Did the enrolled agent help negotiate a lower amount overall or just handle the payment plan? Wondering if it's actually possible to get the IRS to accept less than what they say you owe.

The EA didn't get the actual tax amount reduced - that's rarely possible unless there are actual errors in how your tax was calculated. What they did get reduced were the penalties, which in my case had added about $7k to my original tax bill. They managed to get about $5k of those penalties removed through the first-time penalty abatement program and reasonable cause arguments. They also made sure I was claiming all legitimate business deductions that I had missed on my original filings, which lowered the taxable income and therefore the tax due. This is different than "negotiating" with the IRS - it's just proper tax preparation that I had failed to do correctly.

I tried for an OIC but got rejected. They look at your income, expenses, assets... basically if they think you CAN pay (even over time), they won't accept less. Those radio ads are super misleading. Like 40% of OICs get accepted, and usually for people with serious hardships or very little income/assets compared to their debt.

Thanks for sharing your experience. That's pretty much what I suspected - those ads do sound way too good to be true. I guess I'll look more into payment plans instead since I do have a steady income. Did you end up with an installment agreement after your OIC was rejected?

Thanks for mentioning this! If I do sell, is there any problem with just putting that money into a total market index fund instead? Or would that still trigger this wash sale thing?

Putting the money into a total market index fund would be perfectly fine and wouldn't trigger the wash sale rule. The rule only applies to "substantially identical" securities, which a diversified index fund definitely is not compared to an individual stock like Mullen. This is actually a smart strategy many investors use - they harvest the tax loss from individual stocks or sector funds, then immediately reinvest in broader index funds to stay invested in the market while avoiding wash sales. Just make sure you don't buy back into Mullen or any security that's too similar to it within that 30-day window before or after your sale.

This is actually brilliant advice that most people overlook. The 0% capital gains bracket is massively underutilized. I did exactly this last year when I was between jobs.

That makes sense. I guess I'll just wait for the form rather than risk an issue. Do you know if a small discrepancy like this would actually trigger an audit though? I've always been paranoid about that.

A small discrepancy by itself is unlikely to trigger a full audit. What typically happens is the IRS's automated system might flag the return and send you a CP2000 notice (a proposed tax adjustment) if they notice the mismatch. Even though the amount is small, you'd potentially end up paying the tax owed plus interest and maybe a penalty. The hassle of dealing with IRS notices usually isn't worth saving a few dollars in taxes. Better to just report everything accurately from the start and save yourself the stress.

Same here! I've already got my forms from Schwab and E*Trade but nothing from Robinhood yet. They seem to always wait until the last possible minute. Last year mine came on February 16th, literally two days before the deadline.

How can you tell if a CP2000 is legit? I got one recently but now I'm worried it might be fake. Are there specific things to look for?

A legitimate CP2000 will always come by U.S. mail (never email), include your tax ID number, the tax year in question, and a detailed explanation of the proposed changes. It will have specific contact information for the IRS, including a toll-free number. The notice will also include your rights as a taxpayer and explain the appeals process. Fake notices often have spelling/grammar errors, demand immediate payment (especially via gift cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency), don't provide clear explanation of the discrepancies, or direct you to unofficial websites. You can always verify a notice by calling the IRS directly at 800-829-1040 (not using any number on the suspicious notice itself).

Does asking for an extension stop the interest from continuing to accrue though? I'm worried about making the amount owed even higher by delaying.

I've heard about the S-Corp strategy but wasn't sure if it would work for an international situation. How complicated was it to set up the S-Corp election? And did you have any issues with paying yourself from US business accounts while living abroad?

Setting up the S-Corp election just requires filing Form 2553 with the IRS. The form itself isn't complex, but timing matters - you generally need to file within 2 months and 15 days of the start of the tax year you want it to take effect. For paying myself while abroad, I maintain both US and local bank accounts. I pay my "official" salary from the business account to my US personal account, then transfer money as needed to my local account. You'll want to document everything clearly - keep records of transfers and maintain separate business and personal accounts. The biggest challenge was figuring out the "reasonable salary" requirement, as it needs to be justifiable if audited. I worked with an accountant to determine an appropriate amount based on comparable roles in my industry.

This is super important! I got hit with double taxation because I didn't properly structure my business activities between the US and Thailand where I was living. There's a tax treaty between US and China that might help avoid double taxation, but you need to know how to properly claim those benefits.