This thread has been incredibly thorough and reassuring! As someone who's been hesitant to try tax-loss harvesting due to wash sale concerns, seeing the unanimous consensus from tax professionals and experienced practitioners gives me confidence to finally implement this strategy. The key insight that really clicked for me is that VTI doesn't just correlate with VOO - it literally contains ALL of VOO plus thousands of additional securities. That's not correlation, that's a fundamental difference in what you actually own. When you put it in terms of 500 holdings versus 3,500+ holdings, the distinction becomes undeniable. I'm particularly impressed by the documentation strategies shared here. Creating a transaction log with investment rationale, saving fund prospectuses, and keeping comparison screenshots showing the massive holdings difference - these create a paper trail that clearly demonstrates the economic substance behind the swap. What's most compelling is the real-world track record. Multiple people have executed this exact strategy successfully over several years, tax preparers regularly see these transactions without IRS challenges, and even direct IRS agent feedback supports the position that different indices create sufficient distinction for tax purposes. Your 6-7 week timeline is extremely conservative and gives you multiple layers of protection. Based on everything shared in this discussion, you should feel very confident proceeding with your strategy and claiming the tax loss. The compositional differences between these funds make this one of the safer ETF swaps you can make for tax-loss harvesting purposes.

As a tax professional who regularly advises clients on wash sale rules, I want to reinforce the excellent consensus that's emerged in this thread. Your VOO to VTI strategy is well-supported both legally and practically. The critical factor here is that these funds track fundamentally different market segments with materially different investment objectives. VOO provides large-cap exposure through the S&P 500, while VTI offers total market exposure including mid and small-cap stocks that VOO excludes entirely. This isn't about correlation - it's about owning distinctly different portfolios. From a compliance perspective, I always advise clients to focus on three key elements: (1) different underlying indices, (2) substantially different holdings composition, and (3) legitimate investment rationale beyond tax benefits. Your swap clearly meets all three criteria. The documentation approach discussed here is excellent - save fund prospectuses, comparison charts showing holdings differences, and maintain a transaction log with your investment reasoning. The IRS respects transactions with genuine economic substance, and the compositional differences between these funds provide exactly that. Your 6-7 week holding period exceeds what's necessary given the substantial differences between these securities, but it provides additional comfort. Based on my experience with similar client situations, you should feel confident claiming this loss while maintaining proper documentation.

Your booth rental arrangement is completely legal and actually very smart! I'm a tax preparer who works with a lot of service industry professionals, and what you're describing is a textbook legitimate independent contractor relationship. The key thing people don't understand is that booth rental is fundamentally different from employment. You're not working FOR the salon owner - you're renting space FROM them to operate your own business. It's the same concept as renting office space, just in a shared facility. The IRS uses what's called the "economic realities test" and looks at factors like: - Who controls the work performance (you do) - Who has the opportunity for profit/loss (you do) - Who provides the tools/equipment (you do) - Whether the work is integral to the payer's business (it's not - you're running your own separate business) Your situation hits all the right marks. The fact that you file Schedule C, handle your own clients, set your own prices, and maintain separate business operations makes this crystal clear. Don't let uninformed Facebook comments stress you out! The people making those comments probably have no idea what they're talking about and are confusing this with actual employee misclassification cases they've heard about. Your arrangement is solid and the audit history proves it.

As a newcomer to this community and someone considering entering the pet grooming industry, this entire thread has been incredibly educational! I'm currently researching different business models and the booth rental arrangement sounds like it could be perfect for someone like me who wants to be self-employed but isn't ready for the overhead of opening a full salon. What really stands out to me from reading everyone's experiences is how important it is to have proper documentation and maintain clear boundaries between your business and the salon's operations. The distinction between being a tenant versus an employee seems pretty clear when you look at the control factors - if you're setting your own schedule, prices, handling your own clients and supplies, you're obviously running your own business. I'm curious though - for those of you who've been doing booth rental successfully, what would you say are the biggest advantages and potential drawbacks of this model compared to other options like mobile grooming or opening your own salon? I want to make sure I understand all aspects before I commit to this path. Also, thanks to everyone who shared practical tips about rental agreements, insurance, and record-keeping. I'm definitely saving this thread as a reference guide for when I'm ready to start my business!

I went through this exact same frustration last month! Error E4401 is indeed related to credit verification issues. In my case, I had to unfreeze Experian AND TransUnion - apparently ID.me tries multiple bureaus as backup if the first one fails. Here's what worked for me: I unfroze both bureaus for 48 hours, cleared my browser cache completely, then started the ID.me process fresh in an incognito window. The key was not rushing - I took my time with each step and made sure my lighting was good for the photo verification. One tip that saved me: have your most recent utility bill ready as backup documentation. Sometimes even after unfreezing credit, ID.me asks for additional document verification, and a utility bill with your current address can speed things up significantly. The whole process took about 20 minutes once I had everything properly set up. Good luck with your mortgage refinance!

I've been dealing with similar ID.me verification issues for my IRS account access. Based on my recent experience, Error E4401 is almost always related to credit bureau verification problems. Here's what finally worked for me after multiple failed attempts: I unfroze all three major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) for 72 hours to be absolutely sure. The key insight I discovered is that ID.me doesn't always use the same bureau for verification - it seems to depend on which one has the most recent/complete information about you. Before starting the verification process again, I also made sure to: - Use a different browser (switched from Safari to Chrome) - Clear all browser data including cookies and cache - Ensure good lighting for the selfie verification step - Have my driver's license, Social Security card, and a recent utility bill ready The entire process took about 15 minutes once I had everything properly set up. The temporary credit unfreeze was definitely the missing piece - I received confirmation that my IRS account was successfully verified within an hour of completing the ID.me process. Hope this helps save you some of the frustration I went through! The mortgage refinance timeline stress is real, but once you get past this hurdle, accessing your tax transcripts should be straightforward.

This entire discussion has been incredibly valuable! As someone who works in financial planning, I see clients struggle with MLP complexity all the time. One additional point worth mentioning - the IRS has been increasing scrutiny on MLP investments in recent years, particularly around basis calculations and state allocations. I've had several clients receive notices requesting documentation for MLP basis adjustments going back 5+ years. This makes the record-keeping burden even more critical. For those considering the ETF route, also look at MLPX (it's newer but has a slightly different structure) and consider the impact on your overall asset allocation. Energy infrastructure can be volatile, so whether you go direct MLP or ETF route, make sure it fits your risk tolerance and portfolio diversification goals. The tax software solutions mentioned earlier (like taxr.ai) are becoming essential tools for anyone with significant MLP holdings. The cost is typically far less than what you'd pay a CPA for the same level of analysis, and the automated basis tracking alone can save you from costly mistakes down the road. Bottom line: if you're investing less than $25K total in MLPs, the ETF route almost always makes more sense. Above that threshold, direct ownership might be worth the complexity if you have good systems in place.

As someone who's been wrestling with MLP state tax complexity for the past few years, I wanted to share a few hard-learned lessons that might help others avoid some pitfalls. First, regarding Carmen's original question about small allocations - I made the mistake of ignoring a $23 Colorado allocation from Kinder Morgan back in 2019, thinking it was too small to matter. Three years later, I received a notice from Colorado demanding the unfiled return plus penalties and interest that totaled more than the original tax owed. Lesson learned: even tiny amounts can come back to bite you. For the IRA UBTI question, I discovered the hard way that if you have MLPs across multiple IRAs that collectively exceed $1,000 in UBTI, you're responsible for coordinating the filings yourself. Your custodians won't communicate with each other. I ended up owing penalties because Fidelity filed a 990-T for $800 in UBTI while my Vanguard IRA had another $600, but neither custodian knew about the other account. One strategy that's worked well for me is focusing on MLPs with significant operations in Texas, Wyoming, and Florida - states with no income tax but also generally fewer administrative hurdles. Enterprise Products Partners (EPD) and Energy Transfer (ET) both have substantial operations in these states, which reduces the multi-state filing burden compared to more geographically diverse partnerships. The basis tracking really is crucial. I've been using a simple spreadsheet, but after reading about the software solutions mentioned here, I'm definitely going to look into automating that process. Manual tracking becomes unwieldy fast, especially when you're dealing with multiple MLPs over several years. For anyone just starting out, my advice echoes what others have said: start small with an ETF like AMLP to get sector exposure, then consider direct ownership only if you're prepared for the administrative complexity and have position sizes large enough to justify the hassle.

Has anyone here used TurboTax for handling income from an LLC for coaching? I just started a small LLC for my part-time coaching work and I'm trying to figure out if I need to pay for an accountant or if I can handle it myself.

Just wanted to add that if your brother-in-law is at the D2 level, he should be extra careful about the LLC structure. The income amounts at that level usually don't justify the complexity and additional costs (LLC filing fees, separate tax returns, potential state franchise taxes). I've seen a lot of smaller college coaches get talked into LLCs by agents when they'd actually save more money just maximizing their employee benefits and retirement contributions through the school. The QBI deduction mentioned earlier phases out pretty quickly for high earners, and self-employment taxes on the LLC income can eat up a lot of the supposed savings. Before setting anything up, I'd recommend having a CPA run the numbers on his specific situation - comparing LLC vs. just negotiating for more employer-paid benefits like additional retirement contributions, health savings account maxouts, or professional development stipends that come out pre-tax.