1 But if the money is going directly to my US account, would I still need to file an FBAR? I won't actually have a foreign account at all in this transaction - the buyer is wiring the money directly to my account in America.

23 You're right that if the money goes directly to your US account and you never have it in a foreign account, you wouldn't trigger FBAR requirements based on this specific transaction. However, be careful about any other foreign accounts you might have, even temporarily. For example, if you have a foreign account set up to handle any aspect of the sale closing, or if there's an escrow account in the foreign country that you have signature authority over, even briefly, that could potentially trigger FBAR requirements if the amount exceeds $10,000.

16 You might have missed something. Even without a tax treaty, you can usually claim a Foreign Tax Credit on Form 1116 for taxes paid to foreign governments on the same income. Did your tax preparer look into this? It doesn't eliminate all double taxation but should have reduced your US tax liability.

That's what I'm worried about. I really need this job and don't want to burn bridges, but I also don't want to pay extra taxes I shouldn't have to pay. Did you end up having to pay the full self-employment tax before the IRS determination came through?

I actually used Form 8919 when I filed my taxes, which allowed me to only pay the employee portion of the Social Security and Medicare taxes while my SS-8 determination was pending. That way I didn't have to pay the full self-employment tax. If the IRS had eventually determined I was actually a contractor (which they didn't), I would have had to pay the difference later. But it allowed me to file on time without overpaying. My tax preparer was familiar with the situation and helped me with the proper coding on the form.

I tried this approach with my employer last year and it worked! Sometimes people just don't know the rules. I printed out the relevant IRS publication and highlighted the parts about household employees. When I showed them, they were actually relieved to have clear guidance and issued me a correct W-2.

Thanks for this advice! Where exactly do I look on the SEC website to find delisting info? Does etrade provide any documentation I can use to prove the stocks are worthless? These were super small companies so I'm not sure there will be much info available.

You can search the SEC's EDGAR database at www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/companysearch.html by entering the company name or ticker symbol. Look for "Form 25" which is used for delisting notifications, or search for bankruptcy filings like "Chapter 7" or "Chapter 11". As for etrade, they sometimes include corporate action notices in your account, but it varies. Try contacting their customer service to request specific documentation about when your securities became worthless. Sometimes they can provide a letter or statement confirming the worthlessness for tax purposes, though they might charge a fee for this service.

Yes, I've been carrying forward losses for years. Just keep track of your remaining loss balance on worksheet in the Schedule D instructions each year. You'll enter the carryover amount on Schedule D the following year. I started with a $32k loss in 2019 and I'm still working through it at $3k per year.

Thanks for confirming! That's a relief to hear. Do you just keep some kind of personal record of the remaining balance or is there a specific form that tracks this from year to year?

Do you know if homeowner's insurance premiums are ever tax deductible? I think I prepaid 14 months at closing and wondering if any of that is deductible anywhere.

Unfortunately, homeowner's insurance premiums aren't tax deductible for personal residences. They're considered a personal expense rather than a deductible housing expense. The only exception would be if you use part of your home for business - then you might be able to deduct the business portion of your insurance. However, if you paid for mortgage insurance premiums (different from homeowner's insurance), those might be deductible depending on your income level and when you got your mortgage. The rules change frequently on mortgage insurance deductibility, so that's worth looking into for your specific situation.

In my experience, most lenders only issue a 1098 if the total interest for the year exceeds $600. If you closed in late December, the few days of interest probably didn't hit that threshold, so they might have just included it in next year's form. You can still deduct it in the correct year though, even without a separate 1098.

Where do you find this form? I looked on the healthcare.gov site and couldn't locate an EO-001 form.

I tried this route once and the insurance company told me they couldn't help with 1095-A forms since those come directly from the Marketplace. They only deal with 1095-B forms for non-Marketplace coverage they provide. They did suggest contacting my state's Department of Insurance consumer assistance program, which surprisingly was helpful in escalating my case with the Marketplace. Might be worth trying if you're hitting walls with the regular channels.