Thanks for the warning. I definitely plan to respond before the deadline! I actually used TurboTax to file that year, so no tax preparer to fall back on unfortunately. If the company accountant doesn't come through in the next few days, I'll have to go with the documentation I have and hope for the best.

This is important! I'd also suggest faxing a copy if possible in addition to mailing. The IRS still uses fax and sometimes processes those faster than mail. You can get a free online fax service to send it.

So does this apply to crypto transactions too? I have a similar situation where I couldn't figure out some carryover basis amounts from previous years.

Crypto is actually handled differently in some ways. The IRS treats cryptocurrency as property rather than securities, so while you still report gains and losses, the AMT adjustments work differently. For crypto, accurate basis reporting is even more important because the IRS has been focusing enforcement in this area. If you can't determine your exact basis from previous years, you should try to make a good faith estimate based on transaction records. The Schedule D AMT carryovers would only apply if you had specific AMT adjustments in previous years related to your crypto trades.

Try FreeTaxUSA next year. I switched from TurboTax two years ago and never looked back. Only $15 for state filing and federal is completely free. They handled all my stock transactions perfectly, including those weird AMT adjustments.

Wow, thanks for sharing this. Do you know which specific documentation was missing in your brother-in-law's case? I definitely want to avoid that situation.

From what he told me, the project didn't have proper engineering certification proving it met the IRS technical requirements. Also, the transfer agreement wasn't detailed enough - apparently the IRS wants specific language acknowledging the transfer of tax attributes and representations about project qualification. The other issue was timing - the project claimed it was placed in service in 2023, but couldn't provide evidence. Since these credits are based on when projects are completed and operational, that's a big deal to the IRS.

That's correct. The transferability provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act only apply to certain business credits (primarily Section 45 and Section 48 credits for commercial/business installations). The Residential Clean Energy Credit (Section 25D) that applies to systems installed on your personal residence cannot be transferred or sold. This is one of the most common misconceptions about the new transferability rules. Only business-generated credits can be sold, not personal residential credits. However, your unused residential solar credit can carry forward for up to 5 years on your own tax returns, so you might be able to use it gradually if you have tax liability in future years.

Thank you so much for sharing your experience! I'll definitely check my credit reports right away. Did you end up needing to contact the companies directly as part of resolving your situation? I'm wondering if they'll even talk to me since I don't have accounts with them.

Yes, I did contact the companies directly, and it was surprisingly helpful! I called their customer service departments, explained the situation, and asked to speak with their tax reporting department. I had to be persistent and got transferred around a bit, but eventually reached people who could help. Most legitimate financial institutions take tax reporting errors very seriously because they have legal obligations to correct mistakes. I provided my name, address, and the last 4 digits of my SSN (never give your full SSN over the phone), and they were able to check their records. In my case, one company confirmed they had no accounts in my name, and provided a letter stating this that I could send to the IRS. The other company found they had transposed two digits in someone else's SSN, making it match mine by mistake, and they issued a corrected 1099-R to the IRS.

This is such good advice. I work at a tax firm and we always tell clients to keep a "tax journal" with every single interaction noted. When my client had a similar issue with phantom income, what ultimately resolved it was being able to demonstrate to the IRS that we had already addressed this same issue three different times. Documentation is truly your best friend in these situations!

You're right, there were additional pages with the K-1. Looking back at them, it says it's related to "business property partially destroyed in a natural disaster" but it doesn't give specific filing instructions. Would this change where I enter it?

That changes everything! A loss from business property damaged in a natural disaster is definitely a casualty loss from a federally declared disaster area, which gets special treatment. This should be reported on Form 4684 (Casualties and Thefts), Section B since it's business property. The good news is that these losses aren't subject to the usual personal casualty loss limitations and can be deducted even if you take the standard deduction. After completing Form 4684, the business casualty loss will then flow to your Schedule A, but in a different section than regular itemized deductions, potentially allowing you to claim both the standard deduction and this special loss.

This is correct. If it's from rental property, it would go on Schedule E. Schedule K-1 codes can be really confusing because the same code might be reported differently depending on the nature of the underlying asset or activity. My accountant spent hours sorting through similar issues with my K-1s last year.