Do the municipal bonds actually give decent returns though? I've heard the tax benefits are nice but the actual yield is so low it's not really worth it compared to other investments.

Municipal bonds typically have lower yields than comparable taxable investments, but you need to look at the after-tax return to make a fair comparison. For someone in a high tax bracket (32% or above), the tax-free nature often makes the effective yield higher than taxable alternatives. For example, if a taxable bond pays 5% but you lose 32% to taxes (giving you 3.4% after-tax), a municipal bond paying 4% tax-free actually gives you a better return. It really depends on your tax bracket - the higher your income, the more valuable tax-free investments become.

Is income timing really viable for regular W-2 employees though? I thought that only really works for self-employed people or those with investment income?

How do you recommend balancing technical preparation vs soft skills prep? I have a final round interview next week and I'm not sure where to focus my limited time.

I suggest allocating about 60% of your prep time to technical aspects and 40% to soft skills if you're interviewing for a senior manager or director level position. For your technical prep, focus on the most relevant areas for the specific role rather than trying to cover everything. Review the job description for clues about what technical areas matter most to them. If it's a final round, they already believe you have the baseline technical skills, so now it's about demonstrating judgment and leadership. Prepare 4-5 strong STAR stories that showcase different aspects of your leadership style and decision-making process.

Never accept the first offer! I doubled my salary in 4 years by negotiating well. Research typical compensation on Glassdoor and LinkedIn salary insights before your interviews. When you get an offer, always express enthusiasm but ask for 24-48 hours to consider it, even if you love it. When countering, focus on the total package, not just base salary. Sometimes there's more flexibility with signing bonuses, extra PTO, or performance bonuses than with base. And having two offers puts you in an amazing position - just be transparent without playing them against each other in an adversarial way.

Thanks for sharing your experience! I hadn't thought about other ways to reduce my AGI like retirement contributions. Did the IRS ever question your dependent claim for your girlfriend's sister even though you were able to claim her?

No, I never got any questions about claiming her as a dependent. The key is that I met all four tests for a qualifying relative: 1) She lived with me the whole year, 2) Her income was under the threshold, 3) I provided over half her support, and 4) She didn't file a joint return. For dependents who live with you, the relationship test is very broad - they just need to be a member of your household all year. The Head of Household relationship test is the one that's much stricter. Definitely look into retirement contributions. If you're eligible for a traditional IRA or have a 401k at work, those contributions can reduce your AGI. HSA contributions too if you have a high-deductible health plan.

Wait, are there really still laws against unmarried couples living together?? What century is this??

I've always done my own taxes with TurboTax. Would it be better to just take everything to a CPA this year since I have this complicated form? Or is this something I can still figure out in the software?

You can absolutely still handle this in TurboTax or similar software. The 1099-B might seem intimidating, but the tax software walks you through entering the information step by step. Most programs have specific screens for entering 1099-B data that match the boxes on the form. If your situation is otherwise straightforward, paying a CPA would probably be overkill for just one 1099-B. The key information you need to enter is the description of property sold, date acquired (if shown), date sold, proceeds (sales price), and cost basis (if shown). The software will calculate any gain or loss and place it on the proper forms.

I've got the same situation but my 1099B doesn't list any cost basis and box 3 isn't checked. What do I do in that case?

Did the conversion process mess up your ability to take the QBI deduction that year? I heard entity changes can disrupt that 20% pass-through benefit.

The conversion actually didn't disrupt my QBI deduction that year. Since I went from one pass-through entity (Nevada LLC) to another pass-through entity (Wyoming LLC), the basic eligibility wasn't affected. However, I did have to carefully document the transition date and maintain separate accounting for the pre and post-conversion periods. The tricky part was that the conversion created a "short year" for tax purposes, which required some additional form filing and proration of certain expenses. I recommend getting a tax pro involved if you're considering a similar move.

Yeah, the Corporate Transparency Act is hitting every state. Started in January 2024. Every LLC, corp, etc has to report ownership to FinCEN. Doesn't matter which state anymore - Wyoming, Delaware, wherever - the privacy benefit is mostly gone now.

Thanks for confirming. That's disappointing since privacy was one of my main reasons for choosing Wyoming. Guess I'll focus more on the tax benefits now since that privacy advantage is diminished.