Thank you for this explanation! I just checked and it looks like they ARE filing something called an 1120-S now instead of the Schedule C. So does this mean we're actually making the same amount of money but it just looks different on paper? Could this hurt my chances for need-based scholarships?

Yes, that's exactly what's happening! With an S-Corporation (Form 1120-S), the income gets reported differently even if the actual money coming in is the same. The business income flows through to your parents' personal return on Schedule E rather than Schedule C. This could definitely impact your need-based scholarships because the FAFSA and many scholarship programs look at adjusted gross income. With an S-Corp structure, sometimes more of the business income flows to the personal return because expenses get handled differently. Your parents should talk to their tax preparer about optimizing their S-Corp approach for both tax savings and financial aid purposes. There are legitimate strategies to properly categorize business expenses on the 1120-S that might help reduce the reported income while still following tax laws correctly.

This is actually a really good point. When I switched my restaurant to an LLC, we had to change how we tracked inventory and it made our first year look WAY more profitable than it actually was because of timing differences. It evened out the next year.

Does WMR work differently for amended returns? I filed an amendment about 5 weeks ago and it's still not showing up anywhere.

Amended returns are completely different! For those, you need to use the "Where's My Amended Return" tool instead of the regular WMR. It's a separate system entirely. Amended returns also take much longer to process - the IRS says to allow up to 16 weeks (although in recent years it's been taking even longer for many people). The tracking for amendments is also much less detailed than regular returns. You'll typically just see "received," "adjusted," or "completed" without the specific deposit information that the regular WMR provides.

OMG this happened to me too!! So frustrating. Does anyone know how many times is "too many" before it locks you out?

Is there a simple way to check if your withholding is correct? I just started a new job and don't want to be surprised next April.

The IRS has a Tax Withholding Estimator tool on their website that's pretty straightforward to use. You input your income, filing status, and other tax situations, and it calculates whether your current withholding is appropriate or if you need to adjust your W-4. I'd recommend running this calculator midway through the year to make sure you're on track. It's especially important if you have multiple jobs, a working spouse, or any significant changes in your financial situation during the year.

It does seem unnecessarily complicated, but there are some free resources that can help. I've been using the free filing options through the IRS website for years and haven't had any issues. They partner with several tax software companies that offer free filing if your income is below a certain threshold.

Does this actually work with mortgage lenders though? Don't they usually look at 2 years of tax returns? I wonder if they'd notice the pattern and question it.

It can work depending on the lender and your specific situation. You're right that they typically look at 2 years, but many put more emphasis on the most recent year, especially if your income is trending upward. The key is to be strategic and consistent. Don't make it look like you're manipulating numbers - instead, make legitimate business decisions about when to make major purchases or when to defer income. For example, delaying some business purchases until after you close on the home is completely legitimate. Lenders understand that self-employed income fluctuates naturally.

This is a really good point. When I did this last year, I was surprised how much extra I ended up paying because I forgot about the self-employment tax part. Definitely do the math carefully!

For the pro-rata rule, does that apply to nonresident aliens the same way? I've heard conflicting things about how 1040NR filers have to calculate this.

Yes, the pro-rata rule applies to nonresident aliens filing 1040NR the same way it does to resident taxpayers. When you convert any portion of a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, you must consider all your IRA balances collectively (including SEP and SIMPLE IRAs). The calculation is the same: you determine what percentage of your total IRA balance consists of non-deductible contributions, and that same percentage of your conversion will be tax-free. The rest is taxable income in the year of conversion. This is all reported on Form 8606, and the rules don't differ based on residency status.

I did this last year on my 1040NR. The recharacterization part wasn't too bad - my custodian handled most of it. For the tax forms, I reported the nondeductible contribution on Form 8606. Then about 2 months later, I converted it back to Roth. The following year I had to report the conversion on my tax return. The 6% excess contribution penalty would have been more expensive in my case. Plus, doing the recharacterization followed by conversion taught me how the system works for future years.