Is there any downside to contacting your congressional rep? Like could it trigger an audit or flag your account in some way?

There's absolutely no downside to contacting your congressional representative. It won't trigger an audit or flag your account negatively in any way. Congressional inquiries are a normal process, and IRS has dedicated staff just to handle these inquiries. In fact, it often has the opposite effect - it tends to get your return prioritized because the IRS has mandated response times for congressional inquiries. Many taxpayers don't realize this resource is available, but congressional offices help constituents with federal agency issues all the time. It's literally part of their job, and they're often much more effective than you trying to navigate the system alone.

I tried the Taxpayer Advocate Service when my refund was delayed last year. They told me they're so backlogged they're only taking cases with immediate hardship (like eviction or utilities being shut off). Unless you're in dire straits, they probably won't take your case right now.

Does the accountable plan approach require any special documentation? I've heard mixed things about how formal it needs to be.

An accountable plan does require proper documentation, but it's not overly complicated. You need to have a written policy that requires business connection for expenses, timely submission of expenses (generally within 60 days), and returning excess reimbursements within a reasonable timeframe (usually 120 days). You'll need to keep receipts and document the business purpose of each expense. The plan itself can be as simple as a one-page document outlining these requirements that's approved by the partnership. The key is consistent enforcement - you can't just reimburse expenses without following the documentation requirements you establish.

You need to measure the actual square footage of your dedicated office space and divide by the total square footage of your home. So if your office is 150 sq ft and your home is 2000 sq ft, you'd use 7.5%. Using "number of rooms" isn't accurate and could get flagged.

It's actually pretty complicated. The 2020 W4 form eliminated allowances entirely. Now it's about additional income, tax credits, and extra withholding. The IRS has a Tax Withholding Estimator tool on their website that walks through your full tax situation and calculates the right W4 settings. I'd start there - it's much better than the "claim 0" oversimplification.

Omg you're right! Can't believe I've been saying that wrong all these years. Thanks for the correction - guess I'm learning all kinds of tax stuff today!

Thanks for this advice. What kind of documentation did they specifically want to see during your audit? Just invoices or something more detailed? I'm worried because I'm not sure we've been tracking things that carefully.

This is so true! My brother-in-law used his resale certificate to buy a TV for his "office" and got caught in an audit. Ended up paying the tax plus a 25% penalty! Not worth the risk.

That's really helpful info about the exchange rates - I hadn't even thought about that aspect. Do you know if I need documentation of the exchange rate on the date of death? And would a printout from an exchange rate website be sufficient, or does it need to be more official?

You definitely need documentation of the exchange rate on the date of death. The IRS typically accepts historical exchange rates from reputable sources. I used the Treasury Department's published rates (available on their website), which my accountant said was the safest choice. However, printouts from established financial sites like XE.com or OANDA are generally acceptable too. Just make sure you keep copies of whatever documentation you use - I learned the hard way that you might need to reference this information years later, especially if you inherited property that you're now selling. Having that documented exchange rate from the date of death is crucial for calculating your stepped-up basis correctly.

I went through this nightmare last year. Both probate processes happen independently - neither takes "precedence" exactly. But they do need to be coordinated. The UK probate (grant of probate) must be completed before UK assets can be distributed. Same with US probate for US assets. The complication comes with taxation. We ended up needing to get a foreign tax credit to avoid double taxation on some assets. My suggestion? Find ONE attorney who understands both systems - having two separate lawyers in different countries led to tons of confusion in my case.