Has anyone had experience with deducting mortgage interest in a situation like this? I inherited a rental property with an existing mortgage and I'm trying to figure out if I can deduct the interest on Schedule E for the few months I had it before selling.

I went through something very similar when I inherited my uncle's rental property last year. The key thing that helped me was keeping meticulous records of everything - every rental listing I posted, every potential tenant I showed the property to, every repair receipt categorized properly. One thing that might help your cousin is to create a timeline showing her rental intent from day one. Even though she only had a tenant for 3 weeks, if she was actively marketing the property, showing it to prospective tenants, and making repairs specifically to keep it rentable during those months, that demonstrates legitimate rental business activity. The IRS Publication 527 has good guidance on this - they look at whether you're engaged in rental activity "for profit" rather than just the duration of actual rental. The fact that she inherited it as rental property, continued that use (even briefly), and made good faith efforts to maintain tenants supports the Schedule E treatment. Just make sure she's being honest about repairs vs improvements. Things like fixing broken appliances, painting, minor plumbing repairs are typically deductible repairs. But if she added new features, upgraded systems, or made structural changes to increase the property value, those should probably be capitalized to basis instead. The passive loss rules suspension upon sale is legitimate - that's exactly what IRC 469(g) is designed to handle. She should be fine as long as she has the documentation to back up her rental intent and proper expense categorization.

Make sure you're setting aside money for taxes! I made the mistake of not saving enough when I first started self-employment and got hit with a HUGE tax bill plus penalties. I now transfer 30% of every payment into a separate savings account immediately. Also, look into making quarterly estimated tax payments (Form 1040-ES) to avoid underpayment penalties. The IRS wants you to pay taxes throughout the year, not just at tax time!

Great question about tax software! I switched from TurboTax to FreeTaxUSA when I became self-employed and it's been much better for my situation. It handles Schedule C (business income/expenses) really well and costs way less than TurboTax's Self-Employed version. For more complex situations, I've heard good things about TaxAct and H&R Block's self-employed software. The key is finding one that makes it easy to track business deductions throughout the year, not just at tax time. Pro tip: Whatever software you choose, keep detailed records of ALL business expenses. I use a simple spreadsheet to track everything monthly - mileage, office supplies, professional development, etc. Come tax time, you'll be so glad you did this instead of trying to reconstruct everything from receipts! Also consider whether you need quarterly tax payment reminders built into the software. Some of the better ones will calculate and remind you when estimated payments are due, which has saved me from penalties.

Has anyone used Form 3115 (Change in Accounting Method) instead of amending returns for missed depreciation? My accountant suggested this approach for a similar situation with my office equipment.

For your specific situation with the CNC machine, here's what I'd recommend based on my experience with similar depreciation issues: 1. **Yes, you should amend your 2022 return** to claim the missed depreciation. Since you took bonus depreciation of $2,430 in 2021, you had a remaining basis of $270 that should have been depreciated starting in 2022 using the MACRS 7-year schedule. 2. **The missed 2022 depreciation would be**: 24.49% of $270 = $66.12 (this is the second-year MACRS percentage for 7-year property) 3. **For 2023 and beyond**, you'll continue with the MACRS schedule on the remaining basis. Year 3 would be 17.49% of $270 = $47.22, and so on. 4. **Regarding your W-2 income question** - absolutely you can still claim the depreciation! As long as you own the business asset and it's available for business use, you can depreciate it on Schedule C even if you have minimal or no 1099 income that year. The key thing to remember is that depreciation is "use it or lose it" - you can't save it for later years. That's why amending 2022 is important. You won't face penalties since you'd likely get a refund from the amendment. Consider using tax software that can handle Form 4562 properly, or consult with a tax professional if you're unsure about the calculations.

You know what I've learned after years of tax seasons? The SBTPG system is always glitchy during peak refund weeks. Have you tried calling them directly instead of just using the website? Their phone system will often recognize your info before their website does. Also, did you check if your tax preparer entered your SSN correctly? I've seen cases where a single digit was off and that prevented access.

I'm going through this exact same situation right now! My transcript updated yesterday showing my refund was approved, but SBTPG keeps saying they can't find my account information. It's so stressful when you're counting on that money. Based on what everyone else is saying here, it sounds like there's typically a 24-48 hour delay between the IRS transcript updating and SBTPG receiving the funds. I'm going to try calling them directly like Leslie suggested - maybe their phone system is more up-to-date than the website. Thanks for posting this, at least now I know I'm not the only one dealing with this timing issue!

Who else thinks the whole charitable deduction thing is just a tax break for the wealthy? I mean, if you don't make enough to itemize, you get zero tax benefit from donations. Meanwhile, rich people can donate appreciated stock, avoid capital gains tax AND get a deduction for the full value.

You're absolutely right to be skeptical of that USA Today figure. As a tax professional, I see this confusion all the time. The $3,300 average is only from taxpayers who itemized deductions, which creates a massive selection bias. Think about it this way: in 2016, someone earning under $100K would only itemize if their total deductions exceeded the standard deduction (which was $6,300 for single filers). So you're looking at people who had unusually high mortgage interest, state taxes, medical expenses, OR charitable giving. This naturally inflates the charitable giving average within that subset. The real picture is much more modest. Based on comprehensive surveys that include all taxpayers, the typical household earning under $100K gives somewhere between $500-1,200 annually. Your own giving level is probably much more representative of actual American behavior than that misleading $3,300 figure. The charitable deduction system does create some perverse incentives where higher-income taxpayers get better tax benefits for giving, but that's a separate policy discussion from understanding what people actually donate.