Make sure you don't just throw these away! The IRS computers will think the estate still owes estimated payments and will start generating automated penalty notices if you ignore them. Happened to my neighbor and it took him almost a year to resolve the mess.

I went through this exact same situation with my mother's estate about two years ago. The IRS kept sending Form 1041-ES vouchers even though we had properly closed the estate in 2020. What worked for me was sending a certified letter to the IRS with copies of the final Form 1041 (clearly marked "Final Return"), the court order closing the estate, and a brief explanation that the estate had been fully distributed and closed. I included the estate's EIN and my contact information as executor. The key thing is to act quickly - don't let these sit around. The IRS automated system will start generating penalty notices if it thinks estimated payments are being missed. It took about 6-8 weeks after I sent the documentation, but I eventually received a letter confirming they had updated their records and would stop sending the vouchers. Keep copies of everything you send and use certified mail with return receipt so you have proof they received it. This is definitely fixable, just needs the right paperwork to get their system updated.

Don't forget to consider whether your cousin needs to file FinCEN Form 114 (FBAR) if she has non-US bank accounts with over $10,000 combined. This is separate from her tax return but required for many non-residents with foreign accounts.

Great question! I went through this exact situation last year as a Canadian working in Detroit. Schedule OI is definitely required with Form 1040NR - it's not optional regardless of whether you're claiming treaty benefits or exemptions. A few key tips for your cousin's situation: - On Part I, she'll need to list her Canadian passport info and any US visa details - For Part II (days in US), she should keep good records of her work days but doesn't need to document every single border crossing - Part III is where she'll indicate she's claiming Canadian tax residency under the treaty - Make sure her SSN is consistent across all forms One thing that caught me off guard was that even though I wasn't claiming income exemptions, I was still benefiting from the US-Canada tax treaty for residency determination purposes. This affects how you answer some questions on Schedule OI. I'd recommend she review IRS Publication 597 or consider getting professional help for her first filing to make sure everything is done correctly. Cross-border tax situations can get complex quickly!

Quick heads up - I just went through this process with my new law practice. If you're doing a mega backdoor Roth with an S Corp, be VERY careful about the timing of your salary payments. The employer contribution limits for solo 401(k)s are based on your W-2 wages from the S Corp. If you want to max out your contributions for 2025, you need to pay yourself enough salary THIS calendar year to support those contribution limits. I messed this up my first year - paid myself mostly in December and couldn't make the full employer contribution I wanted because my W-2 wages weren't high enough for most of the year.

This is such a timely question! I'm in a similar boat - launching my freelance design business next month as an S Corp and have been wrestling with the same retirement optimization challenges. One thing I've discovered that might help is looking into Charles Schwab's Individual 401(k). While their basic plan doesn't include after-tax contributions, they do offer what they call an "Enhanced Individual 401(k)" that can be customized with additional features including after-tax contributions and in-service distributions for the mega backdoor strategy. The setup fee is around $500 and there's a small annual maintenance fee, but it's significantly less expensive than some of the fully self-administered options while still giving you the flexibility you need. I spoke with one of their retirement specialists last week and they confirmed that SECURE 2.0 provisions are gradually being rolled out, but the core mega backdoor functionality has been available for a while. Also worth noting - make sure you're factoring in the administrative burden of managing all this yourself. Between tracking contribution limits, coordinating rollovers, and staying compliant with testing requirements, it can get complex quickly. Sometimes paying a bit more for a provider that handles the heavy lifting is worth it, especially in your first year when you're focused on building the business.

Just wanted to add my experience for anyone still on the fence about FreeTaxUSA vs TurboTax for wash sales. I had about $12k in wash sales last year and was initially panicking about using FreeTaxUSA. After reading through all the advice here, I checked my Schwab 1099-B forms and sure enough, Box 1g was checked on all of them. The adjusted basis in Box 1e already included the wash sale adjustments. I entered the numbers exactly as shown into FreeTaxUSA and filed without any issues. The IRS accepted my return with no questions, and I saved $79 compared to TurboTax. The "missing functionality" really isn't missing at all - it's just that FreeTaxUSA expects your broker to have done the wash sale calculations correctly (which they almost always do for major brokerages). My advice: Check Box 1g on your 1099-B first. If it's checked, FreeTaxUSA will work just fine. If for some reason your broker hasn't adjusted for wash sales (which would be unusual), then you might need to consider other options or do manual calculations.

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I've been stressing about the exact same issue with FreeTaxUSA and wash sales. I have around $7k in wash sales from some unfortunate day trading attempts last year and was convinced I needed to upgrade to TurboTax or find special software. After reading everyone's experiences, I checked my E*TRADE 1099-B forms and confirmed that Box 1g is checked on all of them. Looking more closely at the numbers, I can see that my adjusted basis amounts are indeed higher than my original purchase prices - exactly what you'd expect with wash sale adjustments already included. It's such a relief to know that FreeTaxUSA will handle this correctly as long as I enter the 1099-B numbers exactly as they appear. I was overthinking this whole process and nearly wasted money on more expensive software when the "functionality" I thought was missing is actually working exactly as it should. Thanks to everyone who shared their real-world experiences - this community discussion saved me both money and a lot of unnecessary anxiety!

Has anyone actually calculated the TOTAL tax burden by state? Like when you add up income, property, sales, gas, special assessments, etc.? Cuz some states brag about no income tax but then property taxes are insane (looking at you, Texas).

I made the move from California to Nevada last year and can confirm it's been SO much simpler! No state income tax return to file, which eliminates probably 60% of my tax headaches right there. One thing to consider though - Nevada's sales tax can be pretty high depending on which county you're in (up to 8.375% in some areas), and if you're buying a house, you'll want to factor in property taxes which vary wildly by area. But honestly, even with those considerations, April is now just federal taxes and I'm done. No more juggling multiple state forms or trying to figure out California's weird itemization rules. The move process itself was straightforward tax-wise - just had to file a part-year resident return in California for my last year. If you do go with Nevada, make sure you establish residency properly (driver's license, voter registration, etc.) to avoid any questions from California later. They can be pretty aggressive about tracking down former residents!