Great question about S-Corp retirement contributions! I went through this exact same analysis last year with my single-member S-Corp. Here's what I learned that might help: You're absolutely right that you can contribute much more than 10%. With your $85,000 salary, you could max out at about $21,250 with the SEP-IRA (25% of compensation). However, I'd strongly recommend looking into a Solo 401(k) instead - it would let you contribute around $44,250 total ($23,000 employee deferral + ~$21,250 employer contribution). One thing to consider: since you're generating $120K in profits but only taking $85K salary, you might want to evaluate if increasing your salary slightly could boost your retirement contributions. Yes, you'll pay more payroll taxes, but the additional tax-deferred savings often outweigh the extra FICA costs. Also, at 42, you're actually in a good position to catch up! You'll get catch-up contributions starting at 50 (additional $7,500 for 401k), and with your strong business income, you have time to build substantial retirement savings. The key is making sure your salary remains "reasonable compensation" for your industry. Since you mentioned graphic design, $85K sounds reasonable, but you might have room to optimize the salary/distribution split for maximum retirement contributions.

I've been following this discussion and wanted to add some perspective as someone who's helped several S-Corp owners optimize their retirement strategies. One aspect that hasn't been fully addressed is the timing consideration for your situation. Since you're 42 and feeling behind on retirement savings, you might want to consider a hybrid approach for the next few years: 1. **Immediate action**: Switch to a Solo 401(k) to maximize current year contributions (as others mentioned, you could go from your current ~$8,500 to potentially $44,250) 2. **Medium-term strategy**: Once you've built up some retirement savings momentum, evaluate whether a defined benefit plan makes sense (as Emma Davis suggested). At your income level and age, you could potentially defer $75,000-$100,000+ annually. 3. **Salary optimization**: Your calculation approach is generally correct, but don't forget that higher salary also increases your Social Security benefits calculation base. At 42, those future benefits have value too. Also consider that as a graphic designer, your "reasonable compensation" could potentially support a salary higher than $85K depending on your specific role, client base, and geographic market. The IRS looks at what you'd pay someone else to do your job - if you're doing business development, client management, creative direction, AND the actual design work, $85K might be conservative. The key is documenting your rationale and comparing to industry standards in your area. Services like salary.com or PayScale can provide supporting documentation for whatever salary level you choose.

Just discovered this community and SO glad I found it! Been dealing with this exact same "exceeded daily limit" nightmare since Monday. Filed my 2024 return in early January and have been anxiously waiting to check my refund status, but the IRS2Go app is completely broken. Getting that error message before I can even successfully check once is beyond frustrating! 😤 Thanks everyone for sharing all these helpful workarounds - definitely going to try the phone line (1-800-829-1954) that @Nia Williams mentioned and the early morning checking strategy from @Amara Okafor. It's honestly embarrassing that we need to jump through all these hoops just to check our own refund status. The IRS has had YEARS to fix these recurring issues but every tax season it's the same story. Really appreciate having this supportive community to navigate these government tech failures together! 🙏

Just joined this community and experiencing the exact same frustrating issue! Been trying to check my 2024 refund status since yesterday and getting that "exceeded daily limit" error without even one successful check. It's ridiculous that during peak tax season the IRS can't handle basic traffic on their systems. Really grateful for all the helpful workarounds everyone is sharing here - definitely going to try the phone line at 1-800-829-1954 and the early morning checking strategy. It's honestly unacceptable that we have to jump through hoops just to check our own refund status, but at least this community has each other's backs! The IRS collects our taxes efficiently but falls apart when it comes to basic customer service tools 🙄

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm dealing with a very similar situation where my girlfriend and I split all our housing costs 50/50, but everything's in my name due to her credit history. She sends me $1,200 monthly through Venmo for her half of mortgage, insurance, and utilities. Reading through everyone's experiences here has really put my mind at ease about the new payment app reporting rules. The distinction between personal expense sharing and business income makes perfect sense when explained clearly like @6a16f57c11b1 did. I'm definitely going to implement some of the documentation suggestions from @a6dd59e13835 and @c42dcc408bd5 - keeping a simple digital folder with screenshots of bills and payment records seems like the perfect balance of being prepared without going overboard. One thing I wanted to add for anyone else in this situation: my bank actually has a feature where I can set up automatic payments directly from my girlfriend's account to the mortgage company for her portion. We looked into this option, but decided the Venmo approach was simpler since we're already using it for other shared expenses. Good to know we have that backup option though if we ever want to eliminate any potential confusion. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and solutions - this community is such a great resource for navigating these confusing tax situations!

I'm in a nearly identical situation with my partner and our shared townhouse! He sends me $975 monthly through Venmo for his half of the mortgage and HOA fees. I was losing sleep over the new payment app rules until I did some deep research. What really helped me understand this was looking at the actual IRS Publication 525, which covers taxable income. It specifically states that money received from personal relationships for shared living expenses isn't considered income - it's cost sharing. The key is that you're not providing housing as a service or business, you're genuinely sharing the expenses of a home you both live in. I ended up creating a simple one-page agreement with my partner that outlines our arrangement - that we both consider ourselves co-owners despite the legal title, we both contributed to costs, and we're splitting ongoing expenses. I also keep a basic spreadsheet showing the actual mortgage payment and how we split it. The vacation reimbursement situation you mentioned is even more straightforward - that's just paying back money your friend spent on your behalf. The IRS sees millions of these transactions and they're clearly personal reimbursements, not taxable income. I think a lot of us are overthinking this because the new rules got so much media attention, but they're really designed to catch people running businesses through payment apps, not couples sharing household costs!

Just a tip - don't forget that you can take deductions on the 1041 for expenses incurred in administering the estate. This includes executor fees, attorney fees, court costs, and even things like appraisal fees for the condo. The 1041 has some weird quirks compared to individual returns. You might want to use tax software specifically designed for fiduciary returns rather than H&R Block, which mostly focuses on individual returns. I used Lacerte for my brother's estate and it walked me through all the special schedules and deductions.

I'm dealing with a similar situation with my grandmother's estate and wanted to add a few things that might help. First, make sure you're keeping detailed records of EVERYTHING - even small expenses like certified mail fees or notary costs can add up and are deductible on the 1041. Also, regarding the condo sale - if your father lived in it as his primary residence for 2 of the last 5 years before his death, the estate might be able to claim up to $250,000 of capital gains exclusion on the sale. This is something a lot of people miss. You'll need to check the specific rules, but it could save significant taxes if the property appreciated substantially. One more thing - if you haven't already, consider opening a separate checking account specifically for estate expenses (different from the main estate account). This makes tracking deductible administration costs much easier when it comes time to prepare the 1041. I wish I had done this from the beginning instead of trying to sort through mixed transactions later.

Has anyone used TurboTax for filing when they have an eBay 1099? I'm in the same boat and wondering if the free version can handle this or if I need to upgrade to the self-employed version?

I went through this exact situation last year and wanted to share what I learned! You absolutely need to file even if you sold everything at a loss - the IRS will assume that entire $6,800 is profit if you don't report it properly. Here's what worked for me: I created a simple spreadsheet listing each item I sold, what I originally paid for it, and what I sold it for. Even without receipts, you can use reasonable estimates based on what you remember paying or what similar items cost when you bought them. Bank statements, credit card records, or even photos with timestamps can help support your estimates. The key is reporting this on Schedule C to show your cost of goods sold. If you truly sold everything at a loss, you'll end up with zero taxable income from eBay, but you still need to file to prove this to the IRS. For software, I used FreeTaxUSA's Deluxe version (around $15) and it walked me through everything step by step. Much cheaper than TurboTax's self-employed version and just as good for this type of situation. The software will ask you simple questions about your eBay sales and generate the right forms automatically. Don't stress too much - this is actually pretty common now with the new 1099 reporting requirements. Just make sure you file something to avoid getting a scary notice from the IRS later!