User Submitted Tax Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I claim myself as a dependent

Family Issues

25,651 received from death in family

My wife received an IRA benefit of 25651 from her mother she wants to withdraw either all of it or portions of it as she was given a time frame to dissolve it. Will this affect us negatively next year.

Investment and Finance

Retirement Accounts Beneficiary Selection

I live in Texas. My goal is to avoid probate. My beneficiaries are my four adult children and a 501(c)(3). Are there any disadvantages to naming my Living Trust as the beneficiary of my retirement accounts? I have an IRA, a Roth IRA, and a 403b.

Retirement

Retirement Accounts Beneficiary

I live in Texas. Are there any disadvantages to naming my Living Trust as the beneficiary of my retirement accounts? I have a Traditional IRA, a Roth IRA, and a 403b.

Bookkeeping & Write-up

How do I report items purchased for resale in one year but are not sold until the next year?

Credits

Is a refund to me considered income

I purchased inventory for my business. I later returned some of it to the supplier I bought it from, and received a partial refund. Is that refund money considered income?

Tax Forms

K-1 1041 form

K-1 1041. There's an amount in 1, 5, 11d, 12a and j, 14 e and h. What do I need to do for 2023 taxes. I tried looking for what I need to do with it. Some things said to file, some said not to. I won't have any other taxes to report as I have and will be unemployed for this year. How do I figure out how much I might need to pay?

Deductions and Write-Offs

Paying charities for advertising/affiliate referrals

I have a small online business (singer-member LLC) in Oregon selling pet products. I would like to set up an affiliate program and partner with animal shelters. The idea is to create a coupon code unique to a particularly animal shelter which the shelter can then share with their adopters. When someone uses the coupon code to buy from my website, the shopper would receive a 10% discount, and additionally, 10% of the sale would be given back to the shelter (via a check mailed out quarterly from my business bank account). So, this is a pretty standard affiliate program except that participation is limited to nonprofit organizations. How do I handle the tax side of this, and what headaches can I expect? My understanding is that my payment to the shelter would not be considered a donation, and I should just deduct it as a regular advertising expense. Is it that simple? Does it make any difference if the shelter is a 501(c)(3) or not? And how do I avoid creating any headaches for the shelter organization (accepting payments for services vs accepting donations)? Thank you for your time!

Payments and Penalties

PA penalty abatement for reasonable cause? (Not 1st-time abatement)

Hi. Does PA offer an abatement of penalties/interest for Reasonable Cause? (As opposed to a First-Time Abatement of penalties, which I'm not eligible for.)

Tax Filing Tips

W4 Status

I have a spouse who passed away in April of this year. We always filed jointly. I will be returning to the workforce next month and need to know how to fill out my w4 appropriately. Should I use single or married filing jointly for this year. I would prefer to not have to change it later if possible. We have no dependents.