Pro tip: if u have access to your last years tax return, the IP PIN should be on there. check line 6 of form 1040

Check if you have any IRS notices from this year - they sometimes include the new IP PIN. Also, if you filed through a tax preparer last year, they might have a copy of your PIN. Another option is to try the IRS2Go mobile app - sometimes it works when the website doesn't. Good luck!

This is a great question and totally understandable confusion! As others have mentioned, the difference between Box 1 and Box 5 is usually due to pre-tax deductions. Since you mentioned this is the first year you've seen this difference, it sounds like you may have started or increased contributions to things like a 401(k), health insurance, or flexible spending account. To verify everything is correct, I'd recommend checking your final paystub from December 2024. Look for any "pre-tax" deductions and add them up - that total should roughly match the $5,800 difference between your boxes. Common culprits are: - Traditional 401(k) contributions (very common if you got a raise and decided to save more) - Health/dental/vision insurance premiums - Flexible Spending Account (FSA) or Health Savings Account (HSA) contributions - Dependent care assistance If the math doesn't add up or you can't find deductions that explain the difference, then it would be worth contacting HR. But in most cases, this difference is completely normal and actually beneficial since those pre-tax deductions reduce your federal income tax liability!

I just wanted to add that this exact scenario happened to me two years ago when I started contributing to an HSA for the first time. The $3,000 annual HSA contribution I made showed up as the difference between Box 1 and Box 5, and I panicked thinking my employer made an error. What helped me understand it was realizing that HSA contributions are "triple tax advantaged" - they reduce your federal income tax (hence lower Box 1), but you still pay Medicare tax on that income (hence it stays in Box 5). Same principle applies to traditional 401(k) contributions and most other pre-tax benefits. If you started any new benefits this year or increased existing contributions, that's almost certainly what you're seeing. The good news is this difference typically means you're saving money on your federal taxes! Just double-check your final paystub to make sure the pre-tax deductions add up to roughly that $5,800 difference.

As someone who's helped dozens of coworkers through relocation packages, I want to emphasize something that often gets overlooked: timing matters a lot for your overall tax situation. If your company processes the relocation payment late in the year, you might not have enough remaining paychecks to properly spread out the tax impact through normal withholding. I've seen cases where someone got their relocation gross up in November, and even though the calculation was technically correct, they ended up owing money at tax time because the withholding system couldn't account for their full year tax bracket properly with only a few paychecks left. If you're planning a move, try to time the relocation payment earlier in the year if possible. This gives the payroll system more pay periods to accurately calculate your withholding and helps avoid any surprises. Also, keep all your relocation documentation - receipts, the gross up calculation from HR, everything. You'll want it for your tax preparer and for your own peace of mind when reviewing your W-2. One last tip: if your company offers it, consider asking for a "tax equalization" calculation instead of just gross up. This accounts for the broader tax impacts that others have mentioned here, not just the direct taxes on the relocation benefit itself.

I've been through this exact situation and want to add something that really helped me understand it better. Think of gross up withholding like this: your employer is essentially "buying" you the tax liability that comes with their relocation benefit. When they give you $27k for relocation, that becomes taxable income to you. But since you didn't ask for taxable income - you just needed help moving - they calculate how much extra money they need to give you to cover ALL the taxes on the entire amount (including the extra amount itself). It's like a recursive calculation. Here's what I wish someone had told me: the gross up amount often looks scary on your paystub because it can nearly double the relocation benefit amount. In my case, a $20k relocation became about $35k total income on my W-2 due to the gross up. But that extra $15k wasn't "free money" - it was specifically calculated to pay the taxes on the full $35k. One practical tip: if you're planning to use a tax preparation service, give them a heads up about the relocation gross up when you make your appointment. It's not complicated for them to handle, but it helps if they know to expect it so they can explain exactly how it affected your return.

Just wanted to add that you should also check if there's a Form 8825 attached to the K-1 or partnership return. This form often breaks down the real estate income and deductions in more detail, including showing accumulated depreciation which can help you verify the section 1250 recapture calculation. Also, since you mentioned you're a Canadian tax practitioner, remember that the Canada-US tax treaty might affect how these gains are ultimately taxed if the partnership owns property in Canada, or if Canadian residents are partners in the US partnership.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread! As someone who's dealt with similar cross-border partnership issues, I wanted to add a practical tip that might help others in similar situations. When reviewing K-1s with both section 1231 and unrecaptured section 1250 gains, I always reconcile the numbers back to any available depreciation schedules or fixed asset records. The unrecaptured section 1250 gain should never exceed the total accumulated depreciation taken on the property, and it should also never exceed the total section 1231 gain reported. For cross-border practitioners like the OP, I'd also recommend keeping detailed records of these characterizations since some jurisdictions have different rules for depreciation recapture vs. capital gains treatment. Understanding the U.S. characterization is the first step, but then you need to determine how your home country's tax system treats each component. One last thing - if you're dealing with multiple properties or complex partnership structures, consider requesting a breakdown from the partnership showing how they calculated the section 1250 recapture. Most partnerships should be able to provide this detail if asked.

7 One important consideration - make sure you're keeping separate books for each LLC even if they're disregarded entities! I made this mistake and it caused a nightmare during an audit. The IRS still expects you to maintain separate accounting records for each entity to show proper business purpose, even if they're all reported on a single return.

9 Just a heads up - check your state requirements too! While the federal government might treat your property LLCs as disregarded entities, some states require separate filing fees or franchise taxes for each LLC regardless of tax status. California, for example, charges an $800 annual fee per LLC, which can add up quickly with your structure.