Do you know if this same process works in H&R Block's software? I'm having the same issue there and their support has been useless.

I haven't personally used H&R Block's software recently, but the general principle is the same. You need to make sure you've entered your non-deductible contribution information and completed the equivalent of Form 8606 before you enter the conversion information. The specific navigation and screens will be different, but the sequence is what matters. Most tax software struggles with backdoor Roth conversions if you don't follow the correct order of operations. Try looking specifically for the Form 8606 section in H&R Block's software and complete that first before handling the conversion.

This is such an important point! I got hit with an unexpected tax bill because of this last year. Had a small old IRA with about $12k in it that I forgot about, and it completely changed how my backdoor Roth was taxed.

Thanks for mentioning the payment plan option! Do you know if setting up a payment plan today (even if I plan to pay it off tomorrow) would help me avoid the penalties completely? Or would I still get hit with the 0.5% for the unpaid portion?

Setting up an installment agreement (payment plan) doesn't eliminate penalties completely, but it reduces the late payment penalty from 0.5% to 0.25% per month. You'd still owe interest on the unpaid balance too. If you're literally only going to be one day late, it might not be worth the hassle of setting up a formal payment plan, especially since there's a fee to establish one ($31 for online setup with automatic payments). For a one-day delay on $6k, you're looking at around $30 in penalties without a plan versus maybe $15 with a plan, but then you'd pay the $31 setup fee. The math doesn't work in your favor for such a short delay.

Was the abatement automatically applied or did you have to wait for them to send you something? I'm in a similar situation but hate waiting for mail from the IRS.

I'm actually really into sports - are there any good tax topics related to sports that would work for a research paper?

Absolutely! Sports and taxation have several fascinating intersections that would make for an excellent paper. You could explore the "jock tax" where athletes pay taxes in each state they play games in - this raises interesting questions about income sourcing and multi-state taxation. Another great angle would be the tax implications of NIL (name, image, likeness) deals for college athletes - this is relatively new territory with evolving tax guidance. You could also look at how major sports franchises use tax incentives for stadium construction, or the tax treatment of sports gambling following recent legalization in many states including Illinois. These topics combine sports interest with substantive tax policy questions.

The SALT deduction cap topic sounds interesting. Did you find it had enough material for 20 pages? And did you focus more on the federal aspects or the Illinois impact?

Yes, those are increasing too! For single filers, the Roth IRA phase-out range will be $146,000-$161,000 (up from $138,000-$153,000). For married filing jointly, it'll be $230,000-$240,000 (up from $218,000-$228,000). Hope that helps with your planning!

Also worth noting that if you're over the income limits, you can still do a backdoor Roth conversion! I make above the limit and still managed to get money into my Roth last year this way. The basic strategy is contributing to a traditional IRA (which has no income limit for contributions, just for deductibility) and then converting to a Roth right after.

Yes! The limits are separate. You can contribute up to the full amount to BOTH accounts in the same year. That's a total of $30,000 between the two accounts ($23,000 to 401k + $7,000 to IRA). This is one of the best ways to maximize retirement savings if you can afford it.

Just be careful about IRA deductibility if you have a workplace plan. You can still contribute the full $7,000, but whether you can deduct traditional IRA contributions depends on your income level. Roth IRA contributions also have income limits as mentioned above.

Can EAs handle more complicated S-Corp issues though? I've heard they're good for basic tax filing but might miss some of the more strategic planning opportunities. Have you found that to be true or not?

My experience has been that good EAs are excellent at tax strategy, especially for S-Corps. Mine regularly saves me thousands through proactive planning. The key is finding someone with specific S-Corp experience - ask how many S-Corp clients they have and what industries they specialize in. What many people don't realize is that EAs often focus more narrowly on tax code than many CPAs who might divide their attention across multiple accounting services. My EA catches things my previous CPA missed specifically because taxes are her entire focus. She's particularly good at maximizing the QBI deduction and optimizing my salary-to-distribution ratio to minimize self-employment taxes while avoiding audit flags.

This is the best advice here. When I switched from a general small business CPA to one that specializes in construction companies (my industry), they found over $23,000 in deductions my previous accountant missed. Industry-specific knowledge is worth its weight in gold.

This makes a ton of sense. I'm in the tech consulting space - do you think I should be looking for someone with specific experience there? Or is S-Corp specialization more important than industry knowledge?