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Something nobody mentioned yet - have you considered just reducing your MAGI to stay under the limit? Max out your 401k if you haven't already ($23,000 for 2024), contribute to an HSA if eligible ($4,150 individual), or look into if your employer offers any other pre-tax benefits like dependent care FSA, commuter benefits, etc. Might be easier than dealing with withdrawals and recalculations if you're close to the threshold. I was in a similar situation last year and managed to drop my MAGI just enough by maxing these pre-tax options.
That's a great point I hadn't considered! My company does offer a 401k that I'm not fully maxing out yet. I'm putting in about 10% of my salary but could definitely increase that. We also have an HSA option I haven't been using. Would increasing 401k contributions now still help reduce my MAGI for the whole year, even though we're partway through 2024?
Yes, increasing your 401k contributions now will still help reduce your 2024 MAGI, even though we're partway through the year. Your MAGI calculation only looks at your total contributions for the year, not when during the year they were made. If you significantly increase your contribution percentage for the remaining months, you can make up for the lower contribution rate from earlier in the year. The HSA is another great option if you have a qualifying high-deductible health plan. The $4,150 contribution limit (for individual coverage) for 2024 comes straight off your MAGI calculation. Between maxing out your 401k and adding an HSA, you could potentially reduce your MAGI by enough to stay within the Roth contribution limits, avoiding the need to withdraw anything.
I think there's some confusion in this thread. The 5-year rule for Roth IRAs has TWO different applications: 1. For CONTRIBUTIONS: You can withdraw your contributions anytime without penalty regardless of the 5-year rule. 2. For CONVERSIONS and EARNINGS: The 5-year rule applies here. Each conversion has its own 5-year clock, and earnings require both 5 years AND being 59.5 years old to avoid penalties. In your case, since you're only withdrawing contributions, the 5-year rule doesn't matter at all. The app warning is just a generic message they show everyone. Also - if you're close to the income limit, consider contributing to a Traditional IRA and then doing a Backdoor Roth conversion rather than dealing with partial contribution calculations.
Thanks for clarifying the 5-year rule! One question though - if OP does the backdoor Roth conversion, doesn't that start a NEW 5-year clock for those converted funds? I'm trying to understand if there's any disadvantage to the backdoor approach versus direct contributions if you might need access to the money before 59.5.
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22 One thing to be aware of that nobody mentioned yet - if your brother was living in the house and continued to live there after your mom passed away, but before he bought you out, there might be questions about fair rental value during that period. This can sometimes complicate inheritance situations.
1 That's a good point I hadn't considered. My brother did continue living there those 6 months before buying us out. We didn't charge him rent since we were figuring out the estate. Would that create any tax issues? The executor (my older brother) just had him pay the utilities during that time.
22 In most cases, this wouldn't create significant tax issues for you as the person selling your share. The rental value question typically affects the person living in the property (your brother) or possibly the estate during administration. Since this was a relatively short period (6 months) and you were in the process of settling the estate, the IRS is unlikely to be concerned about the lack of rental payments. The main focus for your tax reporting remains the sale of your inheritance share and ensuring you correctly report the basis as the fair market value at the date of death.
8 Do you need to use a special tax software to report this correctly? I'm worried my regular tax program won't handle inheritance properly.
16 Most major tax software (TurboTax, H&R Block, TaxAct) can handle inheritance and property sales. The key is making sure you enter the correct basis information. When it asks about the sale of property and you input the 1099-S information, it should specifically ask if this was inherited property and when the person died, then calculate the stepped-up basis correctly.
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My tax professor explained it like this: TIN is just the category name, while SSN, EIN, ITIN, etc. are the specific types of TINs. It's like how "vehicle" is the category, but "car," "truck," and "motorcycle" are specific types of vehicles.
This is actually really helpful! So the TIN is just the umbrella term? Are there any other types of TINs besides SSN and EIN that regular people might encounter?
Yes, TIN is exactly that - the umbrella term for various tax identification numbers. Besides SSNs and EINs, there are a few other types regular people might encounter. The most common alternative is the ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number), which is used by residents who need to file taxes but aren't eligible for an SSN, like certain visa holders or non-resident aliens. Another one is the PTIN (Preparer Tax Identification Number) which is used by professional tax preparers - you might see this on your tax return if someone else prepared it for you.
Just to add some extra info - I work at a bank and we always ask for TIN on forms, but we make it clear that "For individuals, this is your SSN." A lot of people get confused by this. You'd be surprised how many people think they need to register for a separate TIN number somewhere.
is there ever a case where a normal person (not a business) would have a different TIN than their ssn? like what if someone isn't a citizen?
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One important thing nobody has mentioned yet - you need to track your inventory very carefully for tax purposes. I do something similar (reselling digital goods) and the Finanzamt wanted to see clear documentation of: 1. Purchase price of each digital good 2. Selling price 3. Date of transaction 4. Payment method used I created a simple spreadsheet that tracks all this, plus any related expenses like transaction fees, software subscriptions, etc. This made my tax filing much easier and protected me when I had a mini-audit last year. Also, don't forget that PayPal reports to tax authorities now! So your income is potentially already visible to the Finanzamt.
This is really helpful advice, thanks! I've been tracking sales but not as formally as you described. Do you have any recommendations for good software or templates to use for this kind of tracking? And do you know if there's a revenue threshold where requirements become stricter?
For your level of business, a well-organized spreadsheet is actually sufficient - that's what I still use. I created columns for purchase date, purchase price, sale date, sale price, platform fees, and profit calculation. I also keep a separate tab for business expenses like software subscriptions. The requirements get significantly stricter once you exceed €22,000 in annual turnover, as you'll lose the Kleinunternehmer status and need to deal with VAT (Umsatzsteuer). Once you hit €60,000 annual profit, you'll need to use double-entry bookkeeping (doppelte Buchführung) instead of simple income-surplus calculation (EÜR). At your current scale, though, the detailed spreadsheet approach should be sufficient for the Finanzamt.
Don't forget about Krankenversicherung (health insurance) implications! If your side business becomes substantial, it could affect your insurance status. If you're currently insured through your employer (gesetzliche Krankenversicherung), significant additional income might push you over the threshold where you could opt for private insurance. Also, once your business profit exceeds certain thresholds, you might be required to make quarterly tax prepayments (Steuervorauszahlungen) based on your expected annual profit. This caught me off guard when I was in your situation!
This is such an important point that people miss. My friend got hit with a huge health insurance adjustment bill because he didn't realize his side business income would affect his calculation. The Krankenkasse recalculated two years of premiums retroactively!
Freya Thomsen
I know you specifically asked about fully online solutions, but I wanted to mention that many desktop tax software providers are moving toward hybrid models. For example, I use Drake Tax which has a desktop component but also offers several cloud features: - SecureFilePro for client document exchange and signatures - Web-based client organizers - Online client portals for document sharing - Mobile app for document capture This combination gives me most of the benefits of an online system while retaining the power and reliability of desktop software. The desktop application handles the complex calculations and form generation, while the cloud components handle client interaction and document management.
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Omar Fawaz
•Does Drake's cloud functionality allow multiple preparers to work on the same return simultaneously? That's one feature I really need in a cloud solution.
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Chloe Martin
Has anyone looked into Canopy recently? Last I heard they were developing a full tax preparation module to complement their practice management software. Their practice management system is already fully cloud-based and quite good.
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Diego Rojas
•I'm using Canopy for practice management and client interaction, but their tax module is still very limited. They've scaled back their tax prep ambitions significantly from what they originally announced. It handles basic individual returns but is nowhere near ready for complex business returns. Great practice management system though!
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