anyone know if they still doing the amazon gift card bonus this year?

I'm also waiting for TurboTax to announce their 2025 refund advance! From what I've seen, they usually launch it around this time but with all the IRS delays this season I wonder if they're being more cautious. Might be worth calling their customer service line to see if they have any insider info on when it'll drop.

Don't forget about bonus depreciation! For 2025, I believe you can still take 80% bonus depreciation on qualifying property with a recovery period of 20 years or less. This means things like appliances, carpet, furniture, etc. can have 80% of their cost deducted immediately and the remaining 20% depreciated over their normal recovery period.

Great question! As someone who's been through this with multiple rental properties, I can tell you that properly handling renovation depreciation is absolutely worth it - the tax savings add up significantly over time. Here's my practical approach for your $45k renovation: First, go through all your receipts and categorize everything. Things like flooring, built-in cabinets, plumbing fixtures, and structural work go on the 27.5-year residential rental schedule. But appliances (refrigerator, dishwasher, etc.), window treatments, and some fixtures can be depreciated over 5-7 years. The key is documentation. Keep detailed records of what was purchased for which room/purpose. For your kitchen and bathroom remodel, separate out any appliances or removable fixtures from the permanent improvements. One tip that saved me money: if you replaced multiple items as part of the renovation, you might be able to take advantage of the remaining bonus depreciation (80% in 2025) on qualifying shorter-life property. This can give you a substantial deduction in year one. Don't try to expense major renovations as repairs - the IRS will flag that. But definitely take the depreciation deductions you're entitled to. Consider using tax software designed for rental properties or consulting a CPA who specializes in real estate - the upfront cost pays for itself in tax savings.

has anyone used proseries to handle the 754 election forms after a redemption? im trying to figure out where to input the adjustment info but the software is so confusing with partnership stuff

One thing I'd add to this discussion is that you should also consider whether the redemption triggers any recapture issues under Section 1245 or 1250 if the LLC holds depreciable property. The redeemed partner might face ordinary income treatment on their share of depreciation recapture, which is separate from the basis calculations everyone's been discussing. Also, if the LLC has unrealized receivables or inventory (Section 751 assets), part of the redemption payment might be recharacterized as ordinary income rather than capital gain treatment. This doesn't affect the outside basis calculations, but it definitely impacts the tax consequences for the departing partner. Make sure to review the LLC's balance sheet for these "hot assets" before structuring the redemption. The interaction between Section 736 payments and Section 751 can get pretty complex, especially if the operating agreement has special provisions about how to value these assets during a redemption.

Great question! I went through this same decision last year when setting up 529s for my two kids. After consulting with our tax preparer and doing research, we went with parent-owned accounts with each child as beneficiary. The key factors that made this the right choice for us: - We keep full control over the funds (can change beneficiaries between siblings if needed) - Better financial aid treatment compared to child-owned assets - Still get our state's tax deduction for contributions - Much simpler than trust ownership One thing I'd add that hasn't been mentioned - check if your state offers additional benefits for using your own state's 529 plan versus an out-of-state plan. Some states only give tax deductions if you use their specific plan, while others are more flexible. Also worth noting: you can always change the beneficiary later if circumstances change, which gives you flexibility as your daughter grows up and you see how her educational path unfolds.

I'd definitely recommend going with a parent-owned 529 plan with your daughter as the beneficiary. This gives you the best combination of control, tax benefits, and financial aid treatment. Here's what I learned when I set up my kids' 529s: **Tax Benefits:** You'll get the same tax-free growth and qualified withdrawals regardless of ownership structure. If your state offers tax deductions for 529 contributions, make sure you understand whether both parents can claim deductions on separate accounts (like the NY example mentioned above). **Financial Aid Impact:** Parent-owned 529s are assessed at max 5.64% for financial aid purposes, which is much better than the 20% rate for student-owned assets. With the recent FAFSA changes, grandparent-owned plans are now more attractive too since distributions no longer count as student income. **Flexibility:** Being the owner means you can change beneficiaries later (maybe between siblings), adjust investment allocations, or even reclaim the funds if absolutely necessary (though with penalties for non-qualified use). **Keep It Simple:** Unless you have complex estate planning needs, skip the trust ownership. The added complexity usually isn't worth it for most families. One practical tip: start with your state's plan first to see if there are tax advantages, but if your state doesn't offer deductions or has poor investment options, don't hesitate to look at highly-rated out-of-state plans like Utah's or Nevada's for better fees and fund choices. The fact that you're thinking about this when your daughter is only 3 puts you way ahead - compound growth over 15 years will make a huge difference!

Have u tried looking at the actual tax forms generated by both? Sometimes its easier to just download the PDFs and compare line by line rather than going thru all the interview questions again. I bet theres one specific line where they differ by like exactly $1400.

This is exactly why I always recommend keeping detailed records of what you enter into each software. I've seen this same issue happen with multiple tax programs - not just TurboTax. The problem usually occurs when the software's internal calculation engine doesn't properly refresh all dependent calculations after you make changes to earlier sections. What's particularly frustrating is that most people don't realize this can happen, so they might file with incorrect numbers without knowing it. Your approach of starting completely fresh was smart. For anyone else dealing with similar issues, I'd also suggest clearing your browser cache or using incognito mode when starting over, as sometimes cached data can interfere with the calculations too. It's also worth noting that this is one reason why tax professionals often use specialized software that shows all the form calculations in real-time rather than hiding them behind a simplified interface. The transparency helps catch these kinds of calculation errors immediately.