I'm currently dealing with a similar situation - US citizen in Germany with what appears to be PFIC investments through my employer's pension scheme. After reading through all these responses, I'm leaning toward hiring a professional for the first year and then potentially handling it myself once I understand the process better. One thing I'm curious about - for those who've successfully filed Form 8621, how do you handle the foreign currency conversions for all the required calculations? The IRS instructions mention using exchange rates from the dates of transactions, but tracking daily exchange rates for every dividend or reinvestment seems incredibly tedious. Do you use average rates for the year, or is there a simpler approach that's still compliant? Also, has anyone dealt with employer-sponsored investment plans where the fund company won't provide the detailed information needed for QEF elections? I'm wondering if there's a standard process for documenting that you requested the information but couldn't obtain it.

I went through this exact same situation last year with a Japanese employee investment fund! The 49-hour estimate is definitely scary, but here's what I learned: First, confirm it's actually a PFIC - most Japanese mutual funds qualify, but some employer schemes might be structured differently. Contact your HR department to get the fund's annual report or prospectus in English if possible. For the form itself, I spent about 8 hours total my first year (including research time), not 49. The key sections you'll likely need are: - Part I (general information about each fund) - Part II (elections - this is crucial and affects future years) - Part VI (if you received distributions or sold shares) My biggest mistake was trying to make a QEF election without proper documentation from the Japanese fund company. Like others mentioned, most Japanese funds can't provide the detailed income breakdowns needed. I ended up going with mark-to-market method instead. Pro tip: If your investment is relatively small (under $25k), seriously consider the cash bonus option next time. The annual compliance headache might not be worth it. But if you're already locked in for 5 years, definitely get professional help for year 1 to set up proper record-keeping and make the right elections. The mistakes you make in the first year follow you for the entire holding period. Good luck! It's manageable once you get through the initial learning curve.

14 Has anyone dealt with having an installment agreement request rejected? I'm worried mine might get rejected because I had a previous one that I defaulted on about 3 years ago. Just wondering what the process is like if they say no.

I went through this exact same situation about 6 months ago! Submitted my Form 9465 and waited what felt like forever. Here's what I learned: First, definitely start making payments now according to your proposed schedule. The IRS continues charging penalties and interest while they process your request, so you're just costing yourself more money by waiting. Any payments you make will be credited to your account regardless. Second, the processing times are really unpredictable right now. Mine took about 7 weeks to get approved, but I've heard of people waiting 2-3 months. The $7,800 you owe should qualify for streamlined processing since it's under $50,000, but that doesn't seem to be speeding things up much lately. One thing that helped me was calling the Practitioner Priority Service line (if you have a tax professional) or trying to get through to the regular customer service line very early in the morning. They were able to at least confirm my request was in the system and being processed. Don't stress too much - the vast majority of installment agreement requests get approved as long as you proposed a reasonable payment amount based on your financial situation. Just keep making those payments!

Question - this might not be relevant to OP but what about state taxes? Do they work the same way with brackets or is it different depending on the state? I'm in California and our state taxes are no joke.

Just wanted to chime in as someone who went through this exact situation last year! I was making $75k and got offered $89k at a new company. Like you, I was worried about the tax implications and whether switching jobs would somehow make the tax situation worse than just getting a raise. The reality is that the IRS treats all W-2 income the same way regardless of the source. Whether you get a $14,500 raise at your current job or earn that extra amount by switching to a new employer, it's all just "ordinary income" to them. The progressive tax bracket system applies exactly the same way. One thing I'd suggest is to also consider the benefits package when comparing the offers. Sometimes a higher salary might mean different health insurance costs, retirement matching, etc. But from a pure tax perspective, you're absolutely safe to take that higher paying job - you'll definitely take home more money even after the additional taxes. Congrats on the offer!

Has anyone used TurboTax to handle this specific situation? I'm in the same boat with a PayPal 1099-K for gambling but not sure if the software can handle it correctly.

This is a really complex situation that I see come up a lot in tax forums. One thing I'd add to the excellent advice already given - make sure you understand the timing of when PayPal reports these transactions versus when your actual gambling activity occurred. Sometimes PayPal will issue a 1099-K based on when payments were processed through their system, which might not align perfectly with your actual gambling sessions. For example, if you deposited money in December 2022 but it didn't clear until January 2023, there could be timing differences that affect which tax year the activity should be reported in. Also, keep in mind that if you do end up owing taxes on this, the IRS offers payment plans that can help spread out the burden. But definitely get this sorted out correctly from the start - gambling income reporting errors can trigger audits, and you want to make sure your documentation is bulletproof. The separate account strategy mentioned by others is spot-on for future years. It's much easier to handle this when gambling transactions are completely isolated from your regular financial activity.

This is such a timely thread! I just went through this nightmare myself last month. After reading all these suggestions, I want to add that the IRS also has a specific line for amended returns at 866-464-2050 if that's what your notice is about. One thing I learned the hard way - when you finally do get through to someone, ask them to notate your account with what you discussed. I had to call back two weeks later about the same issue and the second agent had no record of my previous call. Now I always ask for a confirmation number or case number. Also, @Giovanni Mancini since you mentioned this is for your small business, definitely try that 800-829-4933 business line that @Ava Garcia mentioned. Even if the wait is still long, at least you'll be talking to someone who understands business tax issues rather than getting transferred around between departments. Good luck with your quarterly filing deadline!

I feel your pain! Just went through this exact same struggle two weeks ago with a CP3219A notice for my consulting business. After reading through everyone's suggestions here, I tried a combination approach: 1. Called the business line (800-829-4933) that several people mentioned 2. Used the 7:30am Tuesday timing strategy 3. Had all my documents ready (EIN, notice number, previous year's return) Got through in about 40 minutes! The agent was actually knowledgeable about business tax issues and didn't transfer me around. She explained that my notice was just a computer-generated mismatch and walked me through the response process. One additional tip: when you do get through, ask them to send you a written summary of your call via mail. The agent told me this creates a paper trail that helps if you need to call back later. Also, if your notice has a specific response deadline, make sure to ask about penalty relief options if you're close to the due date. The whole experience reminded me why I'm considering hiring a tax professional next year - sometimes the peace of mind is worth the cost when dealing with business taxes!