Thanks for sharing your experience! That's really helpful to know. I think I'll give H&R Block a try this year since I'd rather pay a bit more for a smoother experience, especially with something like backdoor Roth where the tax implications can be significant if reported incorrectly. Did you use their Deluxe or Premium version? I'm trying to figure out which tier I need.

I used their Premium version because I also had some investment income and rental property to report. For just the backdoor Roth, I believe their Deluxe version would be sufficient as it covers IRA contributions and Form 8606. Their website has a comparison chart that can help you determine exactly which features you need. The interface is pretty intuitive, with a dedicated section for IRA contributions where you specifically mark them as non-deductible. Then when you enter the 1099-R for the conversion, it connects the dots automatically. Just make sure you complete both sections for everything to calculate correctly.

This is such an important point that often gets overlooked! I nearly made this mistake myself. For anyone confused: with a backdoor Roth, you should NOT be deducting your Traditional IRA contribution at any point. The whole strategy only works tax-efficiently if you use after-tax dollars for the initial contribution. Otherwise, you'll end up paying taxes during the conversion step.

Thank you for bringing this up! I didn't deduct my Traditional IRA contribution on last year's taxes, so I should be okay on that front. But it's a really good reminder about ensuring consistency between tax years. I feel like there are so many gotchas with this strategy that the software doesn't really warn you about. Do you know if FreeTaxUSA has any special review checks for these kinds of issues?

Thanks for mentioning this! Did you find the annual filing requirements to be complicated or expensive to comply with? I'm trying to figure out if the maintenance overhead makes this approach worthwhile compared to other options.

The annual requirements aren't super complicated, but they do add costs and administrative overhead. Form 5472 isn't something you'd want to DIY - I pay about $600 annually to my accountant to handle it plus the pro-forma 1120. There's also state maintenance fees (annual reports, registered agent fees) which run about $200-300/year for Wyoming. Overall, it costs me roughly $900-1000 annually to maintain everything properly. For me, the banking flexibility is worth it, but if you're just looking for a place to park money, there might be simpler solutions like multi-currency accounts with international banks.

Singapore is good but expensive to maintain compared to US LLCs. I pay about $2000/year for my Singapore company between the local director requirement and corporate secretary fees. Estonia e-residency + company is cheaper but some banks don't like it.

Thanks for this suggestion! I hadn't thought about doing a partial cash out. Do you know if there's a minimum percentage I need to roll over? Also, are there different tax forms I need to fill out for a partial vs. full distribution?

There's no minimum percentage requirement for rollovers - you can roll over any portion of your 401k and take distribution of the rest. The paperwork is essentially the same either way. For the tax forms, your plan administrator will issue a 1099-R that shows the total distribution, with boxes indicating how much was rolled over (non-taxable) versus how much was distributed to you (taxable). You'll report this on your tax return for the year. The partial approach is often the best of both worlds - you get some immediate cash while preserving the tax-advantaged status of the majority of your retirement savings.

This is absolutely brilliant advice. My brother did this with the California state system and said it was the best financial move he ever made. The pension increase was worth way more than what he transferred in.

That's a great suggestion about the photos! Do you think it's also helpful to have something in writing from my boyfriend acknowledging that the room is exclusively for business use? And should I be taking new photos periodically to show consistent business use?

Having some documentation from your boyfriend acknowledging the exclusive business use isn't necessary but could be helpful supporting evidence. A simple email or signed statement could work. Yes, I recommend taking new photos quarterly to show consistent business use over time. Date-stamped photos showing the same dedicated setup throughout the year creates a strong paper trail. I also keep a simple log of business activities conducted in the space - this has been incredibly valuable documentation during a previous review of my returns.

For utilities like internet, you actually have options. You can either use the same square footage percentage (the 13% in OP's case) OR you can track actual business usage if you have a reasonable method of calculating it. If you can document that 80% of your internet usage is truly for business (like through time logs of business calls/uploads vs personal use), you can potentially deduct that larger percentage. Just be prepared to substantiate the higher percentage if asked. I use a simple spreadsheet tracking business vs personal internet hours and it's worked fine for my deductions.

Thanks for this tip! I just checked my transcript and I do see code 570 from back in April and code 971 about two weeks later. But I never received any notice from them in the mail. Should I just keep waiting or try to call them?

If you see those codes but never received a notice, you should definitely call them. The 971 code means they sent (or were supposed to send) you a notice explaining the issue, and if you never got it, you won't know what action you need to take. The 570 code means there's a hold on your account that needs to be resolved before your refund can be processed. Without knowing what the specific issue is, it could remain on hold indefinitely. I'd recommend calling them as soon as possible to find out exactly what the hold is for and what you need to do to resolve it.

How did you finally find out about the W-2 issue? Did they eventually send you a letter or did you have to call?