15 How do you calculate how much to pay for estimated taxes? Is there some formula or percentage I should be setting aside from each payment I receive?

10 The safe harbor method is to pay either 90% of your current year's tax liability or 100% of last year's tax liability (110% if your income is above $150,000), whichever is lower. For a quick practical approach, I set aside about 30% of all my 1099 income - roughly 15% for self-employment tax and 15% for income tax. This has worked well for me, but your tax bracket might differ. The IRS has Form 1040-ES with a worksheet to calculate more precisely, or you can use tax software that offers quarterly tax calculators.

4 Does that apply even if you're just a freelancer/contractor working for one company? I thought B&O tax was just for actual businesses with multiple clients.

Do you know if there are different thresholds for married filing jointly people who live abroad? My wife and I are US citizens but we've been living in Germany for the past 5 years.

Yes! For married filing jointly taxpayers living abroad, the thresholds are even higher - $400,000 at year-end or $600,000 at any point during the year. So if you and your wife are under those thresholds, you wouldn't need to file Form 8938. Just be sure you still consider FBAR requirements (FinCEN Form 114) which has a separate $10,000 threshold regardless of where you live. Those are often confused but are two separate filing requirements.

Tell me about it! I pay my accountant $1,200 every year just to file these foreign asset forms, and I've never owed a penny of additional US tax on them. The penalties are so ridiculously disproportionate too - $10,000 for a paperwork error on accounts where you've paid all taxes due? It's just revenue generation at this point.

Thanks for the info. I just checked my online accounts and I do see the 1099-Rs have been issued. They both show Code G in Box 7! That's a relief. Do I still need to file Form 8606 for these rollovers? My tax preparer mentioned that form but seemed unsure if it applied in my situation.

Form 8606 is generally not required for direct rollovers between pre-tax retirement accounts like 401k/403b to a Traditional IRA. This form is primarily used to report nondeductible contributions to IRAs and distributions from Roth IRAs or conversions. Since your 1099-Rs show Code G, you'll simply report them on your tax return (usually on lines 4a and 4b of Form 1040), showing the full amount on line 4a but zero on line 4b (taxable amount). This indicates you've reported the distribution but it's not taxable. Your tax software or preparer should handle this correctly when you input the 1099-R information.

I rolled over two 401ks last year and one charged $75 while the other was free. From what I've heard, fees between $50-100 are pretty common. You might want to check if your new IRA provider offers any reimbursement for transfer fees - some do if you're bringing in a large enough balance.

7 Is there any negative consequence beyond just delay? Like, would this be considered a filing error that could cause problems for visa renewal or anything? I'm on F1 too and realized I might have made the same mistake.

11 There are no negative consequences for your visa status. This is strictly a processing issue, not a compliance issue. The IRS doesn't report this type of administrative error to USCIS - they simply forward the return to the correct department. Filing your taxes (even if sent to the wrong address) shows you're attempting to comply with U.S. tax laws, which is what matters for immigration purposes. Just make sure you've filed Form 8843 along with your 1040-NR, as that's required for all F1 students regardless of whether you had income or not.

15 I've also started using the IRS electronic filing system whenever possible. Not all forms can be e-filed if you're a nonresident alien, but more options are becoming available each year. Definitely more reliable than physical mail.

This is actually really helpful, thanks! For the health insurance, does that include vision/dental premiums too? And does it matter that my wife is on my plan as well? I'm guessing I'd need to keep good documentation for the business travel with partial vacation - any tips on best practices there?

Yes, vision and dental premiums are included along with regular health insurance. If your wife is on the plan, her premiums are also deductible as long as she's your spouse (or a dependent) - this is one of the best benefits of S-Corp ownership! For business travel with personal elements, the key is having the primary purpose be business. Document all business activities during the trip (meetings, conferences, client visits) with dates and times. Keep all receipts separately categorized as business vs. personal. Transportation to the destination is fully deductible if the primary purpose is business, but meals and lodging are only deductible for the business days. For example, if you have a 5-day trip with 3 business days and 2 personal days, your flight is 100% deductible but only 3/5 of lodging would be deductible.

Oof that's rough. How did they even determine the home office was exclusively for business? Did they come to your house? I've always been worried about claiming that deduction.

They didn't physically visit my home, but they required photos of the space from multiple angles, a floor plan with measurements, and a written explanation of how the space is used. They also asked for utility bills and verification that no personal activities happened in that space. What tripped many people up is the "exclusive use" requirement. If you have a desk in your living room or a guest bedroom that sometimes serves as an office, it won't qualify. The space must be used exclusively for business. I have a dedicated room that's only my office - no TV, no guest bed, nothing personal - which is why that deduction was allowed.