I claimed my mom as a dependent last year and got flagged for audit because I didn't have good records of how much support I provided. Make sure you keep ALL receipts for anything you pay for her - groceries, utilities, medical expenses, everything. Also calculate the fair rental value of the space she uses in your home because that counts as support too!

@Elijah Jackson, I'm so sorry for your loss. It sounds like you're doing an amazing thing supporting your mom during this difficult time. Based on what you've shared, your mom will very likely qualify as your dependent. Her Social Security income of $1,150/month ($13,800/year) is probably not taxable since it's her only income source, so she should easily meet the gross income test. Since you're covering most of her expenses and she's living with you, you're clearly providing more than half her support. For your W4, I'd recommend updating it to reflect both changes: claim her as a dependent in Step 3 AND change your filing status to Head of Household in Step 1(c). This combo will significantly reduce your withholding and put more money in your pocket each month rather than waiting for a big refund. Just make sure to keep detailed records of everything you pay for her - rent/mortgage portion for her space, food, utilities, medical expenses, etc. The IRS sometimes audits dependent claims, so good documentation is key. You can estimate her share of household expenses (like utilities) based on the percentage of your home she occupies. The tax savings between Single with no dependents vs Head of Household with one dependent could easily be $4,000+ annually on your income level!

Another option as executor: check if your uncle qualified for Currently Not Collectible (CNC) status. If he had financial hardship, the IRS might have placed his account in CNC status. This doesn't stop the 10-year clock, so the debts might have expired anyway. Also, if there were any IRS errors in assessment or collection, those could potentially invalidate the debt. It's worth having a tax professional review everything before you pay anything from the estate.

I'm dealing with a similar situation right now with my grandmother's estate. One thing I learned is that even if some debts have expired under the 10-year rule, the IRS might still send collection notices because their computer systems don't always automatically stop collection activities when the CSED passes. As executor, you have the right to challenge any collection attempts on expired debts. If you determine through the transcripts that certain tax years have passed their CSED, you can send a written response to the IRS citing the expired statute of limitations. Make sure to keep copies of everything and send any correspondence via certified mail. Also, don't feel pressured to pay anything immediately. Take time to get the transcripts and verify which debts are still valid. The estate administration process gives you some breathing room to sort this out properly before making any distributions to beneficiaries.

Just to add something important that hasn't been mentioned yet - don't forget about state tax implications! Even if you're handling federal taxes correctly, some states can be aggressive about claiming tax nexus based on your LLC registration. For example, I have a Florida LLC but I'm based in Brazil. Florida has no state income tax, which is great, but when I previously had my LLC registered in California, they tried to tax my worldwide income even though I performed no work there. Just having the LLC registered in CA was enough for them to claim nexus.

Don't forget about FDII (Foreign-Derived Intangible Income) deductions if your LLC is taxed as a corporation! As a non-US resident with a US corporation serving foreign clients, this provision could significantly reduce your effective tax rate.

I just went through this nightmare last month! My advice: don't try to do this yourself. After messing around with transcripts and getting nowhere, I finally broke down and paid a tax professional $225 to handle everything. They got my records from the IRS, filed all my back taxes, and even negotiated a payment plan. Worth every penny to not deal with the stress.

Marcus, I completely understand the stress you're going through - I was in almost the exact same situation last year! The good news is you have several solid options to get your W2 information. First, definitely start with requesting a Wage and Income Transcript from the IRS like Lily mentioned. You can get this online at irs.gov/transcripts by creating an account, or mail Form 4506-T. This will have all the key information from your W2s that employers reported to the IRS. One thing to keep in mind since you mentioned you were getting tips - make sure you have records of your tip income if you reported it throughout the year. The transcript will show what your employer reported, but if you had additional unreported tips, you'll need to include those as well. Also, don't panic about the IRS letters. Yes, penalties and interest are accumulating, but the IRS is generally willing to work with people who are making a good faith effort to get compliant. Once you file, you can often get penalty abatement for reasonable cause, especially given your circumstances with the business closure and moves. The sooner you get this sorted, the better - but you're definitely not "screwed." Thousands of people deal with missing W2s every year and get it resolved. You've got this!

Don't forget to make quarterly estimated tax payments for next year! This is a big shock to a lot of self-employed people who are used to W-2 jobs where taxes are withheld automatically. If you don't make these quarterly payments, you'll not only face a big bill next April but might also get hit with underpayment penalties. They're due April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15 (of the following year).

This thread has been super helpful! I'm also self-employed and had a similar panic attack when I saw my tax bill versus my taxable income. What really helped me understand it was breaking down the math: Let's say you had $25,000 in net self-employment income (after business expenses). Your self-employment tax would be roughly $3,533 (15.3% of $23,085 after the 0.9235 adjustment). Then you get to deduct half of that ($1,767) when calculating your income tax, plus your standard deduction ($14,600 for single filers), which gets you to that low taxable income of $1,347. So you're paying $3,533 in SE tax + maybe $135 in income tax = around $3,668 total. The good news is you can deduct business expenses to lower that SE tax base, and there are strategies like a SEP-IRA that can help reduce your overall tax burden as a self-employed person. It's definitely a rude awakening coming from W-2 employment, but once you understand the system you can plan better for next year!