I had no idea this existed! How does my cousin apply for this Form 911 help? Does he need to provide specific documentation about his financial situation?

He'll need to fill out Form 911 (Request for Taxpayer Advocate Service Assistance) which asks for details about the hardship. He should be very specific about exactly how the tax situation is causing financial hardship - like documentation showing he can't pay rent, utilities, or medical expenses because of the tax payments. Supporting documentation is super important - recent bank statements, bills, income proof, anything showing the gap between income and necessary expenses. The more concrete evidence of hardship, the better his chances. He can submit the form online, by mail, or fax. Sometimes it's actually faster to reach out to his local Taxpayer Advocate office directly by phone - the form includes contact info for local offices.

This is so important! I was a 1099 worker and realized I missed like $8k in legit deductions when I finally got help from a tax pro. Lowered my tax bill significantly. Does the cousin already have an accountant or did he DIY his taxes?

Thanks for bringing up the treaty benefit possibility! I'm from Sweden, and I believe there is a tax treaty, but I'm not sure how it applies to fellowship income. My visa is J-1 research scholar. Would that potentially make some of my fellowship exempt? Also, my fellowship covers tuition remission separately from my stipend. The stipend is what will be on the 1042-S. Does that change anything?

Yes, Sweden definitely has a tax treaty with the US, and J-1 research scholars often qualify for benefits! Under Article 20 of the US-Sweden treaty, you may be eligible for an exemption on your fellowship income for up to two years. Regarding your stipend versus tuition remission - that's actually ideal! If the tuition remission is paid directly to the university, it's not considered taxable income to you at all and shouldn't appear on your 1042-S. The stipend portion on your 1042-S may be partially or fully exempt under the treaty. When you get your 1042-S, check if Box 3 (type of income) shows a code like "16" (scholarship/fellowship) and if Box 10 shows "20" (for Article 20) - that would indicate treaty benefits were applied.

I tried using TurboTax for this exact situation last year and it was a nightmare. It kept trying to treat my fellowship as self-employment income and wanted me to pay self-employment tax on it. Ended up having to go to a CPA who specializes in international tax issues and he found that TurboTax had miscalculated my tax by over $3000!

Was there a deadline to file the 8915-E form? My brother took money from his 401k during COVID but I don't think he ever filed that form. Is he in trouble with the IRS now?

Yes, there was a deadline for taking the qualified distributions - December 30, 2020. The distributions had to be reported on Form 8915-E which would have been filed with the 2020 tax return (or potentially spread over returns for 2020, 2021, and 2022 if he chose to spread the income). If he took a distribution but didn't file Form 8915-E, he may have paid the 10% early withdrawal penalty unnecessarily. He could potentially file an amended return for 2020 to claim the special treatment if he qualified. The IRS generally allows amendments within 3 years of the original filing date, so he might still have time depending on when he filed his 2020 return.

Yes, TurboTax would have created and filed the appropriate Form 8915 if you indicated you took a qualified disaster distribution from a retirement account. You can check your actual filed return - there should be a PDF copy in TurboTax that shows all forms that were submitted.

I don't think I made any payments after the bankruptcy, but now I'm paranoid. Would partial payments reset the clock or only full payments? And how would I check for liens? Just call the county recorder's office?

Any payment, even a small partial payment, can reset the collection statute. It's one of the ways people accidentally revive old tax debts. The IRS sometimes even sends out collection notices on expired debts hoping you'll make a payment without realizing it restarts the clock. For liens, yes, you can check with your county recorder's office or clerk's office. Most counties now have online systems where you can search for liens by name. If you find a lien and your debt is truly beyond the collection statute, you can request a "lien withdrawal" from the IRS using Form 12277. Just be careful about contacting them if you're not 100% sure the debt is uncollectible.

Is this really true? I thought once the statute of limitations was up, they couldn't touch your money at all - including refunds. Can someone confirm if refund offset is really not subject to the 10-year rule?

You're partially right - I should have been more clear. For most federal tax debts, the refund offset ability does end when the collection statute expires. However, there are exceptions for things like child support, student loans, state tax debts, and a few other categories that can continue to offset refunds. Also, if the IRS has already applied your refund to an old tax debt before the statute expires, they don't have to give it back even if the debt becomes uncollectible later. Always best to check your tax transcripts for the specific collection statute expiration date (CSED) for each tax year you owe.

Oh that's a good point - the property taxes are paid through the mortgage escrow. Would those be split between the estate and me in the same way as the interest? The property was reassessed after the inheritance too, so the taxes went up.

Yes, property taxes would typically be split the same way as the mortgage interest - based on when the mortgage was legally in your name versus the estate's name. However, since you were the legal owner of the property (the deed was in your name) earlier than the mortgage transfer, you might be able to claim all property taxes paid after the deed transfer regardless of whose name was on the mortgage. The property tax reassessment is actually important too - when you inherit property, you often get a "stepped-up basis" to the fair market value at the time of death, which affects your cost basis if you ever sell the property. Keep all documentation about the reassessment as you'll need that for future tax implications.

Did you have to file amended returns after getting the attorney involved? I'm in a similar mess with Wells Fargo and just got a corrected 1098 for last year, wondering if I need to amend.