Thank you for mentioning that! Yes, she's my biological daughter and lives with me full-time (her mom isn't in the picture). I'm definitely not married - been single for years now. I pay for everything related to her care and our home. Sounds like I'm on the right track then? This is such a relief!

Yes, you're definitely on the right track! With your daughter living with you full-time and you providing all her support, you're a textbook case for Head of Household filing status. And don't worry too much about making small mistakes - the IRS generally focuses on major issues like unreported income or fraudulent claims. An honest mistake about a dependent's income being $0 when it should be a few dollars of interest wouldn't trigger anything serious. Just answer the questions truthfully as you go through your tax software.

How far back should you keep those records? I've been filing HoH for 3 years now but haven't kept great documentation.

2 Do you know if this varies by state at all? I did jury duty in California last year and got about $50 but they never sent me any tax forms. Just wondering if I missed something!

8 This doesn't typically vary by state for federal tax purposes, though states might have their own reporting requirements. For federal taxes, the $600 threshold for 1099-MISC issuance is pretty standard nationwide. At $50 for jury duty in California, you're well under that threshold, so not receiving any tax forms is completely normal and expected. The absence of a form doesn't necessarily mean the income is non-taxable, but it does typically mean it's too small for the IRS to track through documentation requirements. In practical terms, for amounts this small, most tax professionals would consider it negligible.

15 This makes me feel better! I've been paranoid about every little thing on my taxes since my friend got audited, but he had failed to report like $20k from crypto trading. Very different than forgetting a tiny jury duty payment.

Do you know if the increased child tax credit from TCJA is also expiring? That's been a huge help for my family.

Yes, the enhanced Child Tax Credit is set to expire as well. The TCJA temporarily increased it from $1,000 to $2,000 per qualifying child and made more of it refundable. After expiration, it would revert to the previous lower amount unless Congress takes action. This is why it's important to look at the whole picture of what expires, not just the SALT cap. Many taxpayers might gain on the SALT deduction side but lose on other provisions like the Child Tax Credit, higher standard deduction, and lower tax rates.

Not a dumb question at all! The deduction matters because it reduces your federal taxable income. Let's say you pay $40,000 in state taxes. With the $10,000 SALT cap, you can only deduct $10,000 of that from your federal taxable income. But if the cap expires, you could deduct the full $40,000, which means you're paying federal tax on $30,000 less income. If you're in the 35% federal bracket, that's a savings of about $10,500 ($30,000 × 35%). So yes, you still pay the state taxes either way, but the question is whether the federal government lets you reduce your federal taxes based on what you paid to your state.

That would have been a good option, but it's too late now - I already sold the property about 6 months ago. I was just hoping there might be a way to avoid getting stuck with a big tax bill since I was basically just following my mom's instructions and didn't keep any of the profits.

That's unfortunate timing. For future reference (or for anyone else reading this thread), always consult with a tax professional BEFORE making property transfers between family members. These transactions are complex and can have significant tax consequences. Since the sale has already happened, your best option now is probably to gather all documentation showing that you were acting on your mother's behalf. While this doesn't eliminate your tax liability, good documentation might help if there's ever an audit. Make sure you have the quitclaim deed, documentation of the original basis (purchase price plus improvements), the sales contract, and proof that you transferred the proceeds to your mother and other family members.

The step transaction doctrine actually might work against OP in this case. The IRS could view the series of transactions (mother gifts to OP, OP sells and distributes money) as an attempt to avoid proper tax treatment. Since the legal ownership was transferred to OP before the sale, OP is technically the seller for tax purposes. The subsequent distribution of funds is considered separate. This arrangement actually creates more tax complications than if the mother had sold it directly and then gifted portions of the proceeds. What might help OP's case is documenting that they were acting under a power of attorney or as a fiduciary for their mother, but that would need to have been established properly before these transactions occurred.

That's a really good point I hadn't thought about. Do you know what the max contribution is for 403(b) plans in 2025? I'm definitely not anywhere close to maxing it out - I'm only putting in about 5% of my salary now.

The contribution limit for 403(b) plans in 2025 is $23,000 for individuals under 50. If you're 50 or older, you can make an additional catch-up contribution of $7,500, bringing your total potential contribution to $30,500. At your current contribution level of about $2,700 (based on your post), you have plenty of room to increase contributions if your budget allows. Even bumping up to 8% or 10% could significantly reduce your tax bill while building your retirement savings. Some employers also offer matching contributions up to a certain percentage, which would be free money if you're not currently taking full advantage of it.

I think their total income was only like $75k so they're nowhere near the Social Security cap. But that's a good point for higher earners with multiple jobs.