actually tried the early exercise strategy with 83(b) elections? I'm curious about the practical aspects since my company just started allowing it.
You're absolutely right about step 10 - I think I got confused in my explanation there! The AMT is designed so you pay the LARGER amount between regular tax and tentative minimum tax, not the smaller. Thanks for catching that error. Your point about disqualifying dispositions in the same year is really helpful too. I hadn't fully considered that timing strategy where you could potentially exercise and sell in the same year to avoid the AMT adjustment entirely. That seems like it could be useful for managing cash flow while avoiding the AMT hit. I'm also curious about others' experiences with early exercise and 83(b) elections. My company doesn't allow it yet, but I'm wondering if it's worth pushing for that option given the potential AMT benefits when exercising at or near the strike price.
Has anyone actually tried calling the Taxpayer Advocate Service? I'm in a similar situation with denied business expenses from a side gig, and I keep hearing they're supposed to help but I can't get through to them either.
I used the Taxpayer Advocate Service last year for an audit issue. You need to fill out Form 911 (Request for Taxpayer Advocate Service Assistance) to get their help. In my experience, they're severely backlogged right now, so don't expect immediate help. They were most helpful after I'd already tried normal channels and documented those attempts. They won't take your case unless you can show you've tried to resolve it through normal IRS channels first and that you're facing significant hardship (financial difficulties, immediate threat of adverse action, etc.).
I went through something very similar last year with business equipment deductions that got denied. The key thing is making sure you've actually received that Notice of Deficiency before you can petition Tax Court - it sounds like you might still be in the appeals process rather than at the Tax Court stage. One thing that helped me was requesting a Collections Due Process (CDP) hearing when I got my collection notice. This gave me another bite at the apple to challenge the underlying tax liability, and importantly, if they deny your CDP hearing request, THAT decision can be appealed to Tax Court under a different process. Also, keep detailed records of every interaction you've had with the IRS - dates, times, who you spoke with, what was discussed. This documentation becomes crucial if you do end up in Tax Court or need to show the Taxpayer Advocate Service that you've exhausted normal channels. Don't give up - $6,700 is definitely worth fighting for, especially if you have legitimate documentation for those business expenses.
One additional point worth mentioning: if you're planning to use a tax professional this year, they can request your transcripts on your behalf using Form 8821 or 2848. Back in 2021, I had a similar issue with transcript access and my accountant was able to get everything we needed without me having to fix my online access first. This might be particularly relevant for you as a new homeowner with potentially more complex deductions to consider.
I've been through this same frustrating situation with ID.me and lost phone access. Here's what I learned from my experience: Start with ID.me's account recovery process first since it's usually the fastest route. Go directly to their website (not through the IRS portal) and look for "Can't access your account." You'll need to upload a clear photo of your driver's license and do a video selfie verification. The whole process took me about 3 days during non-peak season, but expect longer waits now. If that doesn't work or takes too long, the Taxpayer Assistance Center appointment is your backup plan - just know you might be waiting 2-3 weeks for an appointment this time of year. Since you mentioned having a mortgage now, getting those transcripts is definitely worth the effort to verify your interest deduction amounts are correct!
This is really helpful advice! I'm curious - when you did the video selfie verification, did you have any issues with lighting or camera quality? I'm worried my phone camera might not be good enough for their verification system. Also, did they ask for any additional documents beyond just the driver's license photo, or was that sufficient for the recovery process?
@fd111dffc265 Good question about the camera quality! I had the same concern but it worked fine with just my regular smartphone camera. The key things for the video selfie: make sure you're in a well-lit room (I sat by a window during the day), hold the phone steady, and follow their prompts exactly. They'll ask you to turn your head left and right and blink. For documents, just the driver's license photo was enough for my recovery - they didn't ask for anything else. Make sure the license photo is super clear with all four corners visible and no glare. I actually took like 5 different photos before uploading the clearest one!
Daniel Price
Slightly off-topic, but since you mentioned carrying forward passive losses for years... don't forget that when you fully dispose of your entire interest in a passive activity, you get to use up all the suspended passive losses from that activity. This doesn't help with your current situation, but something to keep in mind for future planning. So if you have another rental property with suspended passive losses, selling that property would allow you to use all those losses in the year of sale (even against non-passive income).
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Olivia Evans
ā¢This is such an important point that people miss! I had $90k in suspended passive losses from a rental property. When I finally sold it last year, I was able to take the entire amount against my regular income. Saved me a ton in taxes.
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Mei Lin
This is a really common misconception that trips up a lot of real estate investors. The key thing to understand is that the IRS has three buckets of income: active, passive, and portfolio. Even though you're a limited partner (which normally makes your income passive), capital gains from asset sales fall into the portfolio bucket regardless of your participation level. Think of it this way: the partnership's day-to-day rental operations generate passive income for you as a limited partner, but when they sell the underlying asset, that sale generates portfolio income. It's the nature of the income itself, not just your level of participation, that determines the classification. One silver lining: make sure you're maximizing any other passive income you might have. Check if you have any other K-1s with passive income in boxes 1, 2, or 3 that you can use against those carried-forward losses. Also, as others mentioned, look carefully at any depreciation recapture amounts - those might have different treatment rules. It's frustrating, but this rule exists to prevent people from generating easy capital gains just to offset passive losses. The IRS wants to keep these income streams separate for policy reasons.
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Paige Cantoni
ā¢This is such a helpful explanation, thank you! The three buckets concept really clarifies why this happens. I've been thinking about it wrong - assuming that since I'm passive in the partnership, everything would be passive income. One follow-up question: you mentioned checking other K-1s for passive income in boxes 1, 2, or 3. I do have a couple other partnership interests. Should I be looking for specific types of income in those boxes, or is it more about whether the partnership activity itself is passive? I want to make sure I'm not missing opportunities to use some of these suspended losses. Also, the depreciation recapture angle is interesting - I found about $24k in Box 17 as someone else suggested. Definitely going to explore that with my accountant.
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