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3 Don't forget that if you owned the car for more than a year before selling it (which it sounds like you did), the profit would be taxed as a long-term capital gain rather than ordinary income. That could mean a lower tax rate depending on your income bracket.
16 Wait, really? I thought capital gains only applied to investments like stocks and real estate. Cars are considered capital assets too?
3 Yes, cars are indeed considered capital assets for tax purposes. Any tangible property you own is generally a capital asset unless it's specifically excluded in the tax code. Since you owned the car for personal use (not as inventory in a business), when you sell it for more than you paid, that's a capital gain. And you're right that this distinction matters because long-term capital gains (assets held more than one year) are typically taxed at lower rates than ordinary income. Depending on your income bracket, you might pay 0%, 15%, or 20% on those gains instead of your normal income tax rate.
10 Just to complicate things further - if the car was ever used for business purposes and you took depreciation deductions, you might need to "recapture" some of that depreciation when you sell. Did you ever use this vehicle for business?
17 This is a really good point. I used my last car for Uber driving part-time and had to deal with depreciation recapture when I sold it. Totally different tax situation than a personal vehicle sale.
10 Exactly! Business use dramatically changes the tax treatment. When you claim depreciation deductions for business use of a vehicle, you're reducing your basis in the asset. Then when you sell it, you may have to "recapture" those deductions by reporting them as ordinary income, not capital gains. It creates this weird hybrid situation where part of your profit might be taxed as ordinary income (the recaptured depreciation) and part might be taxed as capital gains (any additional profit above the original basis minus depreciation). Definitely worth mentioning since many people have side gigs using their personal vehicles these days.
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Just wanted to add my experience as someone who went through this last year. I used Sprintax while my green card was pending and it worked perfectly. The key thing to remember is that you file based on your CURRENT status, not what you've applied for. One thing to watch out for: once your green card is approved, you'll be a resident alien for tax purposes from that date forward. So if it gets approved mid-year, you might need to file what's called a "dual-status return" for that tax year, which can be complicated. That's when I had to switch from Sprintax to a regular tax preparer.
Did you do the dual status return yourself or hire someone? I'm worried my green card might be approved in the middle of this tax year and I hear dual status returns can't be e-filed.
I ended up hiring a tax professional for the dual-status year because it got pretty complicated. You're right that you can't e-file a dual-status return - it has to be paper filed. The preparer essentially had to prepare both a 1040NR for the part of the year I was a nonresident and portions of a 1040 for when I became a resident. If your case is simple (just W-2 income), you might be able to handle it yourself, but I had scholarships, some investments, and a side gig, so I didn't want to risk making mistakes. The peace of mind was worth the cost, especially since tax issues can potentially affect immigration cases.
Something no one mentioned yet - make sure you're correctly handling any FICA taxes (Social Security and Medicare). As an F-1 student, you're normally exempt from these taxes, but once your green card is approved, you'll need to start paying them. If your employer mistakenly withheld these taxes while you were still on F-1, you can claim a refund. Conversely, if they didn't withhold after your status changed, you might owe money.
This is super important! My university payroll department automatically started withholding FICA taxes when I told them about my green card APPLICATION (not approval), and it took months to fix. Is there a specific form to request a refund for incorrectly withheld FICA?
Yes, if your employer incorrectly withheld FICA taxes while you were still on an F-1 visa (and within your 5-year exemption period), you need to first try to get a refund from your employer. If they refuse or are unable to refund you, you'll need to file Form 843 "Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement" along with supporting documentation. Make sure to include a statement from your employer showing the amount of incorrectly withheld Social Security and Medicare taxes, a copy of your visa documentation, and a statement explaining why you're exempt. This is another area where Sprintax can help - they generally have guidance on completing these forms for international students.
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Don't overthink this one. The plain language of the question is a bit ambiguous but tax professionals interpret it as asking if BOTH conditions are true: 1. Are receipts less than $250,000? 2. Are assets less than $250,000? If both statements are true (which in your case they are), then answer "Yes". If either one exceeds $250k, then answer "No".
Does answering "Yes" or "No" change anything material on the tax return itself? Like does it affect the tax calculation or just determine which forms you need to fill out?
It doesn't change the tax calculation at all. It just determines whether you're required to complete the balance sheet portion of the return (Schedule L). If you answer "Yes" (meaning both values are under $250k), you're required to complete the balance sheet. If you answer "No" (meaning either value exceeds $250k), you can skip completing the balance sheet portion. It's actually counterintuitive - smaller businesses have to do more paperwork in this case.
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Not sure if this applies, but look into the "member of household" test for qualifying relatives. If your girlfriend and her daughter live with you the entire following tax year, they might qualify as dependents under that test even if they don't meet the qualifying child test. Also, sometimes it makes more sense tax-wise to get married if you're already living together and financially intertwined. Run the numbers both ways - sometimes marriage penalty hits hard but with income disparity like yours it often benefits.
Thank you for bringing up the "member of household" test. Would this still apply even with her daughter's 50/50 custody situation? My girlfriend will definitely be living with me the entire next tax year, but her daughter will still split time with her dad. As for getting married, we've discussed it but aren't quite ready for that step yet. Is there a good calculator you'd recommend for figuring out the tax implications?
For the daughter with 50/50 custody, she wouldn't meet the member of household test because she doesn't live with you year-round. However, your girlfriend could potentially qualify as a dependent if she lives with you the entire year and her gross income is below the threshold (around $4,500). For marriage tax calculations, I recommend the Tax Policy Center's marriage calculator or TurboTax's free tax calculator - both let you run scenarios as married vs. single/HOH. With your income disparity and supporting multiple people, you'd likely benefit from marriage tax-wise, but it's worth running the actual numbers. Married filing jointly often benefits couples where one person earns significantly more than the other.
Don't forget about the Other Dependent Credit (ODC) which is $500 per qualifying dependent who isn't eligible for the Child Tax Credit. Your daughter might qualify for this even if she's working full time, as long as you provide more than half her support and her income is below the threshold. Also, if you're paying any education expenses for your daughter, look into the Lifetime Learning Credit which doesn't require the student to be your dependent!
The Other Dependent Credit phaseout starts at pretty low income levels though. If OP is supporting three additional people, I'm guessing their income is high enough that they might phase out of this benefit. Worth checking the income limits before counting on it.
Peyton Clarke
Something else to consider - if this is the final return for the trust, make sure you check the final return box at the top of the 1041. Also, don't forget to issue K-1s to the beneficiaries if there were any distributions during the tax year. The K-1 amounts need to reconcile with what's on the 1041.
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Avery Davis
•Thanks for mentioning this! Yes, this is actually the final distribution year for the trust. So I need to check that box. For the K-1s, does the software automatically generate those, or do I need to create them separately? And will the refund go to the trust account (which I'm planning to close) or can I direct it somewhere else?
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Peyton Clarke
•Most tax software will generate the K-1s automatically based on the information you enter in the 1041. You'll just need to make sure the distribution amounts to each beneficiary are entered correctly. For the refund, since this is the final return, you can have it sent to a different address by completing Form 8822-B to notify the IRS of an address change for the trust. Alternatively, you can request direct deposit to a specific bank account on the 1041 itself. Just make sure not to close the trust bank account until after you've received the refund if you're planning to use that account.
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Vince Eh
One thing nobody mentioned - if you filed the extension on Form 7004, make sure the EIN on your extension exactly matches the one on your 1041. I had an issue last year where our extension payment wasn't initially credited because of a transposed digit in the EIN. Took months to sort out.
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Sophia Gabriel
•This happened to me too! Our accountant made a typo on the EIN and it was a nightmare. The IRS treated it as if we never filed an extension or made a payment. We ended up having to provide proof of payment and it delayed the whole process by like 4 months.
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