I haven't considered leasing - that's an interesting approach! How does the math work out compared to owning? Do you find the lease payments end up costing more than repair/maintenance would on an owned vehicle, even with the tax benefits?

The math usually works in favor of leasing for my situation because I only lease for 4-5 months during wedding season. I pay about $2,000 total in lease payments for those months, which is fully deductible since it's 100% business use. Compared to owning, I avoid all repair costs, insurance is cheaper, and I don't have capital tied up in a depreciating asset. Plus, I always have a newer, reliable vehicle for client meetings and hauling equipment. The simplicity of the tax deduction (just deduct the full lease payment) is also a huge benefit compared to tracking business/personal percentages.

Good point about insurance. I learned this the hard way when my claim was denied because I was carrying work equipment. What company did you go with for your commercial policy? Did you find one that handles the seasonal aspect well?

That's really good advice! Would you recommend asking them any specific questions to gauge their knowledge about medical deductions? I wouldn't even know how to tell if they're giving me good answers since I don't know much about this stuff myself.

Ask them specifically about the 7.5% AGI threshold for medical expenses and how they would help determine if you should itemize. A knowledgeable preparer will explain that medical expenses are only deductible for the amount exceeding 7.5% of your adjusted gross income, and they'll want to know if you have other potential deductions that could make itemizing worthwhile. You could also ask what types of medical expenses are deductible that people commonly miss. They should mention things like mileage to medical appointments, lodging while receiving medical care away from home, home modifications for medical purposes, or certain insurance premiums. If they only mention obvious things like doctor bills, they might not have specialized knowledge.

Thats true, my local HR Block has an enrolled agent who specializes in medical deductions. Shes way better than the seasonal people they hire and not much more expensive. I've used her for 3 years now.

That's really good advice. I think I have most of my contribution records in old emails, but should I also request official documentation from my financial institution to be safe?

Absolutely get official documentation if you can. Year-end statements are great because they often summarize annual contributions. Some institutions also provide specific tax forms or contribution confirmations. If they offer any kind of contribution history report, definitely request that. Email confirmations are good supplementary evidence, but official statements directly from the institution carry more weight if there's ever a question. The more documentation you have, the better, especially for older contributions that might be harder to verify years later.

I tried that with Vanguard last year and they refused to change the code. They said their policy is to use code 1 for all early distributions and it's up to the taxpayer to claim any exceptions on their tax return. Super annoying but apparently common practice.

Yes, those are increasing too! For single filers, the Roth IRA phase-out range will be $146,000-$161,000 (up from $138,000-$153,000). For married filing jointly, it'll be $230,000-$240,000 (up from $218,000-$228,000). Hope that helps with your planning!

Also worth noting that if you're over the income limits, you can still do a backdoor Roth conversion! I make above the limit and still managed to get money into my Roth last year this way. The basic strategy is contributing to a traditional IRA (which has no income limit for contributions, just for deductibility) and then converting to a Roth right after.

Yes! The limits are separate. You can contribute up to the full amount to BOTH accounts in the same year. That's a total of $30,000 between the two accounts ($23,000 to 401k + $7,000 to IRA). This is one of the best ways to maximize retirement savings if you can afford it.

Just be careful about IRA deductibility if you have a workplace plan. You can still contribute the full $7,000, but whether you can deduct traditional IRA contributions depends on your income level. Roth IRA contributions also have income limits as mentioned above.

Wait, you can just put $0 if you can't find your AGI? Is that legit or will it cause problems? I'm in a similar situation and getting frustrated.

You should only enter $0 if you truly didn't file taxes last year or if you're a first-time filer. It's not a workaround for when you can't find your AGI - the IRS will reject your return if you put incorrect information. If you filed last year, you need your actual AGI. The IRS uses it as a security verification measure to prevent fraud. Your best bet is to either access your previous return or get a tax transcript from the IRS as others have mentioned.

Did they charge you anything for that? Their website makes it seem like you need to pay for customer support if you used their free version.