I'm dealing with the same frustrating situation! Still waiting on my Chase 1099-INT and it's making me anxious about filing on time. I called them yesterday and the rep said they're experiencing "system delays" but couldn't give me a specific date when it would be available. One thing I learned from calling is that you can request they mail you a paper copy even if you're signed up for electronic delivery. The rep said paper copies sometimes get processed through a different system and might arrive sooner. Might be worth asking for that as a backup while waiting for the online version to show up. I'm probably going to wait until after the Feb 15th deadline that Natalie mentioned before I start panicking, but it's definitely stressful when you're used to having everything ready to file early!

I'm a tax preparer and wanted to share what I've been telling clients in similar situations. The key thing to remember is that even if your 1099s are delayed, you can still file your taxes accurately using other documentation. For interest income, your December bank statement will show the year-to-date interest earned, which should match what appears on your 1099-INT when it arrives. For investment accounts, your year-end brokerage statement will have the dividend and capital gains information you need. The IRS matches the income you report against the 1099s they receive from financial institutions, but this matching process happens months after you file. As long as you report the correct amounts (which you can get from your statements), you won't have any issues even if the official 1099 arrives after you've already filed. Just make sure to keep those year-end statements with your tax records in case you ever need to substantiate the numbers you reported. Don't let missing 1099s delay your filing if you have the information you need from other sources!

Great question! I went through this exact situation last year when I bought my first rental property in another state. The key thing to understand is that your inspection travel expenses can't be deducted immediately as regular rental expenses since you don't own the property yet. Instead, these costs get added to your "cost basis" in the property - essentially increasing what you paid for it. So if you buy the property for $200,000 and spend $1,500 on inspection travel, your basis becomes $201,500. This reduces your taxable gain when you eventually sell. Make sure to keep detailed records of everything - flights, hotel, rental car, meals (though meals are only 50% deductible), and most importantly, document that the PRIMARY purpose was business inspection. I kept a detailed itinerary, took photos during the inspection, and saved all correspondence with the inspector. Once you own the property, future trips for maintenance, repairs, or tenant management would be fully deductible against your rental income. But this initial inspection trip is treated as an acquisition cost. Also worth noting - if for some reason you decide not to purchase after the inspection, those expenses generally can't be deducted at all under current tax law, so factor that risk into your decision-making.

Just want to add another perspective from someone who made this exact mistake early on. I deducted my pre-purchase inspection travel expenses immediately as rental expenses on my first property, thinking "well, it's going to be a rental so it's a business expense, right?" Big mistake. Got a letter from the IRS about 18 months later questioning the deduction since I didn't actually own rental property generating income at the time of the expenses. Had to file an amended return and pay penalties plus interest. The silver lining was that my tax preparer helped me correctly add those costs to my basis instead. When I sold that property three years later, having those inspection costs in my basis actually saved me more in capital gains taxes than the immediate deduction would have saved in regular income taxes anyway. So definitely listen to the advice here about adding it to your basis rather than trying to deduct it immediately. The IRS is pretty strict about the timing of when expenses can be claimed versus when they have to be capitalized. Better to do it right the first time than deal with amendments and penalties later!

Thank you all for this incredibly helpful discussion! As someone who just turned 70½ and is starting to think about RMDs in a few years, this has been eye-opening. I had no idea that QCDs had to be direct transfers from the IRA custodian to the charity - I definitely would have made that mistake of taking the distribution first and then donating it myself. A few follow-up questions if anyone has experience with this: 1. Do all IRA custodians handle QCD transfers the same way, or are some better than others at processing these direct charitable transfers? 2. If I have multiple IRAs with different custodians, can I split my QCDs across them, or is it better to consolidate for easier record-keeping? 3. For the charitable acknowledgment letters, do they need to specifically mention that the donation came from an IRA distribution, or is a standard donation acknowledgment sufficient? I'm trying to get all my ducks in a row before I actually need to start taking RMDs. This thread has already saved me from what would have been some costly mistakes!

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is the timing consideration for QCDs. If you're planning to use QCDs to satisfy your RMD, make sure you complete the charitable transfers before December 31st of the tax year. Unlike regular RMDs which you can take up until the following April 15th for your first RMD year, QCDs must be completed by the calendar year end to count toward that year's RMD requirement. Also, if you're married and both spouses have IRAs, each person gets their own $100,000 QCD limit - but you can't combine or transfer unused limits between spouses. So if one spouse wants to do a larger charitable distribution, they're still capped at $100,000 individually. I learned this the hard way when I tried to do a $150,000 QCD in late December thinking I could use both mine and my wife's limits from my IRA. Had to scramble to redirect $50,000 to her IRA first, then do separate charitable transfers. Much easier to plan this stuff in advance!

This is an incredibly frustrating situation that unfortunately affects more ERC recipients than most people realize. Based on your description, it sounds like there was likely a processing error where your EIN or business information got cross-referenced with another company's details in the Treasury payment system. Here's what I'd recommend doing immediately: 1. File a complaint with the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) at tigta.gov. They handle cases involving potential fraud or systemic errors in tax processing. Your situation - where checks with your payment amounts were cashed by a completely different business - suggests either a processing error or potential fraud that TIGTA needs to investigate. 2. Document everything meticulously. Create a timeline showing when you filed for ERC, when payments should have been issued, when you filed Form 3911, and when you received the Bureau's response. Include copies of all correspondence and the fraudulent checks they sent you. 3. Consider filing a police report for check fraud. Even though these are government checks, someone cashing checks that weren't meant for them could constitute fraud, and having a police report number can help when dealing with government agencies. 4. Contact your congressional representative's office. They have direct lines to both the IRS and Bureau of the Fiscal Service that can often resolve cases that get stuck in normal channels. Bring all your documentation and explain that you're caught between two agencies that won't take responsibility. Don't give up - this kind of error is resolvable, but it requires persistence and the right approach. The fact that the amounts match your expected ERC payments but the business details are completely wrong strongly suggests a systematic processing error rather than a simple mix-up.

I went through almost the exact same nightmare with my ERC payments last year. What finally worked for me was getting everything escalated through the Treasury's Office of Inspector General (OIG), not just TIGTA. While TIGTA handles IRS issues, the Treasury OIG specifically deals with problems at the Bureau of the Fiscal Service. The key breakthrough came when I realized this wasn't just my problem - there was apparently a batch processing error that affected multiple businesses in early 2024. The Treasury OIG was already investigating similar cases and was able to fast-track my resolution once they saw the pattern. Here's what made the difference: I submitted a detailed complaint to Treasury OIG showing that the cashed checks had completely different business information but identical dollar amounts to my ERC claim. They immediately recognized this as part of their ongoing investigation into processing errors. Within 6 weeks of filing with Treasury OIG, I had replacement checks issued. The investigator explained that there was a data mapping error in their system that caused some ERC payments to be issued with correct amounts but wrong payee information from a different batch of applications. Don't just focus on TIGTA - make sure you also file with Treasury OIG since they have direct oversight over the Bureau of the Fiscal Service. The combination of both agencies investigating really seems to move things along much faster.

This thread has been incredibly thorough and helpful! As someone who works in international tax compliance, I can confirm that most of the advice shared here is spot-on. Just wanted to add a couple of professional insights that might help James and others: First, regarding timing - the IRS has actually improved their Form 8802 processing times significantly over the past year. Online submissions are currently averaging closer to 3-4 weeks rather than the 4-6 weeks mentioned earlier, though this can still fluctuate during peak periods. Second, for anyone working with Japanese companies specifically, I've noticed they're generally very familiar with Form 6166 and rarely require additional apostille authentication. However, some Japanese tax advisors do prefer to receive the certification directly rather than through the employee, so definitely confirm the delivery preference with your employer. One final tip: if you're planning to work internationally long-term, consider requesting certification for 3-5 years at once. While you'll get separate certificates for each year, having them in advance can save you from scrambling if your employer's requirements change or if processing times increase in the future. The same $85 fee covers multiple years, making this a very cost-effective approach for ongoing international employment situations.

Thank you so much everyone for this incredibly detailed and helpful thread! As the original poster, I'm honestly overwhelmed by the amount of practical advice and real-world experiences you've all shared. This has been way more valuable than anything I found in the official IRS documentation. Based on all your recommendations, here's my updated action plan: 1. Contact my Japanese employer TODAY to clarify apostille requirements and preferred delivery method (especially given Anastasia's point about some Japanese tax advisors preferring direct delivery) 2. Submit Form 8802 online through pay.gov using my old address from my tax return 3. Request certification for both this year and next year on the same application 4. Use the third-party appointee section for delivery to my current address (or directly to employer if they prefer) 5. Save that confirmation number screenshot that Freya mentioned! A couple quick questions: Should I request multiple copies upfront just in case, or can I always request additional copies later if needed? Also, given the improved processing times Anastasia mentioned, does anyone think 2 months is actually plenty of time, or should I still be concerned about the deadline? Will definitely update this thread once I complete the process - hopefully this can serve as a comprehensive guide for others facing the same situation. Thanks again to everyone who took the time to share their experiences and expertise!