Unanswered Tax Questions

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.

Personal Taxes

Issue with offer in compromise

I have an offer in compromise that was accepted by the IRS. I was told I have to stay in compliance with filing taxes for the next 5 years. In California we were given an extension to file taxes until October 16th, but I received a letter from the IRS saying I was not in compliance in filing my taxes by April 15th

Payments and Penalties

Help can I recover my money from another’s mistake

I am a independent contractor, a tax service prepared my taxes for the last two years I owe the IRS, a certain amount of money, and I do have an arrangement with them to pay the back taxes. the service I used made a mistake and it cost me over $6500 in over paid taxes. The IRS does not want to give me my money back because I owe them that much even though I unintentionally paid it due to the mistake of the tax preparer, my question is, do I have any recourse with the tax preparer to get my money back for their mistake, thanks for the help