Just want to add something important that nobody's mentioned - if you've been getting refunds each year, the IRS has already "closed the books" on those tax years. They're not going to come back and say "well actually your employer should have withheld differently." Your tax liability is based on what you report when you file your taxes, not what your employer withholds. The W-4 is just a tool to help you avoid owing a large sum or getting too big a refund when you file. Also, there's a lot of misunderstanding about the IRS. They generally don't "come after" people who are filing honestly and trying to comply. They're most concerned with people who are deliberately trying to evade taxes or who don't file at all.

Just wanted to share that my company made a similar mistake with my withholding when I got married but kept filing as "single" (my spouse and I file separately). I didn't catch it for over a year! When I finally figured it out, I panicked and called a CPA who basically laughed and said this happens constantly. His advice was: 1) Fix it going forward immediately 2) Set aside some cash to cover what you'll owe for the current year 3) Don't stress about past years if you've already filed and settled up. The bigger issue is going to be this year since you're already 9 months in with incorrect withholding. The simplest fix is to immediately adjust your W-4 to have a specific additional amount taken out of each remaining paycheck. Your payroll department can help calculate this.

Has anyone ever tried arguing that a change in your personal involvement with the properties constitutes a material change? Like if you were actively managing all properties when grouped, but now have become passive with one or more of them?

I've been dealing with a similar ungrouping situation and wanted to share what I learned from my research and consultation with a tax professional. The key is really understanding that the IRS looks at whether the original economic rationale for grouping still exists. Beyond what others have mentioned, here are some additional "material changes" that might qualify: - **Debt structure changes**: If you refinanced one property with significantly different terms (like switching from commercial to residential mortgage, or adding/removing personal guarantees) - **Insurance changes**: Moving from a blanket policy covering all properties to separate policies can show they're no longer economically integrated - **Tenant profile shifts**: If one property went from long-term residential to short-term vacation rental, that's a fundamental business model change - **Legal structure modifications**: Changes in LLC operating agreements, management structures, or ownership percentages The documentation is crucial - you need to show the IRS that maintaining the grouping would be "clearly inappropriate" given the new circumstances, not just that ungrouping would save you taxes. One strategy I've seen work is preparing a detailed memo explaining how the properties functioned as an integrated economic unit originally, and how specific changes have disrupted that integration. This proactive documentation can be invaluable if the IRS ever questions your ungrouping decision. Have you considered whether any of these types of changes apply to your situation?

Make sure to double check your W-2s from those years! Box 1 (wages, tips, other compensation) would include any imputed income. If your employer won't give you an accurate breakdown, look at your December paystub for each year and multiply the per-paycheck imputed income by the number of pay periods. When I had this issue, my company refused to issue corrected W-2s, so I had to file Form 4852 (substitute for Form W-2) along with my 1040-X for each year. Total nightmare but got back around $2200.

This is a really common issue that many newly married couples face! As others have mentioned, you're absolutely right that imputed income should only apply to domestic partners, not legally married spouses. The IRS is clear that employer-provided health insurance for spouses is not taxable income. I'd suggest documenting everything before you approach HR again. Print out your pay stubs showing the imputed income, gather copies of your marriage certificate, and maybe even print out the relevant IRS guidance (Publication 15-B covers this). Sometimes having the official documentation in hand makes the conversation go more smoothly. One thing to watch out for - if your employer fixes this going forward but won't issue corrected W-2s for previous years, you'll definitely want to file those amended returns. The IRS typically allows you to amend returns for up to three years, so depending on when you got married in 2022, you might be able to recover taxes from both 2022 and 2023. Keep pushing on this - it's definitely worth the effort to get it corrected!

My tax guy says a key factor is whether your employer would back you up if audited. Does your company have any written policies that reference self-defense training? Or even an email from your supervisor acknowledging the karate helps your job performance? Documentation is everything with unusual deductions.

I'm confused about job-related training deductions in general. Are they still deductible for employees after the tax law changes? I thought most job expenses went away unless you're self-employed?

I'm a bit late to this discussion, but wanted to add that another reason this is confusing is because the worksheet could be designed more clearly. The IRS could simply say "Your qualified dividends are already included in your taxable income on line 15, so we need to separate them out for preferential tax treatment." Instead, they just give instructions without explaining the why, which leaves many of us confused. I actually made this exact mistake a few years ago and ended up paying too much tax because I didn't understand how qualified dividends were flowing through my return.

Quick tax software tip: both TurboTax and H&R Block handle this calculation automatically behind the scenes. You just input your 1099-DIV info and they do all the worksheet math correctly. I switched to doing my taxes myself on paper this year to save money and that's when I ran into this same confusion.