Don't forget that if you've paid property taxes on this land since 1998, those wouldn't increase your basis, but any special assessments for improvements (like if the county installed water/sewer lines or road improvements that you paid for through special assessments) would increase your basis. Make sure to check if any of those apply!

One thing that might help clarify the gift vs. purchase issue - check if your wife's grandmother reported any gift on her tax return that year. Even if the land value was under the gift tax exclusion, she still might have reported it for documentation purposes. Also, if she had an estate plan or will prepared around that time, it might reference the property transfer and her intent. I'd also suggest getting a professional land appraisal for what the property was worth in 1998 if you can't find solid records. It might cost a few hundred dollars, but if the difference between using the grandmother's original basis versus your $1 basis is significant, it could save you thousands in taxes. An appraiser can often research comparable sales from that time period to establish a defensible fair market value. The IRS tends to be reasonable about good faith efforts to determine basis when original records are missing, as long as you document your research process. Keep copies of everything you find or try to find - that paper trail is important.

Something else to consider that hasn't been mentioned yet - if you have a legitimate home office that qualifies as your principal place of business, then trips from your home office to other business locations can be fully deductible. So in your case, if your home office is your main place of business for your sole proprietorship, then even the trip from home to Store B could potentially be deductible if the primary purpose was business. The key is whether your home office meets the IRS requirements for regular and exclusive business use.

Something I learned from my tax guy - keep a mileage log in your car and record EVERYTHING. Start/stop odometer readings, addresses, and purpose of trip. I use a simple notebook but there are also apps. The IRS is super picky about mileage documentation during audits. Without a contemporaneous log, they can deny your entire mileage deduction even if the trips were legitimate.

Something nobody's mentioned - check with the nonprofit you foster for! My rescue actually provides foster parents with letters documenting all expenses including estimates for home space used, which helps with tax deductions. Some rescues have accountants who help their fosters maximize legitimate deductions.

Really appreciate everyone sharing their experiences here! As someone who's been fostering through various rescues for over 5 years, I wanted to add a few practical points: First, definitely keep meticulous records of ALL your foster-related expenses - even small ones add up. I use a dedicated credit card just for fostering expenses to make tracking easier. Second, don't forget about some of the less obvious deductible expenses: laundry costs for washing bedding/towels, additional pet-proofing supplies, emergency vet visits if you have to cover them upfront, and even things like extra vacuum bags or carpet cleaning if you're dealing with shedding or accidents. Third, if you're fostering special needs animals or doing medical fostering, there can be additional deductible expenses for specialized equipment or supplies that the rescue might not cover. The key is documentation - save every receipt, get written acknowledgments from your rescue organization, and take photos of your setup if relevant. Even though the extra bedroom rent isn't deductible, you'd be surprised how much your other legitimate expenses can add up throughout the year!

That extension code (460) shows you filed late - did you request more time?

Code 826 transfers are actually pretty common when you have prior year balances. The IRS automatically applies your current refund to any outstanding debt from previous years before sending you anything. In your case, that $6,408 went straight to your 2019 tax year ("201912" means December 2019 processing). The good news is your current account shows $0 balance with no penalties or interest, so that 2019 debt is now fully resolved. You should receive those notices (code 971) in the mail soon explaining exactly what happened.

lmao good luck understanding that mess. I stared at mine for hours and gave up 🤮

Look for these key codes on your transcript: 150 means they received your return, 570 is a hold (could be for review or missing info), and 846 is the golden one - that's your DDD! The date next to 846 is when your refund gets deposited. If you only see 570 with no 971 notice code, it might just be a routine review. Check back in a few days - transcripts usually update overnight between Tuesday-Friday.