I work at a company with around 50 people and we got this set up last year! It's called a Section 132 Qualified Transportation Benefit. Our HR person said it was surprisingly easy to implement through our payroll provider. The company actually saves money too because they don't pay payroll taxes on the amounts we set aside for parking. In my case, I'm saving about $70/month by paying with pre-tax dollars. Definitely worth asking about!

Thanks for sharing your experience! That's really helpful to know. I'll definitely bring this up with our HR person then. Did your company need to hire some special benefits provider or was it really just handled through your regular payroll system?

Some employers also have deals with nearby garages that employees don't know about. I randomly mentioned my parking costs to our office manager and found out we get a corporate rate that's $75 cheaper per month than what I was paying. I'd been overpaying for TWO YEARS because I didn't ask! Might be worth checking with your company.

Would this work if our incomes are pretty different? I make about $90k and my husband makes around $45k. Would checking that box still make sense?

For cases where there's a bigger income difference like yours, using the box in Step 2(c) might overwithhold a bit. You'd probably get a larger refund, which some people are okay with. For more precision, you could use the Multiple Jobs Worksheet (it's part of the W-4 form instructions) or the IRS Withholding Estimator online. These will give you a specific dollar amount to put in Step 4(c) for additional withholding that's more accurate for uneven incomes. The worksheet isn't too complicated - it basically helps split the tax brackets more proportionally based on your actual income difference.

This is such an important point! I changed my W-4 in October last year thinking it would fix everything, but it didn't withhold enough to make up for the first 9 months. The "catch up" approach is key.

Is there a threshold for this Spanish filing requirement? I have a very small investment account in Spain (under €1000) and wondering if I need to bother with this.

Yes, there is a threshold, but it's based on your income, not account size. If your Spanish-source income is below about €1,600 annually, you're generally exempt from filing the Modelo 210. However, rules can change and there are exceptions, so it's worth double-checking with a Spanish tax advisor if you're uncertain. When I had a similar situation, I found that even though I wasn't required to file in Spain, having documentation from my Spanish bank about any tax they withheld was crucial for claiming my US foreign tax credit correctly. Ask your bank for an annual tax statement ("certificado fiscal anual") to help with your US filing.

Yes, the US-Spain tax treaty does address capital gains. Generally, under Article 13, capital gains from selling stocks are only taxable in your country of residence. So if you're a US resident, technically only the US should tax these gains. However, Spain might still withhold taxes, and you'd need to use Form 1116 to claim the foreign tax credit. As always with international tax, there are exceptions and complications. For example, if the Spanish company derives most of its value from real estate in Spain, different rules might apply.

Does the 704(c) allocation method choice (traditional vs remedial) need to be documented somewhere specific? Our CPA just checks a box on our return but never explained if we need more formal documentation.

The 704(c) allocation method should be specified in your partnership agreement ideally, but at minimum it should be documented in your partnership's internal records. While the tax return just has a checkbox, you should maintain documentation showing which method was chosen and the rationale. This is especially important because once you select a method for a particular property contribution, you generally can't change it without IRS permission. Many partnerships get into trouble when they can't substantiate why they used a particular method, particularly if they use different methods for different properties. Consistency is key unless you have a strong business purpose for varying the methods.

Yes, that's exactly right. The 743(b) adjustment of $40k is personal to you - other partners don't get to use it. It's essentially creating a "step-up" in basis just for you that will typically be allocated to specific partnership assets based on their FMVs. Without this adjustment, you'd end up being taxed on gain that was already reflected in your purchase price. The adjustment is usually allocated to appreciated assets and often results in additional depreciation/amortization deductions just for you.

This is such a good point. I live in Washington state so we don't have income tax, but when I moved from Oregon I got a nasty surprise tax bill because I didn't realize how different the systems were.

Exactly! The state differences are huge. I moved from Tennessee (no state income tax) to California (high state income tax) and didn't adjust my savings strategy. Big mistake! Just remember that the general 25-30% rule people mention is usually just for federal taxes and self-employment tax. You need to add your state's rate on top of that.

Do you use any specific apps for tracking? I'm terrible at keeping up with spreadsheets and worried I'll mess it up.