Anyone know if using different brokerages for the traditional ira contribution vs the roth conversion causes any issues? I contributed to a traditional ira at Vanguard but want to convert and have the roth at fidelity.

Just want to add another perspective on timing - I've been doing backdoor Roth conversions for about 5 years now and have never waited more than a few days between contribution and conversion. My CPA has never raised any concerns about the step transaction doctrine, and I've never had any issues with the IRS. The key thing is proper documentation on Form 8606 as others have mentioned. Make sure you report the nondeductible contribution in Part I and the conversion in Part II. The $2 in earnings you mentioned is totally normal and expected - I usually end up with somewhere between $1-10 in gains depending on how quickly I can complete the conversion. One tip: if you're planning to do this annually, consider setting up both accounts at the same brokerage to make the process smoother. I do mine at Schwab and can complete the entire conversion online within their system, which minimizes the time the money sits earning taxable gains.

Does anyone know how this works with HSA contributions? My employer contributes $1500 to my HSA annually on top of paying part of my health insurance premium.

As someone who just went through this same confusion last month, I can confirm what others have said - employer-paid health insurance premiums are NOT included in your gross income. I was in a similar situation where I was right at the edge of a tax credit threshold. What really helped me was looking at my pay stub vs. my W-2. My gross pay on my final pay stub was higher than Box 1 on my W-2 because Box 1 already excludes pre-tax deductions like health insurance premiums I pay, while employer-paid portions never show up as income at all. The IRS treats employer-paid health benefits as a tax-free fringe benefit under Section 106 of the tax code. So your $73,500 salary is what counts toward your AGI calculation - not the additional $7,200 your employer pays for insurance. You should be comfortably under the $75,000 threshold for your tax credit!

Just wanna add that you should be careful about "reimbursing" yourself too much at once if you do it in 2025. I made this mistake - had a ton of 2023 miles I didn't reimburse until January 2024, then tried to take it all at once along with my regular 2024 mileage. My accountant warned me that large, unusual reimbursements can trigger extra scrutiny. Might be worth spreading it out over a few months if the amount is significant.

Just to add another perspective - I've been dealing with similar timing issues in my consulting business. One thing that helped me was creating a simple spreadsheet that clearly separates "when the expense occurred" vs "when I paid/reimbursed myself." This makes it crystal clear for both my records and any potential IRS questions. For your December 2024 miles, I'd recommend documenting it something like: "Business mileage incurred: December 2024 | Reimbursement date: February 2025 | Tax year for deduction: 2025." This way there's no confusion about the timeline. Also, since you mentioned money was tight in December, you might want to consider what others have suggested about claiming the mileage directly on your 2024 Schedule C instead of doing a formal reimbursement. That way you could still get the deduction for 2024 without having to actually move cash around. Just make sure your mileage logs are detailed enough to support the deduction!

Check your transcript for code 570 - that means a hold on your account. If you see code 971, that means they sent you a notice explaining whats happening. The combination usually means they're holding your refund for some reason. Pretty common during OIC.

I'm going through something similar right now - filed my OIC about 4 months ago and they've been holding my refund the entire time. What I learned from calling the OIC unit is that they automatically place a "freeze" on any refunds while your offer is being reviewed. The good news is that if your OIC gets accepted, those held refunds do count toward reducing your overall settlement amount, so you're not losing that money completely. If your OIC gets rejected, they should release the refund unless you have other tax debts they can apply it to. The waiting is brutal though - I totally get the desperation! Hang in there and definitely try calling that OIC number someone mentioned earlier to get a status update on your package.

Thanks for bringing this up! I just checked and you're absolutely right - there's definitely a discrepancy between what the IRS site shows and what Pay1040 is actually charging. I've been dealing with similar fee confusion lately. It's really frustrating when you're trying to plan your payment strategy and the official IRS page isn't current. From what I've seen in other tax forums, these processor fee changes happen pretty regularly, but the IRS website updates can lag behind by weeks or even months. For anyone else running into this, I'd recommend always double-checking the actual processor website before making your payment. The fees listed there are what you'll actually be charged, regardless of what the IRS page says. Learned this the hard way last year when I budgeted based on outdated fee info! Also worth noting that if you're making a large payment, even a 0.12% difference (1.87% vs 1.75%) can add up to real money. On a $10k tax bill, that's an extra $12 - not huge, but still annoying when you thought you were getting a better rate.

This is exactly why I always recommend checking multiple sources before making tax payments! I've been burned by outdated fee information before too. One thing that might help everyone here - the IRS actually has a disclaimer (though it's buried in small print) that says the payment processor fees are subject to change and to verify current rates on the processor's website. I only noticed this after getting hit with a higher fee than expected last year. For what it's worth, I've found that Pay1040's fees tend to fluctuate more than some of the other processors. If you're planning ahead for next year, it might be worth keeping an eye on their rates throughout the year to see if there's a pattern to when they increase or decrease fees. Also, don't forget that some credit cards offer bonus categories that might change the math on whether the fee is worth it. My Discover card had 5% back on "government services" one quarter last year, which made even higher processing fees totally worth it for the rewards.