Oh wow, I completely forgot about FBAR! I do have a Chinese bank account I'll be using. Is there a minimum amount I need to have in the account before reporting is required, or is it only the $10,000 combined across all accounts?

The $10,000 threshold applies to the combined total of ALL your foreign accounts at any time during the year. So if you have $5,000 in one Chinese account and $6,000 in another, you'd need to report both because the combined total exceeds $10,000. There's no minimum for individual accounts once you hit that combined threshold. You report ALL foreign accounts once you cross that line, even if some only have a few dollars in them. And remember, it's not just bank accounts - investment accounts, pension funds, and even accounts where you have signature authority (but not ownership) count toward the threshold.

This is great advice! I moved from Virginia to Japan and Virginia kept trying to claim me as a resident because I kept my VA driver's license active. Had to formally declare non-residency and provide proof of my permanent home abroad.

Oh that's super helpful - I didn't even think about mileage! I was taking the campus shuttle to most sessions but sometimes I did drive to off-campus locations. Do you need any special documentation for mileage or just a log?

A simple log is enough! Just note the date, starting location, ending location, purpose of trip (tutoring), and miles driven. I keep mine in a notes app on my phone so I can update it right after each session. You don't need anything fancy - just enough detail that you could explain it if questioned. Only track the miles specifically for tutoring though, not your regular commute to campus or personal trips.

Yep, that self-employment tax is brutal! But remember you can deduct half of it on your 1040, which helps a little bit. Schedule SE calculates this automatically.

Do you know if the age requirements are changing too? Currently it's under 17, but I've heard rumors they might extend it for older dependents like they did during COVID.

The age requirement is staying the same under the current proposal - children must be under 17 at the end of the tax year to qualify for the Child Tax Credit. The temporary expansion during COVID that included 17-year-olds is not part of this new legislation. What's staying consistent is the income phase-out thresholds - $200,000 for single filers and $400,000 for married filing jointly. The credit begins to reduce by $50 for each $1,000 of income above these thresholds.

Thank you! This is exactly what I was trying to figure out. So my ex who didn't work in 2023 won't be able to claim the CTC for the kids for the 2023 tax year, even with these new changes coming? But potentially for 2024 taxes she could use her 2023 income (if she had any) to qualify?

That's exactly right. For the 2023 tax return that your ex will file in the coming months, she would need earned income in 2023 to benefit from the refundable portion of the CTC. The new changes won't help for this coming tax season. For the 2024 tax year (which will be filed in early 2025), the new rules would take effect. At that point, she could potentially use either her 2023 income OR her 2024 income to qualify for the CTC, whichever is more beneficial. But for the return she's about to file for 2023, the current rules still apply.

I'm in Pennsylvania. I finally found the answer after calling the state department of revenue directly. For PA residents, you use your SSN for most cases with 1099-B forms. However, if you're filing as a business entity that has investments, you would use your state business tax ID. The confusion came from my tax software which wasn't state-specific in its wording. It asked for a "state ID number" generically when what it really meant was my SSN for my particular situation.

Good detective work! Yes, Pennsylvania is one of the states that primarily uses your SSN for individual 1099-B reporting. The tax software really should make that clearer - they cause so much unnecessary stress with their vague terminology. For anyone else reading this with the same issue, always check your state's specific department of revenue website or call them directly if you're unsure. The requirements can change from state to state and sometimes even year to year as tax laws are updated.

This is helpful but i still don't understand why my 1099-B from Fidelity doesn't have my state ID printed anywhere on it?? Shouldn't they include that information since they're the ones issuing the form??

Your 1099-B from Fidelity doesn't have your state ID printed on it because federal 1099-B forms are standardized by the IRS and don't include state-specific information. Brokerages like Fidelity are required to report to the federal government, but state reporting requirements vary widely. When you're entering this information into tax software, the software is trying to match your 1099-B to your state tax return, which is why it asks for a state ID. You provide this information yourself - usually your SSN for individual filers - rather than it coming from Fidelity. This connects your investment income reported on the federal level to your state tax obligation.

Is there any way for an employee to confirm that their employer actually submitted the corrected W2 to the SSA? I'm worried my employer might have given me a corrected one but forgotten to update it with the government.

Unfortunately, there's no direct way for employees to verify SSA submissions in real-time. However, you can indirectly check by creating an account on the SSA website (my.ssa.gov) and viewing your reported wages after tax season. This won't help immediately for filing, though. Your best approach is to contact your payroll or HR department directly and ask them to confirm they've submitted the corrected W2 to the SSA. Most payroll systems automatically handle this when generating a replacement W2, but it's fair to ask for confirmation. If they're using proper payroll software, they should be able to tell you the submission date of the corrected information.

Good advice. I keep all my tax docs for 7 years just to be safe. Electronic copies are fine too - I scan everything and keep it in a secure folder.