I don't think so? Last year's K-1 was pretty simple - just showed my portion of ordinary business income and those small dividends. The company isn't doing any R&D that I know of, it's a food service business.

That's good to know. If it's a straightforward food service business without special deductions or credits, your extension calculation will be much simpler. Just focus on the ordinary business income and dividends from last year as your guide. If the distributions were similar year-over-year, that's a decent indicator the business performed similarly, though not guaranteed. Just remember that distributions and taxable income aren't always directly correlated - you could receive no distributions but still owe tax on your share of profits.

Yes! This! So many people don't realize the extension request itself has a deadline. File Form 4868 electronically and you'll get confirmation right away. Much safer than mailing it.

4 So how long do you have to wait before you can buy the same stock again and still claim the loss? Is it exactly 30 days?

21 Yes, it's exactly 30 days before or after the sale. So to be safe, you need to wait a full 31 days before repurchasing the same or substantially similar securities if you want to claim the capital loss. It's important to note this applies across accounts too - so selling in your regular account and buying in your IRA within that window would still trigger the wash sale rule. And it's not just identical stocks - the IRS considers "substantially identical" securities to fall under this rule as well, which can sometimes include options on the same stock or very similar ETFs.

8 You don't really have a choice. The tax code requires you to claim the $3,000 loss against your current year income, and then carry forward the remaining $9,000 to future years. You can't voluntarily "save" the entire $12,000 for future years when you might be in a higher bracket.

That's a really good point about the 1099s. He mostly worked for cash but did have some corporate clients who probably reported payments. For the QBI deduction, would that apply even though he didn't file on time? It seems like a huge benefit to miss out on.

The QBI deduction absolutely applies even for late filed returns! The deduction is tied to the tax year, not when you file. Just make sure when you prepare the 2018-2024 returns that you calculate and claim this deduction - it's basically free money that reduces self-employment tax liability by allowing you to deduct up to 20% of qualified business income. As for the 1099 situation, this is actually why I suggested filing everything at once rather than staggering. The IRS computer system will match reported 1099 income with filed returns, and if you file incomplete years while leaving gaps, it can trigger automated notices for the missing years.

Did you have to pay all the back taxes at once? That's what scares me - I'm in a similar situation and worried I'll owe tens of thousands I don't have.

Thanks for this advice. I reached out to my employer's payroll department and they didn't seem to understand the difference between issuing new W-2s and actual W-2c forms. Do you know if there's any official IRS guidance I could point them to so they fix this properly?

Absolutely! You can direct them to IRS Publication 15 (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide, which explains the W-2c requirements. There's a specific section about correcting wage and tax statements. Also, the instructions for Form W-2c itself clearly state when and how employers should use it. You might also mention that the Social Security Administration requires proper W-2c filing to correct wage records, and failing to do so could cause problems for both the company and employees. Most payroll software has a specific function for processing W-2c forms, so it shouldn't be difficult for them to issue proper corrections.

I had this exact situation last year using TurboTax. There's actually a section where you can indicate that you're entering information from a corrected W-2 or W-2c. When you go to enter a W-2, there should be a question asking if this is a corrected form. Say yes, and it'll guide you through the process. For amending the previous year, they have a separate amendment section that walks you through the 1040-X process. You'll need to enter both the original information and the corrected information. It's pretty straightforward!

Thanks, but they are definitely taking out Social Security and Medicare, plus state tax for Michigan. It's just the federal income tax that's missing. I think I must have messed up my W4 somehow. Going to talk to HR tomorrow!

That's good then! Definitely just a W4 issue. When you talk to HR, ask them to calculate how much federal tax you should have paid year-to-date so you can plan ahead for what you'll owe. Also ask about updating your W4 to include extra withholding on Line 4(c) to make up some of the difference over your remaining paychecks.

This is misleading advice. Even at lower income levels, federal tax can be significant. Standard deduction for 2025 is projected around $13,850 for single filers, but if OP is making even $35K, they'd still owe about $2,300 in federal tax. That's not a small amount to come up with all at once!