I've been following this thread closely since I'm dealing with the exact same SMLLC situation! After reading all the responses here, I decided to double-check by reviewing IRS Publication 1779 (Independent Contractor or Employee) and the Instructions for Form 1099-NEC directly. The consensus seems clear: for a disregarded entity SMLLC, use your personal name as the payer with your LLC's EIN. This makes sense because you're personally liable for the tax obligations, but the EIN maintains the business tracking connection. What really helped me was the point several people made about consistency. I've been paying contractors from my LLC business account using the EIN, so using that same EIN on the 1099-NECs creates a clean audit trail. Plus, when I report these contractor payments as business expenses on Schedule C, everything will tie together properly. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - especially those who actually called the IRS or consulted with tax professionals. It's reassuring to see multiple sources confirming the same approach!

I've been lurking here trying to figure out the same SMLLC 1099-NEC question, and this thread has been incredibly helpful! Based on everything I've read here and my own research, it seems pretty clear that for a disregarded entity SMLLC you should use: **Payer Name:** Your personal name (Daniel Whitaker) **Payer TIN:** Your LLC's EIN What really clicked for me was understanding the "why" behind this approach - you're personally the taxpayer (hence personal name), but the EIN maintains the business tracking connection for your contractor payments and Schedule C reporting. I appreciate everyone who took the time to call the IRS or consult with tax professionals to get official confirmation. It's also reassuring to see multiple people mention the importance of consistency across all your business filings and banking. Oliver, since you've been operating for 2 years, just make sure whatever approach you choose aligns with how you've been handling your business banking and previous tax filings. That consistency will definitely serve you well if you ever face any IRS questions down the road. Thanks to this community for helping clear up what could have been a really stressful filing decision!

One more thing to consider - if this was a government agency, there's a good chance they have specific policies about contractor vs employee classification that they're supposed to follow. Federal agencies in particular have gotten in trouble for misclassifying workers to avoid paying benefits and taxes. You might want to look up whether this agency has had previous issues with worker misclassification. Sometimes there are patterns, and if the agency has been cited before, it could strengthen your case. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has done reports on this issue across various federal agencies. Also, since you mentioned they haven't sent any tax documents yet, that's actually a red flag. Even if they classified her as a contractor, they're legally required to send a 1099-NEC by January 31st if they paid her more than $600. I'd follow up on that immediately - you'll need that information regardless of how you file. Good luck with the SS-8 process! It sounds like you have a strong case based on what you've described.

I went through this exact situation two years ago with a state contractor role. Here's my experience and some additional tips: First, definitely file your taxes now using Form 8919 with code G as others have mentioned. The SS-8 process is painfully slow - mine took 11 months to get resolved, but it was worth it in the end. One thing I didn't see mentioned is that you should also consider filing Form 8888 if your partner had any taxes withheld from her paychecks. If they were treating her like an employee in practice (withholding taxes) but classifying her as a contractor on paper, that's even stronger evidence of misclassification. Also, document EVERYTHING about the work relationship: did they provide training? Set her schedule? Require her to work on-site? Control how she did the work? These are the key factors the IRS looks at. I created a detailed timeline of all my interactions with the employer showing they controlled every aspect of my work. The missing 1099 is definitely concerning - contact them immediately since you need those numbers to file. If they refuse to provide it or claim they "don't have to" because she was a contractor, that's actually more evidence in your favor that something's fishy with their classification. Stay persistent with the process. It's frustrating but worker misclassification is a real problem, especially with government contracts trying to save money on benefits and taxes.

Don't forget that you need to file FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) if your foreign bank accounts exceed $10,000 combined at any point during the year! This is separate from your tax return and has crazy high penalties if you forget to file. My partner and I almost got caught out by this when we moved to Denmark. We filed our taxes correctly with the FTC and standard deduction (which did result in $0 owed, exactly like you're hoping for), but completely missed the FBAR requirement until someone mentioned it to us.

This is exactly the situation I was in last year! Yes, you can definitely use both the standard deduction AND the Foreign Tax Credit - they work together, not against each other. Here's what happened in my case (I'm in the UK with similar US dividend income): I reported all my worldwide income, took the standard deduction which brought my taxable income way down, and then applied the FTC to cover any remaining tax liability from my foreign earnings. Since your US dividends are only $1,500 and the standard deduction is $13,850, you'll likely have very little (if any) taxable income left to apply the FTC against. One tip: make sure you understand which "basket" your income falls into for Form 1116 purposes. Your salary will be "general income" but your dividends will be "passive income" - they need to be calculated separately on the form. The foreign taxes you paid in Germany can only offset US tax on the same type of income. Also, keep excellent records of all taxes paid to Germany throughout the year. You'll need this documentation for the FTC calculation and it's much easier to collect as you go rather than trying to reconstruct it at tax time!

I went through this exact same headache about two months ago and can share what actually happened in my case. Like you, I had filed with a new address but the IRS website was still showing my old one, which had me really stressed about where they'd send my verification letter. The good news is they sent it to the address on my most recent tax return (the new one), not what was showing on their website. It took about 9 days to arrive after I requested it online. The letter comes in a white envelope from "Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service" so it's pretty easy to identify. One thing that really helped ease my anxiety was calling the IRS directly to confirm which address they had as "active" in their system for mailing purposes. Yes, the hold times are brutal (I waited almost 2 hours), but the agent was able to tell me definitively that they use the address from your most recently processed return for all correspondence, regardless of what their website displays. Since you filed on February 3rd, that return should definitely be fully processed by now. If you need immediate access and don't want to wait for the mail, I'd strongly recommend trying the ID.me verification route through their website. It's much faster and completely bypasses the address issue altogether. Just have your driver's license ready for the online verification process.

I actually just resolved this exact situation last week! Filed my 2023 return on January 28th with a new address after moving, but my IRS account online was still showing my old address from 2022. I was panicking about where they'd send my identity verification letter. Here's what happened: The verification letter went to the address on my 2023 tax return (the new address), NOT what was displayed on their website. It took exactly 8 business days to arrive after I requested it through their online portal. The key thing to understand is that the IRS has multiple systems that don't sync in real-time. Their mailing/correspondence system pulls from your most recently PROCESSED return, while their website might lag by weeks or even months in updating your profile information. Since you filed on February 3rd, your return is definitely processed by now, so they'll use that address. The letter comes in a standard white envelope with "Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service" clearly printed as the return address - it's pretty unmistakable. If you're still anxious about it, I'd recommend either calling the IRS to confirm (prepare for a long wait) or trying the ID.me verification route which bypasses mail entirely and gives you instant access. I ended up doing ID.me for a different tax issue and it was surprisingly smooth - just needed my driver's license and took about 15 minutes total. Hope this helps ease your stress about it!

This is such a complex situation, and I really appreciate everyone sharing their experiences! As someone who's dealt with employment tax issues before, I want to emphasize something that might not be obvious - the timing of when you actually made the repayment versus when your employer processed it can also affect your tax situation. If you repaid the bonus early this year but your employer didn't process the corrected W-2 until later, there might be a disconnect between what year the repayment should be reported for tax purposes. Generally, the repayment is considered to have occurred in the tax year when you actually paid it back, not necessarily when the employer issued the corrected forms. Also, for anyone else reading this thread who might be in a similar situation - if your employer is refusing to issue a corrected W-2 or is handling the repayment incorrectly, you can file Form SS-8 with the IRS to get a determination on how the situation should be handled. It takes a while to get a response, but it can be worth it for large amounts like this. The Section 1341 relief that others mentioned is definitely worth exploring. For a $50k repayment, the tax credit option could potentially save you thousands compared to just taking the deduction, especially if you were in a higher tax bracket last year when you received the bonus.

I just wanted to chime in as someone who went through a very similar situation last year with a $40k bonus repayment. Reading through this thread brought back all the stress and confusion I felt! One thing that really helped me was creating a timeline document with all the key dates - when I received the bonus, when I left the company, when I made the repayment, when the original W-2 was issued, and when the corrected W-2c arrived. This made it much easier to explain the situation to both my tax software and later to an IRS representative. For what it's worth, I ended up using the Section 1341 credit option rather than the itemized deduction, and it saved me about $3,200 compared to the deduction route. The key was that I had been in the 24% tax bracket the year I received the bonus, but dropped to the 22% bracket the year I repaid it, so getting the credit for the higher rate taxes I'd already paid was definitely the better choice. Also, don't stress too much about the W-2c having blank boxes - that's totally normal. My employer explained that they only fill in the boxes that are actually changing, and since they expected me to handle the income repayment as a deduction rather than a wage adjustment, Box 1 stayed the same on my corrected form too. You've got this! The tax software will walk you through it once you find the right section, and it sounds like you have all the documentation you need.