11 Just want to mention that if your partnership had less than $250,000 in receipts AND less than $1 million in assets, you qualify for the Form 1065-EZ... oh wait, I'm totally wrong - there is no EZ version for partnerships! Sorry for the confusion. This is part of why partnership taxation is so frustrating for small businesses.

For what it's worth, I ended up going with paper filing for my barely-active LLC partnership last year and it wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. The IRS website has pretty clear instructions for Form 1065, and since we had almost no transactions, most lines were just zeros anyway. The main thing is to make sure you don't miss the filing deadline (March 15th for partnerships, or September 15th with an extension). Even if you made no money, you still need to file or you could face penalties. I printed everything out, double-checked all the math (which was minimal), and mailed it certified mail so I had proof of delivery. Took maybe 2 hours total including printing and a trip to the post office. Saved me over $100 compared to TurboTax, which would have been more than our entire revenue for the year. Sometimes the old-school approach is the most cost-effective!

Lol welcome to the club. Been waiting 6 months with this stupid code 😤

Ugh I feel your pain! Just went through this exact same thing last month. The 810 code basically means they think someone might be trying to steal your identity or file a fake return with your info. It's super frustrating but here's what worked for me: 1. Don't waste time calling the regular IRS line - they can't help with this 2. Call 800-830-5084 (the ID verification line) early morning or try the callback option 3. Have ALL your docs ready: driver's license, Social Security card, W-2s, last year's return 4. You might also get a letter (5071C) asking you to verify online at ID.me The whole process took about 8 weeks for me after I verified my identity. I know it sucks when you need that refund money but hang in there! Also seconding what others said about taxr.ai - I used it too and it actually explained why I got flagged (apparently filing early + moving states triggered their system 🙄). Worth the five bucks for peace of mind honestly.

Has anyone had issues with TurboTax not accepting relocation expenses correctly? Last year I entered my W-2 which included relocation, but TurboTax kept flagging it as "unusually high income" compared to my previous year. I'm worried about using TurboTax again this year for my recent relocation.

I went through this exact situation two years ago when I relocated from California to Texas for work. Here's what I learned that might help you: First, double-check your relocation paperwork to see if it specifies which expenses are "taxable" vs "non-taxable." Some relocation benefits (like temporary lodging and meals) are always taxable, while others might have different treatment depending on how your employer structured the package. Second, make sure you understand the timing. If you relocated late in the year, some of your relocation expenses might appear on this year's W-2, while others could show up next year if payments were made across tax years. For TurboTax specifically, once you enter your W-2, the software will automatically include the relocation income in your total wages. The only time you'd need to manually enter anything is if your employer made direct payments to vendors (like moving companies) that somehow weren't included in your W-2 - then you'd report those as "Other Income." One tip: Keep all your relocation documentation even after filing. I had to reference mine later when the IRS sent a notice asking for clarification about the large income increase from my previous year. Having the employer's relocation report made it easy to explain.

Maybe I'm overthinking this but I still don't understand how this all works out correctly. If I issue a 1099 for $1350 but my contractor only received $1309, doesn't that mean the IRS thinks they got $41 more than they actually did? Won't they be taxed on money they never received??

This is exactly the kind of confusion that trips up so many small business owners! I went through the same thing when I started paying contractors through PayPal. The key thing to remember is that you're essentially making two separate transactions: paying your contractor AND paying PayPal for their service. One thing that helped me keep this straight was setting up a simple tracking system. I created a spreadsheet with columns for: Date, Contractor Name, Gross Payment, PayPal Fee, Net to Contractor. This made it crystal clear when tax time came around - I could easily see that I paid $1,350 total ($1,309 to contractor + $41 to PayPal), so both amounts get reported as business expenses on my Schedule C. Also worth noting: make sure you're consistent with this approach across all your payment methods. If you use Venmo, Stripe, or other processors, the same principle applies. The 1099 should always reflect the gross amount before fees, and you deduct the processing fees separately as a business expense.

Has anyone actually done the math to see if these "green" improvements are worth it financially? I priced out a heat pump and it was going to cost me $8k AFTER the tax credit. My furnace works fine and my electric bill is only like $100/month. Seems like I'd never break even?

Just wanted to chime in as someone who actually went through this process last year. The carryforward feature is clutch! I installed a qualifying heat pump system for about $6,000, which gave me a $1,800 credit (30%). My tax liability was only $800, so I used $800 in 2023 and I'm carrying forward $1,000 to use this year. One thing to keep in mind with your $120k income - you'll likely have a decent tax liability, so you probably won't need to worry too much about the carryforward situation. But it's nice knowing it's there as a safety net. Also, make sure your contractor provides documentation showing the equipment meets the required energy efficiency standards. The IRS can ask for this during an audit, and without proper documentation, they can disallow the entire credit. My contractor knew exactly what paperwork I needed, but I've heard horror stories of people getting burned because their contractor didn't provide the right certifications.