Just wanted to add something important about Schedule K line 19a that hasn't been mentioned yet - make sure you're filling out line 19a on the Schedule K, but ALSO completing the corresponding line items for each partner on their Schedule K-1 (in Section 19, codes A and B). I made this mistake last year and it caused confusion with one of our partners who couldn't reconcile their personal tax records with their K-1. The Schedule K line 19a is the total distributions for all partners combined, while the K-1s break down each partner's individual portion.

One thing to be careful about with Schedule K line 19a - if your distributions exceed a partner's basis, that excess could be taxable! This happens when partners take out more money than they've invested plus their share of undistributed profits. We learned this the hard way when our LLC distributed cash from a refinance. Watch your basis calculations carefully.

This thread has been incredibly helpful - I've been wrestling with this same question for weeks! The distinction between FICA taxes and federal income taxes is so much clearer now. What really helped me understand it was the explanation that FICA taxes are like an "insurance premium" that runs parallel to your income taxes rather than reducing them. I was making the classic mistake of thinking that since FICA comes out of my paycheck, it must somehow reduce what I owe in federal taxes. For anyone else who might still be confused: I found it helpful to think of your gross pay as feeding into two completely separate tax systems. Your FICA taxes (Social Security + Medicare = 7.65%) are calculated on your gross wages and withheld regardless of your federal tax situation. Your federal income taxes are calculated on your taxable income (which may be lower than gross due to pre-tax deductions like 401k, but FICA withholdings don't count as one of those deductions). This means when I'm doing my 2025 tax planning, I need to budget for both systems independently. My FICA taxes will be roughly 7.65% of my wages no matter what, and my federal tax liability will be based on my taxable income after legitimate deductions - but those FICA payments won't help reduce my federal tax bill. Thanks to everyone who contributed to making this so much clearer than any tax website I've tried to read!

This has been such an enlightening discussion! As someone who recently switched from being a W-2 employee to doing some 1099 contract work on the side, I'm now experiencing both sides of this FICA equation firsthand. What really drives the point home is that as a contractor, I have to pay the full 15.3% self-employment tax (both the employee and employer portions of FICA) on my 1099 income, but I only get to deduct half of that amount from my federal taxable income. Meanwhile, my W-2 income still has the regular 7.65% FICA withholding that doesn't reduce my federal taxes at all. It's made me appreciate how the tax code tries to level the playing field between employees and self-employed folks, but it also reinforces that for regular employees, those FICA taxes truly are separate from and don't impact your federal income tax calculation. For anyone doing mixed W-2 and 1099 work like me, just remember that you'll need to account for estimated quarterly payments on that self-employment tax since there's no employer withholding it for you. The complexity really makes you appreciate how "simple" regular payroll withholding can be, even when it seems confusing at first!

Has anyone else noticed that the 1095-A forms are weirdly confusing for marketplace plans? Like why don't they just issue the form to the person who's actually covered by the insurance? I had a similar issue last year and ended up just having the policy holder (my partner) claim everything and then we split the refund/payment based on our agreement. Not technically correct probably but way simpler than doing the allocation.

I just went through this exact situation last month! My mom received the 1095-A but I was the only one covered on the policy, and we file separately. Option A is definitely the way to go. Both you and your dad need to file Form 8962, but with the allocation percentages showing 0% for him and 100% for you. This is actually pretty straightforward once you understand what's happening - you're just telling the IRS who gets to claim which portion of the policy. A few things that helped me: - Make sure you both use the exact same allocation percentages (0%/100%) - You'll need each other's SSNs for Part IV of Form 8962 - Your dad's form will basically show zeros for everything after allocation, but he still needs to file it - Only your income matters for the premium tax credit calculation since you're getting 100% allocation The income difference between you and your dad won't mess anything up because once the allocation is done, his income is completely out of the equation. Your premium tax credit will be calculated based solely on your income and household size. Don't let the allocation part intimidate you - it's really just paperwork to clarify who gets what. The actual tax credit calculation happens separately for each person based on their allocated percentage.

Been waiting since April 2024 here and this is super helpful info! Had no idea they'd include the interest in the same check. At 7% that's actually not terrible considering how long we've all been waiting. Thanks for the heads up about the 1099-INT too - would've definitely forgotten to report that interest as income next year.

Just wanted to chime in as someone who finally got their refund check last month after waiting since February! Can confirm everything comes in one check - the original refund amount plus all the accumulated interest. The breakdown was actually printed right on the stub that came with the check, so you can see exactly how much was interest vs the original refund. Really helpful for record keeping before that 1099-INT shows up next January. Hang in there everyone, the wait sucks but at least we're earning something on it!

As someone who went through a similar situation, I'd strongly recommend being very cautious here. The IRS has specific criteria for medical expense deductions, and gym memberships rarely qualify even with a doctor's recommendation. The key issue is that they view fitness facilities as having a "personal pleasure" component that disqualifies them as purely medical. For a gym membership to potentially qualify, you'd need: 1) A specific diagnosed medical condition (not just general health improvement), 2) A doctor's prescription (not recommendation) stating the facility is necessary for treatment, 3) Documentation that the treatment can't be performed elsewhere, and 4) Evidence you're using it solely for medical treatment. Since you're self-employed, remember you'd still need to itemize deductions and exceed the 7.5% AGI threshold for medical expenses. Given the audit risk others have mentioned and the strict IRS interpretation, you might want to focus on other legitimate medical deductions instead. Keep your doctor's documentation though - it could be useful for other related medical expenses.

Based on my experience as a tax professional, I have to echo what others have said - gym memberships are extremely difficult to deduct, even with a doctor's recommendation. The IRS has consistently ruled that health club memberships have too much "personal benefit" to qualify as pure medical expenses. However, since you mentioned you're self-employed, there might be a different angle worth exploring. If your back problems are directly related to your work (like if you have a desk job that caused the issues), you might be able to argue for a business expense deduction instead of a medical one. This would require documenting that the gym membership is primarily to address work-related health issues that affect your ability to perform your job. That said, this is still a risky deduction that could trigger scrutiny. The safest approach would be to focus on clearly qualifying medical expenses - your doctor visits, any physical therapy, prescribed medications, etc. These definitely count toward your medical expense total and are much less likely to raise red flags. Keep that doctor's documentation though - it might be useful if you end up needing specific therapeutic treatments that can only be done at certain facilities.