Another thing to consider is that different countries have different inheritance tax treaties with the US. This can affect what assets are subject to US estate tax and how the transfer certificate process works. For example, if your father was a resident of a country that has an estate tax treaty with the US (like UK, Germany, France, etc.), you might be entitled to more favorable treatment or simplified procedures. Worth checking if your country has such a treaty!

One thing nobody mentioned yet - be careful about the timing! There's a 9-month deadline from the date of death to file Form 706-NA. If you miss this deadline, you might face penalties or complications. Also watch out for currency conversion - all values have to be in USD based on the exchange rate on the date of death, not the current rate. The IRS is very specific about this.

Hey I'm actually a yoga studio owner! When we process refunds through Zelle from our business account, we categorize them as refunds in our accounting system, not as payments for services. This means they don't get reported to the IRS as income paid to you. From your side, you don't need to report it as income since you're just getting your own money back. It's no different than if you returned a product to a store and got your money back.

I just wanted to add that if you're ever unsure about similar situations in the future, it's helpful to think about the economic substance of the transaction rather than just the payment method or source. In your case, you paid money for a service, didn't receive the full value of that service, and got your money back. The net effect is that you're in the same financial position as if you never made the original payment at all. That's the hallmark of a non-taxable refund. The IRS looks at substance over form, so even though it came through Zelle from a business account, the underlying transaction is still just returning your own money to you. Keep that receipt or confirmation from the yoga studio showing it was processed as a membership refund, and you should be all set!

One thing nobody mentioned yet - make sure your purchase contract addresses FIRPTA! Our contract had no mention of it, and when we discovered the seller was foreign, there was disagreement about who would bear the costs associated with the withholding process. The seller tried to increase the purchase price to offset the withholding amount, which of course we refused. It created a lot of unnecessary tension. Your purchase agreement should clearly state that the seller will provide all necessary FIRPTA documentation and that any required withholding comes from their proceeds, not as an additional cost to you.

Make sure your title company or closing attorney is experienced with FIRPTA! Our first title company made a mess of our FIRPTA withholding and nearly caused us to miss our closing date. We switched to a different title company that had specific experience with international sellers, and the difference was night and day. They knew exactly which forms were needed, helped the seller complete them correctly, and handled the withholding and submission to the IRS.

Have you checked if there's a difference in the reported income or withholdings between the two W-2s? Sometimes companies split reporting if there were changes in your compensation or tax status mid-year.

This is actually pretty common when companies switch payroll systems mid-year! I'd definitely start by calling your employer's HR or payroll department first - they'll be able to tell you right away if this was intentional (like a mid-year switch from ADP to Gusto) or if one of them is a mistake. In the meantime, compare the two W-2s carefully - check if the pay periods, income amounts, and tax withholdings are different or if they overlap. If they're for different parts of the year, you'll need both for your tax filing. If they're duplicates of the same info, HR should issue a corrected W-2. Don't stress too much - this happens more often than you'd think!

I'm a tax preparer, and this home office mileage question comes up a lot with my clients. The key distinction is whether your home office qualifies as your "principal place of business" under IRS rules. If it does (which sounds like your case), then travel from your home office to other business locations is generally deductible. However, the IRS will look at the "regular or principal place of business" for each of your income streams separately. So if one of your side hustles has a different principal location, the rules might apply differently to travel for that specific business activity. Make sure you keep a detailed mileage log with dates, starting/ending locations, business purpose, and miles driven. Also document how the library qualifies as a legitimate business location (what work you do there, why it's necessary for your business, etc.).

Just want to point out something that helped me with a similar situation - the "temporary work location" rule might apply here. According to IRS Publication 463, if you have a regular place of business (your home office) and you travel to a temporary work location (the library), those miles can be deductible. But there's a catch - if you go to the library regularly and it becomes a "regular place of business" rather than a temporary location, the rules change. The IRS doesn't have a precise definition of how frequent is too frequent, but it's something to be aware of.