Do you know if California has anything similar? I tried googling but got really confused with all the tax terminology.

California does have some education benefits, but they're a bit different from New York's. California doesn't have a direct equivalent to New York's tuition credit, but they do conform to many federal education tax benefits. For California, you'll want to look into the College Access Tax Credit Fund, which is a bit different - it's for contributions to a special fund rather than directly for your tuition. But it can still save you money if you qualify. California also generally follows the federal treatment of scholarship and fellowship income, so the same rules about taxable vs. non-taxable amounts would apply on your state return.

Thats scary! How likely is it to get audited for education credits? Now Im worried I'll mess something up.

Don't panic about it! Audits for education credits aren't super common, but they do happen. The IRS does flag some education credit claims for verification, especially if something looks unusual or inconsistent. Just make sure you're claiming expenses you actually paid for, keep your receipts (digital copies are fine), and don't try to claim things that aren't qualified expenses. Most people claiming legitimate education expenses with proper documentation have nothing to worry about - I only mentioned my experience to emphasize the importance of keeping good records.

Thanks for bringing this up - I had no idea there might be specific rules for managing her SSI benefits. Her mind is still sharp, she just has physical limitations that make it hard for her to get around and handle paperwork. Does that matter for the representative payee requirement?

If your grandmother is mentally capable of managing her benefits but just needs physical help, then you probably don't need to be a formal representative payee. The representative payee program is primarily designed for beneficiaries who can't manage their funds due to mental impairments. Since she's mentally capable and is voluntarily sending you the money to help manage her finances, this is more of an informal family arrangement. Still, it might be worth documenting this arrangement with a simple letter that you both sign, stating she's authorizing you to help manage her finances. This isn't required by law, but can be helpful documentation to have if questions ever arise.

Be careful with joint accounts! If your grandmother ever needs to apply for Medicaid for long-term care, a joint account could be considered her asset AND your asset, which can complicate eligibility. This happened to my aunt and it was a mess to untangle.

While rescheduling will help with 280E issues, banking is a separate problem governed by different regulations. The SAFE Banking Act would be needed to fully address financial services access. That said, some banks might be more willing to work with cannabis businesses after rescheduling since it reduces certain legal risks. Still, expect many institutions to remain cautious until there's explicit banking legislation.

Thanks for that clarification. I've been trying to explain to clients that these are separate issues. Do you have any recommendations for cash-heavy businesses in the meantime? The lack of banking creates so many tax reporting and documentation problems.

There hasn't been any official indication about FinCEN guideline updates, but it would be logical to expect changes there as well. Rescheduling should trigger a cascade of regulatory reviews across multiple agencies. The current SAR filing requirements were designed for Schedule I substances, so they should theoretically be revised to reflect the new status. However, until something is officially announced, financial institutions will likely continue following current guidelines. These administrative processes tend to move slowly and often with minimal coordination between agencies. I'd recommend continuing to follow current compliance protocols while staying alert for updates.

Wait, are you saying I might have to pay US taxes on money I haven't even taken out of my company as dividends yet? That sounds terrifying. How do I figure out if GILTI applies to my Thai company?

Yes, that's exactly what GILTI can do in certain situations. It was designed to prevent US taxpayers from indefinitely deferring US tax by keeping profits in foreign corporations. The calculation is complex, but essentially if your Thai company's income exceeds a certain return on its tangible assets, the excess could be considered GILTI and taxable to you personally even if the money stays in the company. To determine if GILTI applies, you'll need to look at your company's income, the value of its tangible depreciable business property, and Thailand's corporate tax rates. This is definitely an area where professional help is valuable. Form 8992 is used to report GILTI. You might be able to reduce the impact through something called the "high-tax exception" if Thailand's corporate tax rate is high enough, or through the Section 962 election that someone mentioned earlier. Both strategies can potentially reduce the tax impact of GILTI.

The Transition Tax was a one-time tax on accumulated foreign earnings as part of the 2017 tax reform. If you've already dealt with that (or started your business after that), you shouldn't have to worry about it again. Now we just have to deal with GILTI every year instead! :-/

Can you really just decide which year to count income in? I thought you had to report income in the year you receive it, not when you decide to invoice for it?

It depends on your accounting method. If you're on a cash basis (which most small businesses and freelancers are), you report income when you receive it, not when you earn it. So if you complete work in December but don't send the invoice until January, you'll receive and report that income in the following tax year. This is totally legitimate as long as you're not artificially manipulating when you actually receive payments. You can't deposit a check and not record it - that would be illegal. But you can time when you bill clients and when you make business purchases within reason.

I've used it for clients with seasonal businesses. It's more paperwork (Form 2210 Schedule AI), but it can be worth it if your income is heavily concentrated in certain periods. Basically, you calculate your required payment for each quarter based on what you actually earned that quarter, not 1/4 of your annual income.