As someone who works with international tax compliance, I'd strongly recommend getting professional help before any major windfall. The interaction between US and Mexican tax systems on lottery winnings can be complex. One key point that hasn't been fully addressed - Mexican lottery winnings are typically subject to a 21% withholding tax, but this may not fully cover your US tax obligation depending on your tax bracket. The US taxes lottery winnings as ordinary income, not capital gains, so if you're in a higher tax bracket, you could owe additional US taxes even after claiming the foreign tax credit. Also, don't forget about estimated tax payments. If you win a substantial amount, you'll likely need to make quarterly estimated payments to the IRS for the tax year of the winnings to avoid underpayment penalties. Living abroad doesn't exempt you from these requirements. The FBAR reporting mentioned earlier is crucial too - if lottery winnings push your foreign account balances over $10,000 at any point during the year, you must file FinCEN Form 114 by April 15th (with automatic extension to October 15th).

Just wanted to add another important consideration that I haven't seen mentioned yet - state taxes! Even though you're living in Mexico, if you're still considered a resident of a US state for tax purposes, you might owe state income tax on lottery winnings too. Some states have very aggressive rules about maintaining tax residency even after you move abroad. For example, if you still have a driver's license, voter registration, or property in certain states, they might still consider you a resident for tax purposes. California and New York are particularly notorious for this. On the flip side, some states like Texas, Florida, and Nevada have no state income tax at all, so if you can establish residency there before any big winnings (and it's legitimate), you'd only deal with federal taxes. Given that you mentioned only making $650/month currently, you'd probably qualify for the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion on your regular income, but lottery winnings don't qualify for this exclusion - they're considered "unearned income" and would be fully taxable at both federal and potentially state level. Definitely worth checking your state tax situation as part of your overall planning!

As someone who's dealt with similar situations in healthcare consulting, I'd recommend your wife also ask the company upfront whether they plan to issue a 1099 for this reimbursement. Getting their answer in writing (even just an email) can save a lot of headaches later. Most reputable medical device companies understand the distinction between reimbursements and payments for services, but their accounting departments don't always communicate this properly. If they confirm it's just for their records and won't result in a 1099, you'll have peace of mind. If they seem unclear about their own policies, that's a red flag to be extra careful with documentation. Also worth noting - if this is part of a broader consulting or speaking arrangement with the company (even informal), that could change how they classify the payment. But for a simple travel reimbursement to attend a conference they invited her to, it should definitely not be treated as taxable income.

I'm dealing with a similar situation right now with my employer - they're asking for a W-9 for reimbursing my parking expenses at a work conference. It's frustrating because like everyone mentioned, it's clearly just getting my money back, not income. What I've learned from reading all these responses is that it seems to be more about the company's internal processes than actual IRS requirements. The advice about getting written confirmation that they won't issue a 1099 is gold - I'm definitely going to ask for that upfront. Has anyone here actually received an incorrect 1099 for a reimbursement and had to deal with getting it corrected? I'm curious how difficult that process actually is if a company makes that mistake.

Code 976 is definitely frustrating - I went through the same thing last year and it took about 8 weeks to resolve. The IRS uses this code when they need to verify something on your return, usually income or credits. Unfortunately there's not much you can do except wait it out, but you can call the Taxpayer Advocate Service if it's been over 120 days. They're usually more helpful than regular IRS customer service. In the meantime, keep checking your transcript weekly for updates - sometimes the code will change before you get any official notification. Hope yours gets resolved soon!

Code 976 typically means your refund is under review - usually for income verification or credit validation. From my experience, it can take anywhere from 6-16 weeks depending on what they're reviewing. The frustrating part is the IRS won't give you specifics over the phone about what exactly triggered the review. I'd recommend checking your online transcript weekly for any updates or code changes. If you're past the 120-day mark, definitely contact the Taxpayer Advocate Service - they have more authority to get answers than regular customer service. I know the waiting is brutal, but try to stay patient. Most 976 cases do eventually get resolved, it just takes time unfortunately.

I went through this exact situation last year when we changed from "Pacific Northwest Logistics" to "PNW Supply Chain Solutions" across 15 states. Here's what I learned the hard way: First, regarding your grace period question - you're generally safe to continue filing under your old name for 60-90 days while updates are processing, but I'd strongly recommend getting confirmation from the IRS first that your name change is recorded in their system. This becomes your "proof" if any state agencies question the discrepancy. For the multi-state nightmare, here's my streamlined approach: Start with IRS Form 8822-B, then tackle states in order of your largest tax liabilities first. Many states have reciprocal agreements where updating one agency automatically updates others within that state. Also, don't forget about workers' compensation carriers and local business license authorities - these often get overlooked. One critical tip: Create a master timeline showing when each jurisdiction's quarterly filings are due, so you can prioritize updates based on upcoming deadlines. Nothing worse than having a name mismatch right before a major filing deadline. The whole process took me about 3 months to complete fully, but the key is staying organized and tackling the biggest impact items first. You've got this!

Just went through this process myself with our company name change from "Mountain View Technologies" to "Summit Tech Group" and wanted to share a few additional considerations that haven't been mentioned yet. One thing that caught me off guard was the impact on our direct deposit authorizations with employees. Even though the bank account information stayed the same, several banks flagged the name change and temporarily held up payroll deposits until we provided updated authorization forms. I'd recommend giving your bank a heads up about the name change at least 2 weeks before your next payroll run. Also, don't forget about your state disability insurance and paid family leave programs if you operate in states that have them (CA, NY, NJ, RI, HI). These often require separate notifications beyond the standard unemployment and tax updates. For tracking everything, I created a simple shared Google Sheet with columns for jurisdiction, agency, form required, submission date, confirmation number, and status. This helped me stay organized across 28 different updates and made it easy to follow up on any that were taking longer than expected. The whole process was definitely overwhelming at first, but breaking it down systematically made it manageable. Start with the IRS confirmation as others have suggested - that becomes your foundation for all the other updates.

There's actually another strategy no one has mentioned yet - if you have self-employment income or active business income (not from the rental), you might be able to offset some of the gain by increasing retirement contributions in the year of sale. Maxing out a SEP IRA, Solo 401k, or defined benefit plan can create substantial deductions.

Based on my experience dealing with similar depreciation recapture situations, I want to emphasize something important that wasn't fully covered - the timing of when you recognize your passive losses matters significantly. If you've been unable to use passive losses from your other rental property due to the passive activity loss limitations, those losses are "suspended" and carry forward. The key thing to understand is that when you dispose of your entire interest in a passive activity (like selling your rental property), ALL of your suspended passive losses from that specific property become fully deductible against any type of income - including active income, portfolio income, and yes, even depreciation recapture. However, suspended losses from OTHER properties you still own can only offset passive income, not the depreciation recapture. So if your current rental showing losses this year hasn't generated suspended losses yet, those current year losses likely won't help with your recapture tax. I'd strongly recommend reviewing your passive loss carryforwards from the property you're selling - you might have more tax relief available than you realize. The IRS Form 8582 from previous years will show your suspended losses by property.