What's the time limit for amending previous returns to claim those foreign tax credits? I haven't been claiming mine for years but pay a lot of tax in my country of residence.

You generally have 3 years from the original filing deadline to amend a return and claim a refund. So for 2022 taxes (which were due April 2023), you have until April 2026 to amend and claim those foreign tax credits. If you've been missing out on foreign tax credits for multiple years, you could potentially amend returns going back three years. This can be especially valuable if you're paying higher tax rates in your country of residence than you would in the US. Many expats don't realize they're leaving money on the table by not claiming these credits!

You're totally fine! Using the standard deduction has no impact on your ability to use Form 2555 in future years. They're completely separate parts of your tax return. I've switched back and forth between years with and without Form 2555 while taking the standard deduction each time.

Form 8919 is only for social security and medicare taxes though, right? What about federal income tax that's not being withheld? Is there a different form for that situation?

You're right to ask that clarification. Form 8919 specifically addresses Social Security and Medicare taxes, not federal income tax withholding issues. For federal income tax that isn't being properly withheld, you should make estimated tax payments using Form 1040-ES to avoid underpayment penalties. The IRS generally expects you to pay taxes as you earn income throughout the year, and you could face penalties if you wait until filing your annual return to pay a large tax bill.

I second this! Use the IRS tax withholding estimator tool on their website. It'll help you figure out how much you should be setting aside for taxes if your employer isn't withholding correctly. You definitely don't want to be caught by surprise next April with a huge tax bill.

Is there a specific threshold for when card selling becomes a business vs hobby? Like a certain number of sales or dollar amount? I'm trying to figure out which category I fall into.

There's no specific dollar threshold that automatically makes it a business versus a hobby. The IRS looks at several factors including whether you depend on the income, how much time you spend on it, if you maintain proper records, and if you operate in a businesslike manner. Generally, if you're consistently profitable for 3 out of 5 years and treat the activity seriously (keeping records, having a separate bank account, etc.), the IRS is more likely to consider it a business. If you're just occasionally selling cards from your personal collection without much organization, it's more likely to be a hobby.

I strongly advise against this interpretation. "Gross payouts" in the platform's language likely refers to the total value of your sales, not specifically withdrawals. Most platforms report the total sales value whether you withdraw or not. Even if you did find a platform that only reports when you withdraw, you're still legally obligated to report all income on your tax return. The 1099 is just an information form - not receiving one doesn't mean you don't owe tax on the income.

Can you do this if your employer contributes to your HSA? Mine puts in $1500/year but I've never added my own money. Also, do you need to keep the physical receipts or are digital copies ok?

Yes, you can absolutely add your own contributions on top of what your employer provides! For 2025, the contribution limit is $4,150 for individuals and $8,300 for families (including employer contributions). So if your employer adds $1,500, you can still contribute up to $2,650 for individual coverage or $6,800 for family coverage. This is a great way to reduce your taxable income. Digital copies of receipts are perfectly fine as long as they clearly show the date, amount, service provider, and type of medical expense. I recommend keeping them in multiple places (cloud storage, external hard drive) since we're talking about potentially decades of storage. The IRS doesn't specify a format, but you need to be able to produce them if audited.

This is super important! I'd add that tracking basis for crypto is an absolute nightmare if you don't stay on top of it from the beginning. I learned this the hard way after trading different coins across multiple exchanges.

Omg this is so important! We learned this the hard way last year. Saved $600 on taxes by filing jointly but my wife's student loan payment went up $175/month. Do the math before you decide!

You're absolutely right about doing the full calculation. A lot of people miss this part of the equation. The student loan impact can completely change what looks like a good decision based solely on taxes. In our case, filing separately costs us about $800 more in taxes each year, but saves my wife nearly $2,400 annually on her income-based student loan payments. That's a net benefit of $1,600 by filing separately, even though it looks worse on paper tax-wise.

This is a really good point. If your spouse is tutoring in people's homes on a regular schedule and they control when and how the work is done, they might qualify as a household employee. This means the family should be paying half of the Social Security and Medicare taxes instead of your spouse covering it all through self-employment tax.