Anyone have good recommendations for tracking all these different taxes throughout the year? I've tried to keep receipts for sales tax but it's such a pain. Would love a simpler system.

This is such an important question that more Americans should be asking! I've been down this rabbit hole myself and found that most people drastically underestimate their total tax burden because we only think about the big, visible ones like income tax. From my research and personal calculations, here's what I've found for a typical middle-class household: - Federal income tax: 10-12% - FICA/payroll taxes: 7.65% (15.3% if self-employed) - State income tax: 0-9% depending on your state - Property taxes: 1-3% of income (varies hugely by location) - Sales taxes: 1-2% of income on average - Gas, excise, and other "hidden" taxes: 0.5-1% This usually adds up to somewhere between 28-35% for most middle-income families, which is substantial but not quite the 50% you suspected. The variation depends heavily on where you live - states like Texas have no income tax but higher property and sales taxes, while states like California have high income taxes. What's really eye-opening is realizing how much of our tax burden comes from sources we don't actively think about. Property taxes embedded in rent, sales taxes on every purchase, gas taxes every time we fill up - it all adds up to a significant chunk of our income going to various levels of government. The lack of easy-to-find comprehensive data on this topic definitely seems intentional. Nobody wants to advertise the total take!

Has anyone actually tried doing a check-the-box election to be treated as a foreign corporation instead? I've heard this might be simpler than maintaining a US C-Corp if you truly have no US activities.

This is a complex area where small details can have huge tax implications. I went through a similar transition from Dubai to the EU with a US entity, and there are several nuances that aren't immediately obvious. First, even if you have zero US-sourced income, you're absolutely right that Form 1120 filing is still required annually for the C-Corp. But here's what caught me off guard - the "effectively connected income" determination isn't just about where your clients are located, but also includes factors like where you're performing services, where you're making key business decisions, and even where your business bank accounts are located. For someone moving to Sweden specifically, you'll want to pay close attention to the US-Sweden tax treaty provisions. Sweden has a relatively aggressive approach to taxing foreign corporations controlled by Swedish residents, so you might end up with Swedish corporate tax obligations even on your US C-Corp's income. One thing I wish I'd understood earlier: if you're planning to take distributions from the C-Corp as a Swedish resident, you'll likely face Swedish personal income tax on those distributions regardless of whether the underlying corporate income was US-taxed or not. Have you considered whether maintaining the LLC structure might actually be simpler for your situation? The transparency for Swedish tax purposes might be easier to manage than dealing with both US corporate reporting and Swedish CFC rules.

Filed 2/22, got state refund in a week, federal still says "processing" on WMR. Just checked transcripts after reading this post and I also have an 846 for 3/29! Never got any updates or notifications, it just appeared. The IRS website is a joke.

Congratulations on finally getting your 846 code! I'm currently on week 7 of waiting myself - filed 2/28 and accepted same day but transcripts still showing N/A. Your post gives me hope that movement can happen suddenly even after weeks of nothing. Quick question - when you say your transcripts were "completely empty" until today, do you mean they showed N/A for return transcript or that there was literally nothing there? I'm trying to figure out if my situation is normal delay or if something's actually wrong. The WMR tool has been useless - just the generic "still processing" message for over a month now. Really hoping I see some movement soon like you did! April 1st deposit date sounds amazing right about now 🤞

Here's a simplified numerical example that might help: Let's say you buy a rental property building for $275,000 (excluding land). Annual depreciation would be $10,000 per year (simplified). If you're in the 32% tax bracket, claiming depreciation saves you $3,200 in taxes annually. Scenario 1: Take depreciation for 10 years, then sell for $400,000 - Tax savings over 10 years: $32,000 - Adjusted basis after 10 years: $175,000 ($275k - $100k depreciation) - Gain on sale: $225,000 ($400k - $175k) - Tax on gain: ~$56,250 (assuming 25% on recaptured depreciation) Scenario 2: Skip depreciation, then sell for $400,000 - Tax savings over 10 years: $0 - Adjusted basis for IRS purposes: Still $175,000 (they treat it as if you took depreciation) - Gain on sale: Still $225,000 - Tax on gain: Still ~$56,250 So by not taking depreciation, you're essentially giving up $32,000 in tax savings while still paying the same tax when you sell. It makes zero financial sense.

I learned this lesson the hard way last year. I hadn't been taking depreciation on my rental because I thought it would "save me" on taxes later when I sold. When I finally sold the property, my accountant informed me the IRS would reduce my basis regardless - so I had essentially given up thousands in tax deductions over the years while still getting hit with the same tax bill at sale. The worst part? You can only go back and amend returns for 3 years. I lost 7 years worth of depreciation deductions I could have taken. Don't make my mistake - ALWAYS take the depreciation you're entitled to.

Has anyone looked into the Qualified Business Income deduction (Section 199A) for rideshare? I heard you can deduct up to 20% of your net business income regardless of whether you have an LLC or not???

Great point about the QBI deduction! This is often overlooked but can be a significant tax saver for rideshare drivers. The Section 199A deduction allows you to deduct up to 20% of your qualified business income from your taxable income (not your tax owed - there's a difference). For most rideshare drivers, this deduction is available regardless of whether you operate as a sole proprietor or through an LLC. The key limitation is that your total taxable income needs to be under certain thresholds ($182,050 for single filers in 2023) to get the full benefit without additional restrictions. So if you're making $45,000 net profit from rideshare driving and qualify for the full deduction, you could potentially deduct $9,000 from your taxable income. This is a huge benefit that doesn't require forming an LLC or any special business structure - just proper record keeping of your business income and expenses. This is another reason why the LLC question becomes less compelling from a pure tax perspective - you're already eligible for major deductions like QBI and vehicle expenses as a sole proprietor.