Great question! I went through this exact same confusion last year. Yes, you can absolutely deduct your motor vehicle excise tax on Schedule A, but it goes on Line 5c (Personal Property Taxes), not Line 5a which is for state and local income taxes. The key requirement is that the tax must be based on the value of your vehicle - which most town/city excise taxes are. Since you've owned the car since 2019 and paid the excise tax in 2023, that's totally normal and deductible. Definitely keep that paper receipt! The IRS requires documentation for all deductions, and you'll want to hold onto it for at least 3-7 years. The receipt should show how the tax was calculated (based on vehicle value) which proves it qualifies as a deductible personal property tax. One thing to keep in mind is the $10,000 SALT cap that applies to all state and local taxes combined (including property taxes on your home and state income tax). But if you're not hitting that limit, every bit helps with itemizing!

Just wanted to add my experience as someone who was equally confused about this last year! The motor vehicle excise tax is indeed deductible on Schedule A Line 5c, and I can confirm that keeping those receipts is crucial. One tip that helped me: when you're looking at your excise tax bill, make sure it actually shows the calculation based on your vehicle's value. Some towns are better than others at clearly showing this breakdown. If your bill just shows a total amount without explanation, you might want to call your town's tax assessor office to get a detailed breakdown - the IRS wants to see that it's truly a value-based tax. Also, if you're new to itemizing, don't forget to compare your total itemized deductions to the standard deduction ($13,850 for single filers in 2023). Sometimes even with legitimate deductions like vehicle excise tax, you might still be better off taking the standard deduction. But it's definitely worth calculating both ways to see which gives you the bigger benefit! The fact that you're asking these questions shows you're being thorough, which is exactly the right approach for your first time itemizing.

2 One thing nobody's mentioned yet - did you replace the flooring with the EXACT same type of material? If you upgraded from, say, vinyl to hardwood, that's definitely a capital improvement. But if you replaced damaged vinyl with the same quality vinyl, there might be an argument for it being a repair under certain circumstances.

Based on what you've described, your floor replacement would definitely be categorized as a capital improvement rather than a repair for tax purposes. Since you replaced the "entire bottom floors" due to deterioration, this falls under the IRS definition of a "restoration" - bringing a property component back to its ordinarily efficient operating condition after it had deteriorated to a state of disrepair. For your tax forms, I'd recommend describing it as "Floor replacement - capital improvement due to deterioration" rather than "patching of flooring." This clearly indicates the scope and nature of the work to the IRS. You'll need to depreciate this $3,200+ expense over 27.5 years using the MACRS system for residential rental property. The fact that you used similar quality materials doesn't change the classification - it's the replacement of an entire building component that makes it a capital improvement. Your accountant should be familiar with Treasury Regulation §1.263(a)-3, which covers exactly these types of situations. If they're still uncertain, you might want to consider getting a second opinion from a CPA who specializes in rental property taxation.

This has been such a helpful discussion! I'm actually in the middle of planning similar dental work in Mexico myself, and all these insights have been invaluable. One additional tip I wanted to share from my research - if your friend is getting multiple procedures done (like crowns, implants, etc.), he should ask the Mexican clinic to break down the invoice by procedure type rather than giving one lump sum. This makes it much easier to demonstrate HSA eligibility if any individual procedure gets questioned later. Also, I've found that some Mexican dental clinics that frequently work with American patients have developed specific documentation packages for HSA users. When I was getting quotes, I specifically asked about this and found that clinics experienced with US patients often provide translated receipts, medical necessity letters, and itemized breakdowns as part of their standard service for American clients. The $28K savings your friend is looking at is incredible! Even with all the extra documentation requirements, it's definitely worth the effort. Just make sure he budgets some extra time for the administrative side - between getting quotes, verifying HSA requirements, and organizing all the documentation, there's quite a bit of preparation involved beyond just booking the dental work itself.

As someone who recently went through this exact process, I can confirm that HSA funds are absolutely usable for international dental work! I had $23K worth of dental implants done in Tijuana last year and used my HSA to cover the entire amount. The key things your friend needs to know: 1) Keep every single receipt and make sure they're itemized, 2) Get everything translated to English if the original receipts are in Spanish, 3) Document the exchange rate used for each transaction, and 4) Be prepared for potentially longer processing times with his HSA administrator. One thing I wish someone had told me upfront - some Mexican dental clinics will actually provide a "US-format" receipt alongside their standard one if you ask. This saved me translation costs and made my HSA reimbursement much smoother. The clinic I used in Tijuana had worked with so many American patients that they knew exactly what documentation we needed. With $28K in savings, it's definitely worth navigating the extra paperwork. Just make sure your friend researches the clinic thoroughly and maybe considers getting a consultation first to test out their HSA reimbursement process with a smaller expense before committing to the full treatment plan.

I'm currently dealing with this exact same situation and this thread has been absolutely invaluable! I just discovered I need to file Form 8832 about 6 months after my LLC formation. Like many others here, I had no clue about the 75-day election window when I set up my business myself using online resources. What's been most reassuring from reading everyone's experiences is seeing how reasonable the IRS can be when there's genuine cause for the late filing. The success stories from people who were 8-15 months past the deadline really give me hope that my 6-month delay isn't insurmountable. Based on all the advice shared here, I'm structuring my reasonable cause statement around: 1) Being a first-time business owner with no knowledge of entity election requirements, 2) Using online formation services that never mentioned this deadline, 3) Discovering the requirement during my recent CPA consultation, and 4) Taking immediate action to file once I learned about it. I'm also going to emphasize that I've been making quarterly estimated payments and keeping proper records, which should demonstrate this was an honest oversight rather than trying to dodge tax obligations. The specific timelines and approval rates shared by everyone here are so helpful for managing expectations during what is definitely a stressful process. Thank you to this entire community for sharing your real experiences - it makes such a difference when you're trying to navigate these complex tax situations!

I'm currently in this exact situation and this entire thread has been such a lifeline! I formed my LLC about 14 months ago (just like the original poster) and only discovered the Form 8832 requirement last week when I finally decided to get professional tax help for my growing business. Reading through everyone's experiences here gives me so much relief - it's clear I'm not alone in this situation and that the IRS does understand when small business owners genuinely don't know about these technical requirements. Like so many others here, I tried to handle the LLC formation myself using online services to keep costs down, and nowhere in that process was this 75-day deadline mentioned. Based on all the successful cases shared in this thread, I'm preparing my reasonable cause statement to focus on: 1) Being a first-time business owner with zero knowledge of entity election requirements, 2) Using DIY online formation resources that never mentioned this critical deadline, 3) Discovering the requirement during my consultation with a tax professional, and 4) Filing immediately now that I'm aware of it. I'm also going to emphasize that I've been making quarterly estimated payments and maintaining proper business records throughout my LLC's operation, which should demonstrate this was genuine oversight rather than trying to avoid tax responsibilities. The success stories from people who were 10+ months late are incredibly encouraging, especially seeing the variety of approval timelines. Thank you to everyone who shared their real experiences and outcomes - this community support makes all the difference when you're stressed about making tax mistakes!

Just want to add something important: make sure your employer is withholding taxes correctly for both states if needed! My company messed this up last year and I ended up owing a huge amount to one state because they were only withholding for my "home" state. Talk to your payroll department and make sure they understand your situation. You might need to fill out multiple state withholding forms.

This is such a complex area and you're smart to get clarity upfront! One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is keeping detailed records of your activities and connections in each state. The IRS and state tax authorities look at what's called "domiciliary factors" - things like where you vote, where your bank accounts are, where you have professional licenses, where your family lives, etc. Since you mentioned State B is where your "roots" are and where you plan to return permanently, make sure all these connections stay tied to State B. Don't change your voter registration or driver's license to State A just for convenience. Also, if you end up needing to file in both states, most tax software can handle multi-state returns, but it gets complicated fast. The credit calculations between states can be tricky, especially if one state doesn't give full credit for taxes paid to the other. Document everything - where you sleep each night, work performed in each location, etc. It might seem excessive now, but if you ever get audited, having contemporaneous records is invaluable.