Would you mind explaining a bit more about those unexpected complications with California? I'm in a similar situation with a Delaware entity but live in California.

Sure thing. California takes the position that if you're a CA resident managing the holding company, they can tax the income and capital gains regardless of where the entity is formed. What happened in my case was that I had created a Delaware holding company owning several startup equity positions, but since I was making all investment decisions from California, the state considered it a California business. When I sold two of my positions for a significant gain, California required me to pay state tax on the entire gain, effectively ignoring the Delaware structure. I also had to deal with California's "doing business" fee since they deemed my holding company to be operating in California. The real surprise was that I still had to pay Delaware franchise tax while also being fully taxed by California - basically getting the downsides of both states without the expected benefits of Delaware.

That's actually a complicated area. You can use a Self-Directed IRA for certain equity investments, but there are prohibited transaction rules that can easily be violated with startup equity. If you're actively involved with any of the companies, it's especially problematic. Plus many equity compensation types like ISOs and NSOs can't be held in IRAs directly.

Theres also something called a "tie-breaker" rule in most tax treaties that helps determine which country gets primary taxing rights when both claim you. Usually comes down to where you have stronger personal connections, permanent home, etc.

You're absolutely right about the tie-breaker rules. They're crucial in these situations. Most treaties follow a hierarchy of tests: permanent home first, then center of vital interests (personal/economic connections), then habitual abode, and finally nationality. For a company, the tie-breaker often comes down to where the effective management is located - which in the original poster's case would likely be New Zealand since that's where the actual decision-makers are physically located, regardless of where the company is registered.

How much does an international tax accountant usually cost? I'm in a similar boat with income from three different countries and I'm terrified of getting it wrong, but also worried about the cost.

Thanks for this info. Do you know if there's any time limit on when I need to start claiming the AMT credit? I paid this in 2022 and haven't done anything about it yet because I didn't understand I could recover any of it.

There's no time limit on when you can start claiming your AMT credit - it carries forward indefinitely until it's used up. So even though you paid in 2022, you can start claiming it on your next tax return and continue in future years until you recover the full amount. Just make sure you file Form 8801 "Credit for Prior Year Minimum Tax" with your tax return each year to claim the credit. If your income drops significantly after losing your job, you might actually be able to recover a larger portion of the credit than you expect in the coming tax year.

This is actually really smart advice. Tax planning before the end of the year can make a huge difference in AMT credit recovery. I'd suggest using one of those tax planning calculators to simulate different scenarios (like how many shares to sell this year vs next).

Do you know if the father claiming them before will cause problems even if he never had the legal right to do so? My cousin let her parents claim her kid but now she wants to claim him herself.

If the grandfather claimed the children in previous years without having the legal right to do so (meaning without meeting the dependency tests or having proper documentation), then yes, it could potentially cause some questions when your cousin claims her own child. However, this doesn't mean she shouldn't claim her own child if she's legally entitled to. The IRS might send notices asking for clarification if they see a pattern change, but if your cousin is the custodial parent and meets all the tests for claiming her child, she should be able to claim them without issue. She should just be prepared to provide documentation showing that the child lives with her if asked. This could include school records, medical records, or other official documents showing the child's residence.

I used TurboTax last year for a somewhat similar situation with my girlfriend's kids. The key is to answer their questions literally and not overthink it. When they ask if someone "can" claim you as a dependent, that's a legal question about whether anyone meets the tests to claim you, not whether someone actually will claim you. Make sure to go through their special situations section too if your standard living arrangement doesn't fit their initial questions. It gets more detailed there.

That doesn't sound right. I've been reading that rental property can qualify for QBI as long as I meet the 250 hour test, even if I have another job. Could someone clarify this? Now I'm confused about whether I'm eligible at all.

There's some confusion here. There are actually two separate tests: one for being a "real estate professional" (which affects whether rental losses can offset other income) and one for the "safe harbor" for rental income to qualify for QBI. For QBI purposes, the IRS created a safe harbor where if you can document 250+ hours of "rental services" per year on a property (or group of properties), that rental activity can qualify as a "trade or business" eligible for QBI. This is true even if you don't meet the stricter real estate professional test. The 250 hours can include management, maintenance, repairs, collecting rent, etc. So yes, you can potentially claim QBI on rental income even with another job, as long as you meet the 250 hour requirement for your rental activities specifically.

That's a great idea. I actually do have some photos of the damage and after the repairs. Did you organize them in any specific way for your audit? Did they ask for anything else besides the photos?

I created a simple document with before/after photos side by side, each labeled with the date and a brief description of the work performed. Under each photo set, I noted how many hours I spent on that specific repair and any materials purchased. They also asked for my activity log (which matched the photo document), bank statements showing material purchases, and communications with tenants about the repairs/issues. Having text messages where tenants reported problems and my responses about fixing them was surprisingly helpful as supporting evidence. The auditor seemed most impressed with the thoroughness and consistency across all the documentation rather than any single piece.