Thanks for the reminder about responding by the deadline. The due date is in about 3 weeks, so I have a little time. Do you know if I'll get a separate bill for the penalties and interest, or will that be included in what I pay when I agree to the CP2000 assessment?

When you agree to the CP2000 assessment, the response form will show the total additional tax amount they're proposing. This typically includes the 10% early withdrawal penalty for the Traditional IRA portion, but it does not include interest and potential late payment penalties. Those additional amounts will be calculated and included in the actual bill you receive after you've agreed to the assessment. The IRS will send you a separate notice (usually a CP22A) with the final amount including any interest and penalties. Interest continues to accrue until the amount is paid in full. If you're concerned about the total, it's definitely worth requesting an installment agreement either with your CP2000 response or when you receive the final bill. You can use Form 9465 to request a payment plan.

This is such an important point! I did the same thing and it caused all kinds of confusion. The IRS forms change slightly from year to year, and using the wrong one can really mess things up.

Thank you all for the helpful responses! I checked my 2020 return and found line 24 showing my total tax liability. Just to confirm, this is the amount I should use to make sure I've paid enough for 2021 through the combination of withholding and estimated payments, right?

Exactly right! Line 24 from your 2020 return is the number you should use as your target for total 2021 payments (both withholding and estimated payments combined). If your income in 2020 was less than $150,000, you need to pay 100% of that line 24 amount. If your 2020 income was over $150,000, you need to pay 110% of that line 24 amount to hit the safe harbor protection against underpayment penalties.

This is so important! My first year being self-employed I completely underestimated my tax liability because I forgot about the self-employment tax. Ended up owing a bunch more than I planned for.

This is actually really helpful! So the TIN is just the umbrella term? Are there any other types of TINs besides SSN and EIN that regular people might encounter?

Yes, TIN is exactly that - the umbrella term for various tax identification numbers. Besides SSNs and EINs, there are a few other types regular people might encounter. The most common alternative is the ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number), which is used by residents who need to file taxes but aren't eligible for an SSN, like certain visa holders or non-resident aliens. Another one is the PTIN (Preparer Tax Identification Number) which is used by professional tax preparers - you might see this on your tax return if someone else prepared it for you.

is there ever a case where a normal person (not a business) would have a different TIN than their ssn? like what if someone isn't a citizen?

I tried that first thing, but it seems my employer set up their ADP account differently. When I log in, I can only see paystubs up until I left, but no tax documents. The ADP rep specifically told me the employer has to grant access to those. I even have my last paystub, but I'm not confident in calculating all the tax amounts correctly from that alone.

That's frustrating! In that case, I'd definitely go with getting the wage transcript from the IRS like others suggested. One more thing - if you have your last paystub of the year, it often has your year-to-date totals which are usually pretty close to what appears on your W2. You could use that as a starting point while waiting for the official transcript. Just make sure to attach a note explaining the situation when you send documents to your state. Most tax agencies deal with this kind of employer non-compliance regularly and have procedures for it.

This is exactly what I did when my former employer wouldn't give me my W2. Filed complaints with both the state labor department and the IRS. Got my W2 mysteriously emailed to me about a week later. Amazing how they suddenly "found" it after ignoring me for months!

Thanks for this advice! So with the Form 8275, would I need to file this for just the current year or for previous years too? I have no idea how long this property has been in my name.

You would ideally file the Form 8275 with an amended return for each year the property was in your name and generating income that wasn't reported on your tax return. However, the IRS generally only looks back 3 years for audits (6 years in cases of substantial underreporting), so many tax professionals focus on those years. For the Quitclaim deed, you'll need your mother's cooperation, but it's a relatively simple document that transfers your interest in the property back to her. This would at least stop the ongoing liability issue, even if you still need to address past years.

This! And check with the county to see if there are any liens or property tax issues too. My cousin's ex put a property in her name without telling her and then didn't pay property taxes for years. She found out when she went to buy a car and got denied for a loan because of the tax lien.