Don't forget to consider whether you actually NEED to file a 1065 at all. If you're a foreign partnership with no US source income, no US partners, and no effectively connected income with a US trade or business, you might not even have a filing requirement. The business being registered in Delaware doesn't automatically create a filing requirement if the actual business activities don't have US connections.

Based on your situation with a Delaware LLC and foreign partners, I'd recommend a two-step approach to keep costs down while ensuring accuracy: 1. First, use one of the AI guidance tools like taxr.ai that others mentioned to understand exactly what information you need for the foreign partner K-1s and withholding requirements. This will help you prepare properly before using any filing software. 2. Then use FreeTaxUSA ($60) or TaxHawk ($55) for the actual filing. Both have decent interview processes for partnerships, but having clarity on the foreign partner aspects beforehand will make the process much smoother. Since you're operating at a loss with minimal activity, the return should be relatively straightforward once you understand the foreign partner reporting requirements. The key is making sure you properly identify your foreign partners and handle any required withholding correctly - mistakes here can be costly later. If you get stuck on specific foreign partnership questions during preparation, consider using Claimyr to speak directly with an IRS agent. At $60-70 total for software plus maybe $40-50 for Claimyr if needed, you're still well under what most accountants would charge while getting professional guidance where you need it most.

Just to add another perspective - I was in almost exactly your situation (38, going back to school, parent paying). I did claim the Lifetime Learning Credit on my taxes and received it without issue. My mom couldn't claim it because her income was too high anyway, so it worked out better for me to claim it. One thing to watch for: make sure your parent doesn't accidentally claim you as a dependent! My mom almost did this out of habit since she was paying for my education, but that would have disqualified me from claiming the credit myself.

I had a very similar situation a few years ago when I went back to school at 32. My parents helped with tuition payments, and I was initially confused about who could claim what. After doing research and consulting with a tax professional, I learned that you absolutely can claim education credits even when someone else pays, as long as you meet the other eligibility requirements. The key factors are: 1) You're not claimed as a dependent on anyone else's return, 2) You meet the income requirements for the specific credit, and 3) The expenses qualify for education credits. Since your dad mentioned he can't use the credits anyway due to previous limitations, this could work out perfectly for both of you. I'd strongly recommend getting your 1098-T form from your school and looking into both the American Opportunity Credit and Lifetime Learning Credit to see which one fits your situation better. The American Opportunity Credit is more valuable ($2,500 vs $2,000) but has more restrictions. Given that you're 35 and pursuing your first Bachelor's degree, you might still qualify for it depending on how the "first four years" rule is interpreted for your specific situation. Keep good records of the arrangement with your dad just in case, but this is a legitimate and fairly common scenario that the IRS recognizes.

Stupid question maybe, but does anyone know if you can deduct mileage for traveling to a gym if your doctor prescribed exercise as medical treatment? I have a written prescription for physical activity from my doctor for my back problems.

Just wanted to add another perspective on the mileage tracking issue. I was in the exact same boat last year - tons of medical appointments but zero mileage documentation. What I ended up doing was creating a simple spreadsheet with columns for Date, Destination, Purpose, and Miles. I went through my calendar, appointment confirmations, and prescription records to reconstruct all my medical trips. Then I used Google Maps to calculate the round-trip distance from my home to each location. I printed out a few sample Google Maps routes as backup documentation. The key thing I learned is to be conservative and only count direct trips. If I stopped somewhere else on the way to or from a medical appointment, I only counted the portion that was purely medical. Better to leave money on the table than risk problems later. My CPA said the documentation was more than adequate, and I ended up claiming about $340 in medical mileage deductions. Sometimes the simple approach works best!

Has anyone tried using any of the tax software packages to track S-corp basis over multiple years? I've been using a spreadsheet but it's getting unwieldy. I've heard QuickBooks doesn't really handle it well, but wondering if any of the tax packages do?

I've been dealing with S-corp basis issues for years and want to clarify something that might help. The ordering rules are actually laid out in IRC Section 1367, and they're pretty rigid: 1. Start with beginning stock basis 2. Add: Income items (including tax-exempt income) 3. Add: Additional paid-in capital contributions 4. Subtract: Distributions (but not below zero) 5. Subtract: Non-deductible expenses 6. Subtract: Losses and deductions So in your case, Henry, your $18.5k additional paid-in capital does create basis that's available for distributions before your current year loss hits. But here's the key detail some people miss - if you take a distribution that exceeds your basis after steps 1-3, that excess becomes taxable as capital gain. One more thing about those suspended losses: they stay suspended indefinitely until you create enough basis to absorb them. They don't disappear, but they also don't factor into the current year ordering calculation. Think of them as sitting in a separate bucket waiting for future basis. Documentation is crucial here. The IRS loves to challenge S-corp basis calculations on audit, so keep detailed records of when you made the capital contribution and any distributions.

Does anyone know if you can do a "catch-up" contribution to an HSA? I just realized I didn't max out my contribution for 2024 and I'm still doing my taxes now in 2025. Is it too late to put more money in and get the tax deduction?

Great thread! Just wanted to add another helpful tip for anyone dealing with HSA confusion - if you have both employer contributions AND personal contributions to your HSA, make sure you're tracking them correctly on Form 8889. I made the mistake last year of only reporting my personal contributions and forgot about the employer match that showed up on my W-2. The IRS sent me a letter asking about the discrepancy because the total on my 1099-SA didn't match what I reported. Had to file an amended return to fix it. Your W-2 will show employer HSA contributions in Box 12 with code "W" - make sure that amount plus your personal contributions equals the total contribution limit for your coverage type (individual vs family). The software should catch this if you enter everything correctly, but it's worth double-checking!