I noticed nobody mentioned that the IRS can help directly with this. If an employer doesn't provide a W-2 by January 31st, you should first call your employer. If that doesn't work (as in your case), you can contact the IRS at 800-829-1040. They'll need: - Your name, address, phone number, SSN - The employer's name, address, phone number - Dates of employment - Estimate of wages and income tax withheld (from paystubs) The IRS will contact the employer and may also send you a Form 4852 to file.

Just wanted to add my experience from a similar situation last year. I worked for a small landscaping company that went out of business before sending W-2s to anyone. Here's what worked for me: First, definitely use the TurboTax option for missing W-2s - it walks you through everything step by step. The key is having your last paystub since it shows your year-to-date totals for gross pay, federal withholding, state withholding, and FICA taxes. One thing I learned the hard way: make sure you include ALL the tax withholdings on your 4852, not just federal income tax. Don't forget Social Security and Medicare taxes (FICA) - these should also be on your paystub. I initially missed this and had to file an amended return. Also, keep detailed records of your attempts to contact the employer. I took screenshots of unanswered emails and kept a log of phone calls. The IRS agent I eventually spoke with said this documentation was helpful when they followed up with my former employer. Your $3,800 in wages means you definitely need to report this income, but the good news is that seasonal/temporary work situations like this are pretty common and the IRS is used to handling them with Form 4852.

Theres another aspect nobody mentioned - if your LLC is treated as an S-Corp for tax purposes (which many are), then completely different rules apply for redemptions! In that case, you're looking at stock redemption rules under sections 302 and 301 instead of partnership rules.

This is a really complex area that trips up a lot of people! One thing I want to emphasize that hasn't been fully covered - the timing of when you make a Section 754 election is crucial for redemptions. If your LLC doesn't have a 754 election in place at the time of the redemption, you generally can't get the step-up in inside basis that would benefit the remaining partners. The election has to be made by the due date of the return for the year the redemption occurs (including extensions). Without the 754 election, you end up in a situation where the redeemed partner's share of inside basis essentially disappears along with their outside basis, which can create some weird economic distortions for the continuing partners. They might be stuck with lower depreciation deductions than they should have based on what they effectively "paid" for the redeemed partner's share of assets. Also, make sure you're considering whether any of the redemption payments might be characterized as payments for unrealized receivables or goodwill under 736(a) - those get treated as guaranteed payments or distributive shares rather than distributions, which completely changes the tax treatment for the departing partner.

As someone who's been getting Robinhood 1099s for years now, my advice: look at page 1 or 2 for the summary section. It should have totals for short-term gains/losses, long-term gains/losses, dividends, and interest. Those are the big numbers that affect your taxes. Don't get lost in the transaction details unless you need to verify something specific.

One thing I learned the hard way with my first Robinhood 1099 - make sure to check if you have any state tax implications too! Some states don't tax capital gains at all, while others tax them as regular income. Also, if you made estimated tax payments during the year, don't forget to account for those when calculating what you might still owe. The federal tax estimate is just part of the picture. I ended up owing way less than I thought because I had forgotten about the quarterly payments I made through my business. Good luck with your first investment tax filing - it gets easier once you understand the format!

As a newcomer to this community, I have to say this thread has been incredibly helpful! I've been dealing with a similar passive loss situation and was getting completely overwhelmed trying to figure out the rules. What really clicked for me after reading through all these responses is that I was making this way more complicated than it needed to be. I kept trying to apply passive activity rules to everything, when really the first step is just figuring out whether you have capital losses or ordinary losses. I have about $8,000 in losses from selling a partnership interest at a loss, and I was worried I couldn't use those losses against my stock gains because they came from a "passive" investment. But based on what everyone's explained here, since these are capital losses from selling the partnership interest, they should go on Schedule D and can offset my other capital gains regardless of the passive/nonpassive classification. This is exactly the kind of real-world tax guidance I was looking for. The IRS publications are helpful but sometimes you need to hear from people who've actually been through these situations. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and knowledge - especially the tax professionals who broke down the technical details in plain English!

As someone new to this community and dealing with investment losses for the first time, I want to thank everyone for this incredibly thorough discussion! I've been struggling with a similar situation involving passive losses from a real estate syndication that went south, and I was completely lost on how to handle them on my tax return. What's been most helpful is understanding that the tax code essentially creates a hierarchy: capital vs. ordinary income/losses comes first, then passive vs. nonpassive rules apply within those categories. I was trying to apply passive activity rules to everything from my failed investment, when really I needed to first separate out what were capital losses (from my investment going to zero) versus what might be ordinary operating losses. Based on this discussion, it sounds like my capital losses from the syndication should be able to offset capital gains I have from other investments, even though the syndication was a passive activity. That's a huge relief because I was worried I'd have to wait years to use those losses! I'm definitely going to check out some of the resources mentioned here, especially the IRS publications and maybe even try reaching out through one of those services to get direct guidance. Sometimes you need that professional confirmation to feel confident about your tax position. Thanks again to everyone who shared their knowledge and experiences - this thread should be required reading for anyone dealing with investment losses!

I know this is a bit off-topic, but make sure you're also checking if you need to file an FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) if your US financial accounts exceeded $10,000 at any point during the year. That requirement is separate from income tax filing and applies to many non-residents with US accounts regardless of whether you owe any tax.

I went through this exact situation two years ago and can confirm what others have said about the 183-day rule. Since you had zero days of US presence, your capital gains from stock sales are not subject to US taxation as a non-resident alien. However, I'd strongly recommend keeping detailed records of your physical presence (or lack thereof) in the US. I maintained a simple spreadsheet with dates, locations, and even flight records showing I never entered the US that tax year. This documentation proved invaluable when I later had questions about my filing position. One thing to consider: if you had any taxes withheld at source on dividends or other income during the year, filing a 1040NR might actually get you a refund. But for pure capital gains with no US presence, you're correct that filing isn't required. Just make sure you understand the distinction between different types of income from your brokerage account.