I'm in a similar boat but we're getting married in November. Our accountant told us to keep SUPER detailed records of who paid what for the house this year since we'll be filing separately but then jointly next year. Apparently this makes things easier during an audit. He had us create a spreadsheet tracking each mortgage payment, who paid what percentage, all house expenses, etc. Might be overkill but thought I'd share!

Just wanted to add my experience since I went through something very similar! We got married in May 2024 and bought our house in January 2024. The December 31st rule is definitely strict - we had to file separately for 2023 taxes even though we were engaged and living together. One thing that really helped us was creating a simple agreement document outlining how we'd split all house-related expenses and deductions. We did 50/50 on everything since we both contributed equally, but your 60/40 split sounds totally reasonable. Just make sure you're consistent - if you split the down payment 60/40, try to keep that same ratio for ongoing mortgage payments and property taxes throughout the year. Also, don't forget about PMI (private mortgage insurance) if you're paying it - that's also deductible and should be split the same way as your other mortgage costs. We almost missed that one! The good news is once you're married next year, filing jointly will likely save you money overall, especially with the house deductions.

13 Just wanted to mention something that nobody's brought up yet - if you're doing major renovations on your home AND monetizing the content, you might need to look into how this affects your homeowner's insurance and potentially capital gains when you sell the house. Our tax advisor mentioned this could get complicated if the improvements significantly increase your home's value.

This is such a helpful thread! I'm in a similar situation - just started a home renovation YouTube channel and have been totally confused about the tax implications. One thing I've learned from my research is that the IRS looks at several factors to determine if something is a legitimate business vs. a hobby: profit motive, expertise in the area, time and effort spent, expectation of asset appreciation, success in similar activities, history of income/losses, and amount of occasional profits. For content creators specifically, I've read that even if you're not profitable initially, you can still deduct legitimate business expenses as long as you can demonstrate you're operating with a genuine intent to make a profit. The key is maintaining excellent records and being able to justify how each expense directly relates to your content creation business rather than personal home improvement. I'm planning to set up a separate business checking account, create detailed expense categories (production equipment, materials used solely for demonstrations, editing software, etc.), and keep video logs showing how each purchase was used in content creation. Has anyone found other specific documentation strategies that work well for this type of business?

Did your tax preparer give you a copy of the return they filed? It's like having a recipe and then being surprised when the cake comes out different - you need to compare the ingredients. States often apply different rules than federal returns, much like how different ovens might require temperature adjustments. What was the percentage difference between expected and actual? Small discrepancies under 10% are common, but larger ones usually indicate a specific disallowed item rather than a calculation error.

I went through something very similar last year! My state refund was about $150 less than what my tax preparer calculated. It turned out the state had different rules for a charitable deduction that I claimed - they required additional documentation that wasn't needed for the federal return. The frustrating part was that the adjustment notice didn't arrive until almost a month after I received the reduced refund. I'd definitely recommend logging into your state's tax portal if they have one - that's where I found the detailed explanation of what was adjusted. Also, don't hesitate to reach out to your tax preparer about this. Mine was very helpful in explaining the state-specific rules and even helped me gather the proper documentation for future years.

For the phantom IRA distribution - check if someone stole your identity! My dad had something similar happen and it turned out someone had opened an account in his name. When they withdrew funds, the 1099-R got reported to my dad's SSN. Took almost a year to sort out with the IRS and credit bureaus.

Just to add another perspective - don't beat yourself up too much about these errors. Tax law is incredibly complex, especially with rental properties, and even professionals make mistakes. The fact that you caught these errors shows you're being diligent. For the years beyond the 3-year amendment window, document everything you found but don't stress about it unless the IRS comes knocking. Keep good records going forward and consider having a tax professional review your returns annually to catch issues early. That phantom IRA distribution is definitely the priority item here. Even if it's outside the amendment period, you should still contact the IRS about it. Sometimes they can make administrative corrections for clear errors, especially if it involves identity theft or third-party reporting mistakes. The worst case is they say no, but at least you'll have it on record that you tried to resolve it. Good luck sorting this out! These situations are stressful but usually more manageable than they seem at first.

I had this EXACT problem last year. Moved from California to Texas in November, filed in January with my new Texas address, but my verification letter went to California. Here's what happened: 1. Letter was sent to old address (I found out later it was mailed 3 days BEFORE my return was fully processed) 2. Previous tenant threw it away instead of marking "return to sender" 3. I called IRS after waiting 4 weeks with no letter 4. They confirmed it was sent to old address and returned 5. Had to verify identity online instead (much faster anyway) My advice: Don't wait too long. If it's been more than 2 weeks since you expected the letter, be proactive and contact them. The online verification option worked great for me - much faster than waiting for mail.

This thread has been super helpful! I'm in a similar boat - moved in November and filed with my new address in January. Based on what everyone's shared, it sounds like the timing of when your return gets processed versus when they generate the verification letter is the key factor. For anyone else reading this, here's what I'm taking away from all these experiences: 1. Set up USPS mail forwarding ASAP if you haven't already (seems like this saved several people) 2. Check your tax transcript online to see if a letter has been issued 3. Don't wait too long - if it's been 2+ weeks, be proactive and contact the IRS 4. Online verification might be faster than waiting for the letter anyway Thanks to everyone who shared their real experiences - way more useful than the generic IRS website info!