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Hey just throwing this out there - have you considered tracking ALL vehicle-related expenses instead of using the standard mileage rate? My tax guy told me that you can choose either the standard mileage rate OR actual expenses (gas, maintenance, insurance, depreciation, etc). If you drive a truck, especially an older one that's less fuel efficient, sometimes the actual expenses method gives you a bigger deduction IF you qualify for any deductions at all. Just a thought.
I feel your pain on this one! I'm a field service technician and was in almost the exact same situation last year - driving about 25,000 miles annually with my company only reimbursing at $0.45/mile. The unfortunate reality is that the H&R Block preparer was right about Form 2106 being essentially eliminated for most employees. I spent way too much time researching this and even consulted with a CPA who confirmed that regular W-2 employees can no longer deduct unreimbursed business expenses. What actually worked for me was taking the advice about negotiating with my employer. I put together a simple spreadsheet showing: - My annual work mileage - Current company rate vs IRS standard rate - Total out-of-pocket cost to me ($4,600 in my case) - How this affects my take-home pay I presented it during my annual review and got a $2,400 annual raise specifically to help offset vehicle costs. Not the full amount, but way better than nothing! The key was framing it as a retention issue - they'd rather give me a raise than train someone new who might quit over the same problem. Also started keeping detailed records of actual vehicle expenses (maintenance, tires, etc.) to show the real impact of all that driving. Even though I can't deduct them, it helped make my case to management.
One thing I learned the hard way - if this is your first time filing late, you can often get the penalties waived through First Time Penalty Abatement! Call the IRS and specifically request this if you've had a clean compliance history for the past 3 years. I filed my LLC taxes 2 months late last year and got hit with almost $800 in penalties, but they waived ALL of them when I requested abatement. You just need to have a "reasonable cause" explanation and be polite when you call.
This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm in a similar situation with my single-member LLC and was panicking about missing the March 15th deadline. Finding out that I only need to file Schedule C with my personal taxes is such a relief. For anyone else reading this who might be confused like I was - it's worth double-checking whether your LLC is single-member or multi-member because the filing requirements are completely different. If you have any business partners or multiple owners, you DO need the 1065 and K-1 forms that the original poster was asking about. Also want to echo what others said about the First Time Penalty Abatement - I used this last year for a completely different tax issue and the IRS was actually pretty reasonable about it. Definitely worth asking for if you have a clean history!
I believe what might be happening here is possibly related to Republic Bank's refund transfer product, which sometimes defaults to paper check delivery if certain conditions aren't met. In my experience last tax season, there are a few things that could have potentially triggered this switch: 1. If you perhaps opted to have your preparation fees deducted from your refund, this generally requires using their transfer product 2. If your banking information possibly didn't pass their verification process 3. If there was maybe a discrepancy between the name on your tax return and your bank account It's somewhat frustrating, but generally speaking, once they print the check, you should typically receive it within 5-7 business days, depending on your location and mail service efficiency.
This is exactly what happened to me! I had my fees taken out of my refund and suddenly I was getting a paper check instead of direct deposit. The most annoying part was that nobody told me this would happen - I only found out when I called after waiting two weeks with no deposit. The check arrived about 6 days after they finally printed it.
This is such a frustrating experience that seems way too common with Republic Bank! I went through something similar last year where I was absolutely certain I selected direct deposit, but ended up with a paper check that took forever to arrive. What really helped me was calling the IRS directly (yes, the dreaded hold time) to get my actual transcript and see exactly what codes were showing up. Turns out there was a mismatch between my bank account name and my tax return name that triggered the switch to paper check. The IRS rep was actually able to explain exactly why it happened, which Republic Bank never bothered to do. For next year, I'm double and triple checking every field during e-filing to avoid this headache again!
Does anyone know if having tax topic 152 means you're definitely getting a refund? Or can they still deny it at this stage? This is my first time seeing this code and I'm not sure if I should be relieved or still worried, haha. Also, does checking WMR multiple times a day slow down processing? (Asking for a friend... who might be me š
Tax Topic 152 is actually a good sign - it means the IRS has accepted your return and it's moving through their system. You're definitely getting your refund, it's just a matter of when. I've been through this several times and checking WMR constantly doesn't affect processing speed (though it might affect your sanity!). The IRS updates their systems overnight, usually between midnight and 6am, so checking once daily in the morning is plenty. Since you filed 3 weeks ago, you should see movement soon - most returns with Topic 152 get their DDD within 21 days of filing. Hang in there!
Thank you so much for this reassurance! As someone new to dealing with tax refunds, seeing that code without any clear explanation was really stressing me out. It's good to know that checking constantly won't hurt anything (though you're right about the sanity part - I've probably refreshed WMR about 20 times today alone). I really appreciate you taking the time to break down what Topic 152 actually means and giving that realistic timeline. Makes me feel much better about the whole process!
Connor Gallagher
Make sure you're keeping track of all the business assets when you close down too. If you kept any equipment or inventory for personal use, you might need to report that as a distribution to yourself.
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Giovanni Colombo
ā¢Thanks for bringing this up! I did keep a laptop and some office furniture that I originally purchased for the business. I wasn't sure how to handle those. So I need to figure out the fair market value and report that somewhere? Is that also on Schedule C or somewhere else?
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Samantha Johnson
ā¢For business assets you kept for personal use, you'll need to report them as distributions. The fair market value of those items gets reported as income on Schedule C, Part I, Line 6 (Other income). You'll also need to "sell" the assets to yourself at fair market value for depreciation purposes - meaning you stop business depreciation and potentially report gain/loss on Form 4797 if the FMV differs from the book value. Then you can start using them personally. For items like a laptop and office furniture, you can estimate FMV by checking what similar used items are selling for online (eBay sold listings, Facebook Marketplace, etc.). Keep documentation of your research in case the IRS asks how you determined the values.
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Oliver Fischer
This is exactly the kind of situation that trips up so many business owners during closure! You've gotten some great advice here already. One additional thing to keep in mind - since you're filing what's essentially a final Schedule C for this business, make sure you've accounted for any outstanding accounts receivable or payable that might affect your final tax picture. If you had any unpaid invoices from 2021 services that you never collected on, you might want to consider writing those off as bad debt on this final return. Also, double-check that you've properly handled any equipment depreciation for the partial year 2022. If you sold, discarded, or converted business assets to personal use during the closure, you may need to calculate depreciation only up to the disposal date and potentially report gains/losses. The stress is totally understandable - business closures create some of the most complex tax scenarios. But you're asking the right questions and getting solid guidance here. Take it step by step and you'll get through it!
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