@Rosie Harper - Based on everyone's breakdown here, you're looking at roughly $180-220 take-home from your $300 bonus. The key thing to remember is that while they withhold at 22% federal rate, your actual tax rate when you file might be lower (like 12% if you're in that bracket), so you could get some back as a refund. Since you mentioned needing this for car repairs, I'd budget conservatively and assume you'll get around $200. That way if you get more, it's a nice surprise! Also, if your regular paychecks are having too much withheld (like if you usually get big refunds), you might want to look into adjusting your W-4 for future paychecks to get more money throughout the year instead of waiting for tax season.

Welcome to the community, @Rosie Harper! This is actually a really common question and you're smart to plan ahead for the withholding. Just to add to what everyone else has shared - I work in payroll and can confirm that the 22% federal withholding on bonuses is pretty standard across most employers. The good news is that this is just withholding, not your actual tax rate. When you file your taxes next year, it all gets reconciled based on your total income for the year. One thing I'd suggest is keeping a copy of the paystub from your bonus payment. That way you can see exactly how much was withheld and track whether you get any of it back as a refund. Also, if this is your first job with bonuses, it might be worth reviewing your overall tax withholding strategy - sometimes people are surprised to find they're having too much taken out of regular paychecks too. Good luck with the car repairs! Even if you only see $180-200 of that $300, hopefully it covers what you need.

Just want to add my experience as an S-Corp owner for 5+ years. What's worked for me is picking a consistent, reasonable monthly salary and sticking with it year-round, then taking quarterly distributions based on profitability. This makes everything cleaner for accounting and looks better to the IRS. For your situation this year, a one-time payment will work, but I'd strongly recommend getting on a regular schedule starting January. It's so much easier to manage cash flow when your owner compensation follows a predictable pattern. Also, the whole "reasonable salary" thing isn't as scary as it sounds. It doesn't mean you have to pay yourself market rate if your business can't afford it. It just means you can't take $1 in salary and $100K in distributions to avoid payroll taxes. As long as you're making a good faith effort to pay yourself fairly for your actual work, you'll be fine.

I'd definitely echo what others have said about making that lump sum payment in December rather than waiting. As someone who's dealt with similar timing issues, the IRS is generally more understanding about irregular payments in your first partial year as an S-Corp, especially if you document your reasoning well. One practical tip - when you calculate your reasonable salary amount, keep records of how you arrived at that number (industry research, comparable positions, etc.). I learned this the hard way when my accountant asked me to justify my salary decision later. Also, don't stress too much about the exact percentage split between salary and distributions. The key is that your salary reflects the value of services you actually perform for the business. If you're doing the work of a $60K employee in your industry, then that's a defensible salary regardless of what your total business income is. For next year, I'd suggest setting up automatic monthly salary payments through your payroll service. It makes everything so much cleaner and takes the guesswork out of compliance. You can always adjust the amount quarterly if your business performance changes significantly.

As someone who's been through multiple partnership AARs in CCH Axcess, I wanted to add a few practical tips that might save you some headaches: First, before you even start the AAR process in CCH, create a spreadsheet tracking all the adjustments by partner and income type. This becomes your master reference and helps catch errors before they make it into the software. I learned this the hard way after having to redo an entire AAR because of calculation mistakes. Second, pay close attention to the CCH workflow for generating the corrected K-1s. The software sometimes doesn't automatically update all the necessary fields when you make adjustments, especially for things like Section 199A information or state-specific items. Always review each K-1 individually rather than assuming CCH got everything right. One thing that caught me off guard on my first AAR - if your partnership has any debt basis adjustments or suspended losses that need to be reallocated along with the income, those calculations can get complex quickly. CCH Axcess doesn't always handle the cascading effects of these adjustments automatically, so you may need to manually verify the debt basis and at-risk calculations for affected partners. Finally, keep a detailed log of every step you take in CCH during the AAR preparation process. If you run into issues or need to recreate the return later, having that documentation is invaluable. The AAR workflow in CCH isn't always intuitive, and it's easy to forget the specific sequence of steps that worked. Hope this helps with your filing!

This has been such a helpful thread! I'm dealing with my first partnership AAR and feeling much more confident after reading through everyone's experiences. One additional tip for newcomers working with CCH Axcess - make sure to check the "Print Options" settings before generating your final Form 8082 and K-1s. By default, CCH sometimes excludes certain supplemental statements that are crucial for AARs. Go to File > Print Options and verify that "Include All Statements" is selected, especially if you're making the push-out election that Diego mentioned earlier. Also, I learned the hard way that you should save multiple versions of your AAR return as you work through it. CCH Axcess can be finicky with AARs, and I've had returns corrupt during the preparation process. Save after each major section is completed - it's saved me from having to start over completely. For anyone still struggling with the partner reallocation calculations, I found it helpful to work backwards from the corrected K-1s to verify that everything flows properly to Form 8082. Print draft K-1s first, manually verify the adjustments make sense, then check that those same adjustments appear correctly on the Form 8082 summary. The learning curve is steep, but once you get through your first AAR successfully, the process becomes much more manageable!

This thread has been absolutely incredible to read through! As someone who's been considering a career change into tax preparation, seeing all these detailed success stories and practical strategies has been so encouraging. What really stands out to me is how every experienced professional here emphasizes the same core principles: start with solid tax prep fundamentals, build genuine relationships with clients, and gradually expand into complementary services. The EA credential keeps coming up as a game-changer, and the progression from seasonal work to year-round tax professional seems very achievable with patience and strategic planning. I'm particularly inspired by the creative approaches people have shared - from mid-year tax check-ins to partnering with overwhelmed CPAs during busy season. The relationship-building aspect really resonates with me because it transforms what could be a transactional service into ongoing advisory relationships that benefit both the professional and the client. For those just starting out like myself, this discussion provides such a clear roadmap: master the basics, get the EA credential, focus on client retention, and gradually add services like bookkeeping, tax planning, and representation work. The financial breakdowns showing 60%+ of revenue coming from non-preparation services demonstrate that the sustainability challenge is definitely solvable. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences so openly - this community is clearly a valuable resource for navigating this career path successfully!

As someone who just completed my first tax season at a small practice, I can relate so much to your concerns about income sustainability! This entire discussion has been incredibly reassuring and educational. What really strikes me from reading everyone's experiences is that the "feast or famine" cycle seems to be a rite of passage that most successful tax professionals work through in their early years. The consistent message seems to be: expect some financial challenges initially, but there's a clear path to stability through strategic service expansion. I'm particularly drawn to the EA credential route that so many people have recommended. The combination of enhanced credibility, representation rights, and ability to charge higher rates for specialized services seems like exactly what's needed to make those off-season months productive rather than stressful. The relationship-building strategies shared here are game-changing too. I love Connor's approach of keeping detailed client notes and following up proactively - it transforms tax preparation from a once-a-year transaction into an ongoing professional relationship. That shift in perspective seems to be the foundation for all the additional revenue streams people have successfully developed. For those of us just starting out, it's encouraging to see such detailed roadmaps and realistic timelines. The financial breakdowns showing how experienced practitioners have diversified their revenue streams gives me confidence that this career path can definitely lead to year-round stability with the right approach and some patience during the building phase. Thanks for starting such an important discussion - this community's willingness to share detailed experiences and strategies is incredibly valuable for newcomers to the field!

Just a heads up - make sure the financial institution that issued the 1099-R has your correct address and personal info. I had a similar inherited IRA situation last year but never received the 1099-R because it went to my dad's old address. Ended up with a CP2000 notice from the IRS and had to sort it out after the fact. Also, keep records of when you closed the account and withdrew the funds. The IRS sometimes gets confused with inherited IRAs when the distribution code doesn't match what they expect to see.

I went through something very similar when I inherited my father's 401(k) that was rolled into an IRA. A few additional things to keep in mind: First, make sure you have documentation showing you were the proper beneficiary. Sometimes the IRS will ask for proof of your relationship to the deceased and confirmation that you were designated as the beneficiary on the account. Second, if your grandmother had already started taking Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) before she passed, there might have been a remaining RMD for that year that needed to be satisfied. Since you withdrew the entire amount, this shouldn't be an issue, but it's worth knowing for future reference. Finally, consider the timing of when you report this income if you're planning to get married next year. Since you're filing as single this year, your tax brackets will be different than if you were married filing jointly. The $7,200 might actually be taxed at a lower rate this year depending on your other income sources. The distribution code 4 is definitely correct and will save you from the early withdrawal penalty. Just double-check that TurboTax is calculating your tax correctly - the software should automatically recognize the code and not apply the 10% penalty.