Thanks so much for this explanation! Do you think I should still contact my former employer about it, or is it safe to just ignore since everything else looks correct?

If the rest of your W2 looks correct (especially boxes 1-6), you can safely ignore the backslash in box 14. It won't affect your tax filing at all and the IRS won't flag it as an issue. If you're still concerned or plan to contact them anyway, just mention it to their payroll department as an FYI so they can fix their system for next year. But don't stress about getting a corrected W2 for this - it's truly just a cosmetic glitch that has no impact on your tax liability or refund.

With TurboTax you can usually just leave it blank if it's not relevant to your tax situation. Box 14 items don't typically affect your federal taxes. I had a similar situation and just skipped that part entirely.

Could it be asking about school district? In my state we have to select our school district for local taxes even if we don't have kids in school.

That's a good point about school districts! In many states, school districts have their own tax rates separate from the city/municipality. The software should have dropdown options for all applicable localities including school districts. The important thing is to select where you physically lived during the tax year, not where you work. Local income taxes are usually based on residency, not employment location (though some areas do both).

Try a different software maybe? I switched from TurboTax to FreeTaxUSA this year and found it much more straightforward on these locality issues. It clearly explains what it's asking for.

Woah, that sounds complex and potentially expensive. So how do you determine if your foreign LLC is considered a corporation for US tax purposes? Is that something I actively choose or does the IRS decide for me?

By default, a foreign LLC with a single owner is treated as a disregarded entity (essentially a sole proprietorship) for US tax purposes, unless you elect otherwise. If there are multiple owners, it's typically treated as a partnership. You can file Form 8832 to elect corporate treatment if that's beneficial for your situation. The key thing to understand is that the US tax classification might be completely different from how your entity is classified in the foreign country. So your "LLC" abroad might be treated as something entirely different by the IRS. This is why getting proper advice early is crucial - the filing requirements and tax treatment vary dramatically based on the classification.

Yeah, this is a common problem. Many foreign banks don't want to deal with US citizen customers because of the FATCA reporting burdens. I had to shop around in Thailand to find a bank willing to work with my company. Usually larger international banks are more willing to deal with US citizens than smaller local ones.

Thanks for the info. I'll check with some of the bigger banks here. It's super frustrating that being a US citizen makes banking so difficult abroad even when I'm legitimately running a business in another country where I also have citizenship.

Can freetaxusa handle retirement stuff well? I've got some 401k questions that H&R Block gave me weird answers for too.

Yes, freetaxusa handles retirement accounts really well. I rolled over an old 401k and had questions about how to report it, and their guidance was clear and straightforward. They have really good explanations built in for different retirement scenarios. For basic situations, they're super easy to use, but they also handle more complex stuff like investments, rental properties, etc. Their interface isn't as flashy as TurboTax, but it's clear and straightforward.

I had the same EXACT experience with Jackson Hewitt this year. Walked in, got quoted one price, then by the end they had added like $89 in random fees. Left and did it myself with TaxAct.

It's unfortunately the standard business model now. They advertise one rate to get you in the door, then hit you with document fees, processing fees, e-file fees, and "protection" services. The refund transfer fee is particularly sneaky because they present it as a convenience rather than an extra charge. Tax preparation has become a massive upselling operation rather than a professional service. If you're comfortable with software, it's almost always cheaper and often more accurate. The big chains are mostly focused on volume and squeezing extra revenue from each customer.

Thank you for sharing your experience. That's exactly what worries me - that even though we transferred the legal rights, the fact that my brother is still honoring the original inheritance proportion might signal to the IRS that I maintained "beneficial ownership" all along. Did you end up paying capital gains tax in your situation? And how did you determine the basis since the inheritance happened so long ago?

Yes, I did end up paying capital gains tax. For determining the basis, we used the fair market value of the property at the time of inheritance (what's called a "stepped-up basis" in the US). This required getting a retroactive appraisal of what the property was worth when I inherited it. I worked with a specialized appraiser who was familiar with historical property values in the region. It wasn't cheap, but it established a defensible basis amount. Since your inheritance was 20 years ago, you might need something similar if you go the capital gains route. The documentation of that original value becomes extremely important if you're audited.

This is a really good point that I hadn't seen mentioned before. The exact timing of citizenship status relative to both transactions (signing over rights AND receiving money) could make a huge difference in tax treatment!

That's an interesting point I hadn't fully considered. I became a US citizen about 3 years ago. My brother just sold the property 2 months ago and will be sending the money next week. So I was a US citizen during the sale and will be when receiving the money, but wasn't when I signed over the legal rights years ago. Does that clarify things?