Did you have to tell the IRS anything about using the credit card payment processor, or do they automatically match the payment to your tax account?

They automatically match the payment to your tax account based on the SSN and tax year you enter when making the payment. You don't need to notify the IRS separately or reference anything specific from your return. The payment processor sends all the necessary details to the IRS with your payment. When I checked my tax transcript a few weeks later, it showed the payment properly applied to my account. The whole system is designed to work without any additional steps needed from you.

This is helpful! How long did it take for the payment to show up in your IRS account after you paid through the processor?

I hadn't even thought about the state tax implications! Do you know if all states have these non-resident taxes on property sales, or does it vary by state? The property is in Missouri, and I live in Colorado if that helps.

It definitely varies by state. Missouri does have a requirement for non-resident withholding on real estate sales. They generally require 2% of the sale price to be withheld, but the exact requirements depend on your specific situation. You'll want to look into Form MO-2NR (Statement of Income Tax Paid) which the buyer may need to complete. However, if your sale qualifies for certain exemptions, you might avoid the withholding. Missouri has specific rules about when withholding is required for non-residents. After the year ends, you'll need to file a Missouri non-resident state tax return to report the gain and potentially get a refund of any excess withholding. The good news is that Colorado will generally give you a credit for taxes paid to Missouri to avoid double taxation.

A 1031 exchange wouldn't work well here. Those are for investment or business property, and inherited land that's being partially sold to family doesn't typically qualify. Plus, 1031 exchanges have strict timing requirements (45 days to identify replacement property, 180 days to close) and require a qualified intermediary to hold funds. Doesn't sound like what OP needs.

This is how I do it too, but I still run into small discrepancies when I check my work against online calculators. Is there a specific formula you use in Excel/Google Sheets? I feel like I'm still missing something.

I use nested IF statements in Excel to determine which portion of income falls into each bracket. For example: For the 12% bracket: =IF(Income>12350,IF(Income>=50175,50175-12350,Income-12350),0)*0.12 This says "if income is greater than $12,350, then either take the full bracket amount ($50,175-$12,350) if income exceeds the top of this bracket, or just take (Income-$12,350) if income falls within this bracket. Multiply the result by 12%." Do this for each bracket, then sum them all up. The key insight is treating the upper boundary as inclusive (using >= for comparing to the upper limit), so $50,175 gets taxed at 12%, not 22%. This matches official IRS calculations exactly.

Actually, precision matters here. While the final tax amount is rounded, the calculations themselves need to be exact. I learned this the hard way when my "close enough" spreadsheet ended up being off by $237 compared to my actual return because of accumulated small errors in multiple bracket calculations.

Is this the "Get Transcript" feature? I looked at that but got confused about which option to select.

Yes, it's through the Get Transcript service. You'll need to select "Wage and Income Transcript" when prompted for the type of transcript. This will show information from forms submitted to the IRS including W-2s and 1099s. Creating an account can be a bit of a process since they've increased security measures. You'll need your ID, social security number, and some financial account numbers for verification. Once you're in, you can access transcripts for the current tax year and previous years.

This! Employers sometimes do this when they haven't been paying the proper employment taxes. Definitely report them to both the IRS and state labor board. Make them face consequences!

Do we need to request transcripts before filing amendments? I assumed I just need my original return copy. Also, how far back can you amend returns? I might have similar issues with my 2021 taxes.

You don't absolutely need transcripts before filing amendments, but they're extremely helpful to ensure you have the exact information the IRS has on file. Having your own copy of your return is good, but the transcript shows how the IRS actually processed it, which sometimes differs from what you submitted. For amended returns, you generally have 3 years from the original filing date or 2 years from when you paid the tax, whichever is later. So for 2021 taxes (typically filed in 2022), you should still be within the amendment window for the 2025 filing season. I'd recommend grabbing the transcript though - it makes the amendment process much smoother when you can see the IRS's internal codes and processing marks.

That's a good point about tax preparers! My accountant uses checkmarks and little symbols all over my returns before submitting. I always thought it looked so messy but I guess that's their system.

Thanks for bringing this up! I double-checked, and you're right - the documents are actually from my tax preparer's office, not directly from the IRS. They sent me copies of what they submitted. That makes so much more sense why there are these little marks all over them. I feel kinda silly now for worrying, but at least I understand what I'm looking at. Guess my preparer was just marking things they verified before submitting. Learning something new about taxes every day!