With a 7-figure tax bill, have you considered family office services? Several wealth management firms offer comprehensive tax strategy as part of their family office packages. They coordinate everything including working with your existing CPA. We made the switch two years ago and our tax rate dropped by 6% the first year. They implemented strategies around timing of income recognition, charitable remainder trusts, and opportunity zone investments that our CPA had never suggested.

Based on your situation, I'd strongly recommend going the tax strategist route rather than switching CPAs again. You're absolutely right that the constant CPA churn is counterproductive - it takes them forever to understand complex structures, and you lose all that institutional knowledge each time. A good tax strategist will work collaboratively with your current CPA. Think of it as division of labor: the strategist identifies opportunities and creates the roadmap, your CPA handles the compliance and execution. This way you keep the relationship that already understands your entity structure while adding the proactive planning piece that's missing. With your effective rate climbing from 20% to 32% and a 7-figure tax bill, even a modest improvement could easily justify the strategist's fees. Look for someone who specializes in equity investments and multi-entity structures specifically - they should be able to show you concrete examples of strategies they've implemented for similar clients. The key is finding someone who provides detailed implementation guidance with IRS code citations, not just vague suggestions. Your CPA will be much more receptive to executing strategies when they have clear legal backing and step-by-step instructions.

Just an FYI - the Final Notice to Pay (CP90/Letter 1058) gives you the right to request a Collection Due Process hearing within 30 days. This can buy you time to get everything in order and also gives you appeal rights if you disagree with anything. File Form 12153 to request the hearing. While the hearing is pending, they can't levy your assets (though liens may still be filed). It's a legitimate way to pause collections while you get your missing returns filed and set up a payment plan.

Based on everyone's experiences here, it sounds like you're at a critical juncture but you still have options. The fact that you're now financially able to address this is huge - many people dealing with Final Notices don't have that advantage. Your immediate priorities should be: 1) Get those missing returns filed within the 30-day window (even if they're not perfect), 2) Call the IRS to let them know you're actively working on compliance, and 3) Consider requesting a Collection Due Process hearing using Form 12153 to buy yourself time if needed. Don't let the TurboTax issues derail you - if you can afford a CPA now, that's probably your best bet for getting accurate returns filed quickly. The IRS cares more about having something on file than perfection at this stage. The key is showing good faith effort before that 30-day deadline hits. Once you're filing compliant and have the returns submitted, the payment plan options everyone mentioned become available. Stay proactive and you should be able to avoid the levy nightmare that some others described.

The IRS website is straight 🗑️ fr fr... been trying since last week

Have you tried using a different browser or clearing your cache/cookies? Sometimes the IRS site gets glitchy with stored data. Also, if you recently moved or had any address changes with USPS, there might be a mismatch in their system. You could try using your address exactly as it appears on your driver's license or voter registration - sometimes that format works better than the tax return format.

One important thing nobody has mentioned - make sure you understand how the title is currently held. Is it joint tenancy? Tenants in common? The way the ownership is structured on the deed makes a huge difference in how the gift tax works. In joint tenancy, each person owns an equal share. With tenants in common, the ownership can be split in any proportion (like 70/30). This affects the gift calculation when someone is removed. I learned this the hard way with my own family property!

This is definitely a complex situation that requires careful planning. One thing I'd strongly recommend is getting a professional appraisal of the property before any transfers happen. You'll need this to establish the fair market value for gift tax purposes. Also, consider the timing carefully. If your in-laws are older, there might be estate planning benefits to keeping them on the deed versus removing them now. Sometimes it's better from a tax perspective to inherit property rather than receive it as a gift because of the "stepped-up basis" rules. Before making any moves, I'd suggest consulting with both a tax professional and an estate planning attorney. The gift tax implications are just one piece of the puzzle - you also need to consider capital gains tax when you eventually sell, property tax reassessment in your state, and how this affects your in-laws' estate planning. The $375k value minus $220k mortgage leaves $155k in equity. If your in-laws own 50% of that equity, we're talking about a potential $77,500 gift per person, which would require gift tax reporting but likely no actual tax due given the lifetime exemption amounts.

7 One thing nobody's mentioned yet is that you should check if your foreign contractors might be considered "effectively connected" with a US trade or business. If they're working remotely but technically performing services in the US market (it's complicated), you might have different reporting requirements. I got caught on this when hiring some Canadian freelancers who occasionally came to the US to work on projects. The IRS considered some of their income as US-sourced even though they were Canadian residents.

5 Hey! Something nobody's mentioned - make sure your record-keeping is solid for PAYMENTS too, not just the tax forms. I audit small biz tax returns and see people get hit with penalties bcuz they cant prove how much they actually paid to overseas contractors when asked. PayPal histories can disappear or get limited after certain time periods.