Just to add another perspective - I've been through this exact situation in Texas. Technically, the IRS rule is that the person legally obligated on the loan (you) would claim the interest. However, if your divorce decree specifically orders your ex to make the payments, there's an argument that he's making them on his own behalf, not on yours. If there's no specific language in your decree about who gets the tax deduction, you might consider filing Form 8822 with the IRS to change the address where the 1098 is sent. That way, your ex could at least have the documentation he needs if he tries to claim it.

I went through something very similar in Colorado after my divorce. The mortgage was in my name only, but my ex was awarded the house and required to make payments until refinancing. What saved me a lot of headaches was getting a written agreement from my ex about how we'd handle the tax situation. We agreed that since he was making the payments and living in the house, he would claim the mortgage interest deduction on his return, and I wouldn't report his payments as income to me. We both kept documentation of this agreement in case either of us got questioned by the IRS. The key thing is that your divorce decree language really matters here. If it specifically requires him to make the mortgage payments as part of the property settlement (not as a favor to you), there's a stronger argument that he's making those payments for his own benefit, not yours. I'd definitely recommend reviewing your decree carefully before deciding how to file, and maybe getting a quick consultation with a tax pro who handles divorce situations.

Here's a quick tip - go to irs.gov/getanippin and see if you can retrieve the dependent IP PIN there. Sometimes if you're the legal guardian, you might be able to get it online, especially if you've already set up an ID.me account. Worth trying before spending hours on the phone!

@Omar Zaki - I went through this exact same nightmare last year! The key thing to understand is that your daughter likely got an IP PIN assigned automatically by the IRS due to some kind of data breach or suspicious activity involving her SSN - this happens more often than you'd think with minors. Here's what you need to do: Call the IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit directly at 800-908-4490. This is the specific number for IP PIN issues, not the general IRS line. When you call, tell them you need to retrieve an IP PIN for your dependent because your e-file return is being rejected. Have your daughter's SSN ready and be prepared to verify your own identity as her parent. The agent will be able to tell you immediately if she has an IP PIN on file and what it is. Don't try to get it online - that only works for your own PIN, not dependents. Also don't waste time calling the general IRS number - they'll just transfer you around. Once you get the PIN, you'll enter it in the dependent section of your tax software, not in your own IP PIN field. Good luck - you should be able to get this resolved in one phone call once you reach the right department!

Um, isn't there a tax exemption for scholarships and fellowships? My roommate is on a full-ride scholarship and she told me she doesn't pay taxes on any of it. Super confused why some people have to pay taxes on this stuff and others don't...

As a fellow grad student who went through this same confusion, I can confirm what others have said - fellowship money for living expenses is definitely taxable income. The key thing that helped me was understanding that the IRS distinguishes between "qualified educational expenses" (tuition, required fees, books) which are tax-free, versus everything else which is taxable. Since your tuition is covered separately and the fellowship is for living expenses, you'll need to report the full amount as income. Even though your university won't send you a 1099 or withhold taxes, you're still responsible for paying them. I'd strongly recommend setting up quarterly estimated tax payments once you know your fellowship amount for the year. I made the mistake of waiting until filing season and got hit with an underpayment penalty. The IRS Form 1040-ES has worksheets to help calculate what you owe. Also, keep detailed records of any educational expenses you pay out of pocket - while they won't reduce your taxable fellowship income, they might qualify for education tax credits that can lower your overall tax bill.

Has anyone tried just splitting the HSA contributions differently between spouses in OLT to get around this? Like instead of $4,250 and $900, maybe try entering it as $3,150 to the family HSA and $2,000 to the individual HSAs ($1,000 each)? OLT might be applying the catch-up contributions incorrectly when they're part of the family contribution, but might handle them correctly when entered as individual contributions.

I'm dealing with the exact same HSA calculation problem in OLT! My wife and I are both over 55 and had HDHP coverage for 8 months in 2024. OLT is completely ignoring our catch-up contributions and flagging legitimate contributions as excess. After reading through all these responses, I'm planning to try the redistribution approach first - entering our catch-up contributions as individual HSA contributions rather than family contributions to see if that tricks the software into calculating correctly. If that doesn't work, I'll definitely check out taxr.ai to get documentation of the correct calculation. It's frustrating that we have to work around these software bugs during tax season, but at least there seem to be several viable solutions here. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences!

Another thing to consider - sometimes guaranteed payments are used when one partner contributes specialized assets to the partnership. For example, if your partner contributed intellectual property, equipment, or client relationships in addition to the cash contribution, the guaranteed payment might be compensating them for that. Check your partnership formation docs carefully. Even if you both contributed the same cash amount, there might be other contributions being compensated through these guaranteed payments.

This is a really common source of confusion! Based on what you've described, it sounds like your partner has been taking regular payments throughout the year (maybe monthly or bi-weekly draws?) while you've been leaving your share in the business and taking less frequent distributions. The key thing to understand is that guaranteed payments aren't about fairness - they're about timing and cash flow needs. Your partner needed regular income (hence the guaranteed payments), while you were comfortable waiting for distributions. At year-end, your total allocations should still be roughly equal as 50/50 partners, just structured differently on the K-1. However, this does create different tax consequences. Your partner is paying self-employment tax on those guaranteed payments (15.3%), while your distributions might not be subject to SE tax depending on how active you are in the business. I'd suggest sitting down with both your accountant AND your partner to review exactly how money was taken out during the year. Make sure everyone understands the tax implications and decides if this structure still makes sense going forward. Sometimes it's worth paying a bit more in SE tax for the cash flow predictability.