


Ask the community...
Another option you might consider - check if your wife's mom received a physical copy of the 1095-A in the mail. Sometimes people miss these forms in their mail since they look like regular healthcare notices. The marketplace typically mails them out by late January/early February. Also, if you can't get the form in time, you could file an extension to give yourself more time to track it down. Just remember an extension to file isn't an extension to pay, so you'd still need to estimate and pay any taxes due by the regular deadline.
Good point about checking the mail more thoroughly. I'll ask her mom to look through her papers again. Do you know if filing an extension is complicated? We've never done that before and I'm worried about messing something else up.
Filing an extension is actually very simple. You just need to submit Form 4868 which you can do electronically through most tax software or the IRS Free File. It automatically gives you until October 15th to file your complete return. The tricky part is estimating any taxes you might owe, since you'll still need to pay by the regular April deadline to avoid penalties and interest. Since your issue is just missing a form rather than not knowing what you owe, you could complete your return as best you can to estimate your tax liability, then pay that amount when filing the extension.
Just wanted to point out something important - if your wife was covered under her mom's marketplace plan, but her mom claimed the premium tax credit, you actually DO need to report this on your taxes. This is because the IRS needs to verify that everyone who received subsidized coverage is accounted for across all tax returns. It's confusing because your wife was on her mom's plan, but since you're filing a separate return from her mom, the IRS system flags the disconnect when it doesn't see the 1095-A information on your return.
Another option worth exploring is contacting your state's unemployment office. Sometimes they have employer information on file even when the IRS transcript is incomplete. I had to do this when filing back taxes from 2018, and the state labor department had the EINs for two companies that had gone bankrupt. Also, if your friend contributed to a 401k during that time, the plan administrator might have records with the employer information. Same goes for any health insurance he had through those employers - the insurance company may still have the employer EIN on file.
Thank you for this suggestion! I didn't even think about checking with the state unemployment office. He did have health insurance through one of the jobs so we'll definitely reach out to the insurance company as well. Do you remember what department specifically you had to contact at the state level? Was it just the general unemployment office or did you have to ask for a specific record-keeping division?
I contacted the wage record unit within the state's Department of Labor. Most states have a division that handles wage reporting from employers for unemployment tax purposes. Just call the main unemployment office number and ask to be directed to whoever maintains employer wage records. For the health insurance angle, you'll want to contact the member services department and explain you need the employer information for tax purposes. Sometimes they'll need a written request, but in my experience, they were pretty helpful once I explained the situation.
One thing nobody's mentioned yet - you should consider the statute of limitations for refunds when filing back taxes. If your friend is owed money from the IRS for 2020, he needs to file before April 2024 (3 years from the original due date) or he loses that refund forever! But if he OWES money, there's no time limit for the IRS to collect, so he definitely needs to get this sorted. Also, penalties and interest keep accruing the longer he waits to file.
Anyone else planning to amend previous returns in light of this Limited Partner Self Employment exemption ruling? My accountant says we should go back and amend the last three years, but I'm worried that would just trigger an audit.
For anyone wondering about the Limited Partner Self Employment exemption ruling, I consulted with a former IRS attorney yesterday. He believes the ruling will likely stand on appeal because it's based on a functional interpretation of the statute rather than adding new requirements. His take is that anyone who was truly a passive investor with no management role might still have grounds to exclude income from SE tax. The real targets are active participants using the LP structure primarily as a tax strategy despite material participation in the business. He suggested documenting your lack of involvement if you want to maintain the exemption - meeting minutes showing you don't participate in management decisions, time logs showing minimal hours, etc.
Just want to add something important that nobody's mentioned yet - if you're filing a prior year return AND you owe money, you should file ASAP to minimize penalties and interest! The failure-to-file penalty is usually 5% of unpaid taxes for each month your return is late (up to 25%), while the failure-to-pay penalty is much smaller at 0.5% per month. Also, check if you qualify for "first-time penalty abatement" - if you haven't had any penalties in the prior 3 years, the IRS might waive your late-filing penalties. I saved over $400 this way!
Do you know if you can request the first-time penalty abatement when you file the late return, or do you have to wait until after they assess the penalties?
You typically need to wait until after the IRS assesses the penalties before requesting first-time penalty abatement. So you'd file your late return, receive a notice from the IRS about penalties, and then call them to request the abatement. When you call, specifically ask for "first-time penalty abatement" and explain that you have a clean compliance history for the previous three years. They'll check your records, and if you qualify, they can often approve it during that same call. It's definitely worth doing - the penalties can add up quickly on late returns!
Dont forget that if youre getting a REFUND for your 2023 taxes, you have until April 15, 2027 to file and still get your money back!! But if you OWE money, your already accumulating penalties and interest. The IRS doesn't care about unfiled returns that owe them $0 or that they owe YOU money for.
Are you sure about that? I thought the IRS requires you to file regardless of whether you're getting a refund or not. I've always heard not filing is illegal even if you don't owe anything.
Michael Adams
For anyone considering DIY filing, I built a simple spreadsheet that helped me track everything for my ERTC claim. It has separate tabs for each quarter, wage calculations, PPP allocation, and the revenue comparison test. Happy to share if anyone wants it - just DM me. The whole process took me about 3 weekends to complete, but I saved around $32,000 compared to what a "specialist" company wanted to charge me. The IRS isn't processing these quickly (took 11 months to get my refund), but it was worth the wait.
0 coins
Natalie Wang
ā¢Would love to see your spreadsheet! I'm just starting the process and feeling overwhelmed by all the calculations.
0 coins
Noah Torres
Does anyone know the deadline for filing these ERTC claims? I heard it was extended but not sure until when.
0 coins
Chloe Green
ā¢For most businesses, you can amend payroll tax returns (Form 941-X) up to 3 years after the original filing date. So for 2020 Q2, if you filed on July 31, 2020, you have until July 31, 2023 to amend. For 2021 Q3 (the last eligible quarter), most businesses will have until October/November 2024 to file claims. The IRS did implement a moratorium on processing new claims from September 2023 to early 2024 due to fraud concerns, but they're processing claims again now. Just be aware that processing times are extremely long - currently 10-12 months is common.
0 coins