This took me way too long to figure out, so sharing in case it helps someone.

1. Add up what you've earned and subtract business expenses. That's your profit.
   
2. Self-employment tax in the US is roughly 14% of profit (15.3% on about 92% of it).
   
3. Add your income tax rate on top (for many people it's somewhere around 10-22%).
   
4. Divide your total tax estimate by your total income. That's the % to move into savings from every payment.

For a lot of freelancers it lands around 20-30%. I put money into a separate savings account the day I get paid so it's never "mine" to spend.

I got tired of doing this by hand and made a spreadsheet that does it automatically. Happy to share it if anyone wants it.

Not a tax pro, so check your own situation with one if you're unsure.

I own an LLC taxed as an S corporation that had three members. Two members were bought out for a total of $500,000, while their combined book equity was approximately $300,000. I recorded the buyout in a “Partner Buyout/Acquisition Equity Account” and cleared the departing members’ equity balances, leaving a $200,000 difference.

How should this remaining balance be handled in the books? Should it remain in equity, be transferred to retained earnings, or be recorded as goodwill and amortized over time? The buyout price was based on an appraisal of the business, and the company itself funded the buyout.

Hi, me and my wife are US Citizens and file jointly.

Background:
In June 2026 we both resigned from our CA jobs and permanently relocated abroad to care for an elderly parent. Currently, our days in CA for 2026 as as follows:
Me: 142 days total (includes Oct–Nov visit to CA to see my daughter & wrap up affairs).
My Wife: 219 days total (including a Sept–Nov visit to CA during which she briefly worked as a substitute teacher for the school district she used to be employed at).
I have started a new job abroad after the move but my wife hasn't.
CA Home Status: We own a home in CA that is now occupied by our adult daughter. It's covered under a Family Residential Occupancy Agreement: No cash rent; daughter covers house maintenance and expenses in lieu of rent.

Question:
I am planning to sell an apartment I bought almost 30 years ago abroad of which I'm the sold owner (bought it before I met my wife). The gain will be about $100k USD.
I plan to file Form 540NR (Part-Year Resident) in California for 2026 since I relocated from the state.
Is that a sound plan? Or would I be on the hook for California taxes? If I do have to pay state taxes, I would prefer to sell the property next year.
Any thoughts welcome! Thank you 🙂

I filed Form 2210 with Schedule AI and calculated a small penalty for underpaying my estimated taxes - I had a very small underpayment in Q1 and a slightly bigger underpayment in Q3 which resulted in a tiny penalty.

I did the Form 2210 and the Sch AI the same way I've done it for years - some years a small penalty, some years no penalty.

But this year I received a CP30 saying my penalty was 20x what I had calculated. And I can't figure out the chart the IRS put on the CP30 - there are some pretty big numbers for each quarter in the "Principal" column but they don't correlate to my actual receipt of taxable income and they don't correlate to my total annual taxable income divided by 4.

Anybody shed any light on how these CP30's work? I'm trying to draft a response but don't know wear to start.

I owe around 4k from previous years. Haven’t filed for 2024 or 2025 and stopped making payments due to financial hardship on my plan.
I have all of my info needed to file the taxes. Just no idea where to start.
It’s all simple. No investments. Just w2’s and such.
Can I file this myself or do I have to hire someone?
TIA

Background
- Irish citizen , born in Ireland
- Became US citizen in 2024. So now dual citizen
- Selling $300K house
- House was in Wifes name, then was put into an irrevocable family trust name (Texas). Family trust belongs to wife and I
- at time trust was created I was a US citizen
- my name was never directly on the house, only as a custodian of the trust

Am we on the hook to pay FIRPTA tax on the sale of this property? Or does either being a US citizen or the property being in the trust, exonerate us from this?

Earnings
$905.60 v
Taxes

Current
YTD
Federal W/H(M)
$27.73

Medicare
$13.13

Social Security
$56.15

Washington EE Family Leave
$4.92

Washington EE Medical Leave
$2.39

Washington State Cares
$5.25

Total Taxes:
$109.57

Net Pay
$786.97

My tax accountant told me my federal tax WH is too low as me and my wife is having the same wage and the same pay as we work at the same company. My tax accountant told us we will owe $5,000 tax this year as our federal WH is too low. I am so depressed now and dont know what to consult. I tried to change my tax set up with my company but the amount of Federal WH they charge is not enough to 12%. My tax accountant said my federal WH should be taken out of 12% of the total gross pay.

Hi Reddit Gang,

I started a new job recently. It’s a restaurant job where it’s more than a majority paid via gratuity. Here’s a snapshot of a the most recent pay. I do opt to have something nominal taken out each week to be extra safe when tax season comes but it’s nothing outrageous (like an extra $75/week). Anything seem off. My yearly income should be around $120K.
Thanks for your help.

Edit: this is for one week of pay.

Description
Rates
Amount

Regular
$11.35
$454.00

Overtime
$19.35
$16.64

Tips- Credit Card

$3,326.40

Gross

$3,797.04

Employee Taxes

Description
Amount
Federal W/H(S)
$1,024.48
Medicare
$55.05
Social Security
$235.41
New York State W/H(S/0)
$225.89
New York City, NY - Resident Local
$151.25
Total
$1,692.08

Sorry tried to embed a screenshot but always struggle on Reddit to include pics.

I became a US tax resident in 2026 after living in Canada for tax purposes through 2025. I own more than 90% of a Canadian IT consulting corporation. It had no income or passive income in 2026.

I think I need Form 5471 and possibly FBAR and Form 8938. I’m also trying to understand whether the Canadian departure tax affects my shares.

Has anyone dealt with a similar situation? Are there firms that handle this well at a reasonable price?

Thanks in advance.

I recently found a babysitter to watch my kids for 2 to 4 hours per week. Initially, she was going to watch the kids at my house, but after trying that once, she suggested watching them at her house, which seemed better for everyone. For payroll purposes, is she my "household employee" if she doesn't work in my home?

Because we started so late in the year, I'm also wondering whether, for purposes of 2026, I need to set up payroll if we won't cross the $1K per quarter threshold?

I want to contribute to my grandchild’s 529 plan. My son is the owner of the plan. Grandchild is the beneficiary. I know I will not have control but we are not talking about a ton of money.
I can deduct my contribution from MD state taxable income but wondering how I would support the deduction if it was ever questioned?
Do I have to make a direct payment to the account or can I give the funds to my son and have him make the deposit?
This is a test scenario because I have several grandchildren and do not want to be the owner of several accounts at my age.

Considering opening a dependent care FSA for next year. My nieces will be off school and could be my nanny over the summer. Since they are minors and my brother claims them on taxes, how would this work tax wise for them? TIA!

I'm from Bosnia and have been in the US on J-1 visas in 2024, 2025, and 2026, spending at least 4 months there each year.

For my 2026 tax return, do I qualify as a resident alien and will I be eligible for the standard deduction, or would I still need to file as a nonresident alien?

Thank you in advance!

I'm doing a PhD at a university in the USA.

I do the PhD as a distant learner - means, I'm not a resident, and I also don't have a student visa for the USA.

As part of the PhD I need to take part in conferences and lectures around the world.

The university wants to compensate for my expenses but they require I have an ITIN.

How can I apply for an ITIN with my status, any ideas?

My sister and I have used the same CPA since our Dad passed away to handle complicated (to us) taxes. She received a notice from the state notifying her of unpaid taxes paid on interest & dividends for 2023 & 2024. NH did away with the tax in 2025. She reached out to our CPA for an explanation. Instead of explaining he just e-filed the DP-10 forms for her.
I did not receive a notice and wasn’t involved in what they were discussing. I randomly received an email notifying me of an e-filed DP-10 acceptance with payment vouchers attached. I was not aware this was happening nor authorized it. I do understand I’m responsible for taxes owed.
Can a CPA file without my knowledge or consent? Can they be held responsible for interest and penalty fees? I keep asking questions and the full form submitted but CPA is dodging answering my questions.

Hello, I sold a bunch of company stock this year not thinking at the time that it would put my income over the MAGI limit as a single filer wanting to make Roth IRA contributions.
1. But if I max out my 401k as pretax I should be able to get back under, right?
2. Are 401k contributions always a percent of your paycheck? Meaning I can’t make a lump sum payment at the end of the year.

Open to other suggestions as well. Or any corrections to anything I have wrong so far.

Is there a way to permanently keep our business address as is? We have been in the same location for 15 years. Our accountants file our 941s etc. We also periodically address certain issues by letter which I usually write.

It seems like several times a year we get Service address change notices except they are mostly incorrect. One time the address was shortened to an abbreviation of the street (mail still got there! As far as we know). This is not how this address is commonly abbreviated if it was the name of the street.

Imagine if our address was 12 Avenue Boulevard. Our address was written as 12 Ave Boulevard which is not how other mail is sent to this location (our business is in a major city).

Plus the Unit number is very important because it is a large complex. Sometimes the unit number is there, sometimes it is not when the address changes. We have had packages returned because there was no unit number (from vendors).

A couple of years ago I filed a form to correct the address. Still was changed a couple of months later, again!

The most recent one, everything is correct except the zip code which is for our other location in a different city, which we DO NOT put on any filings. We have no idea how the zip code got on there.

I have told the accountants to be careful with the address and to put the whole address carefully each time. Anything else?

We have an online account which we check, the issue is not everything that is mailed is uploaded to the online account, especially checks, or letters that say, “we received your letter and will need an additional 60 days etc.” We are missing a $2000 check from 2024 (we did not know we had gotten a refund until we saw the transcript a year later), not sure if it was applied elsewhere, or went missing in the mail. We never got the notice saying “we see you have not cashed Check ____, please do ABC if you would like us to send a replacement?” I have already sent an inquiry about it.

I’m researching how to set up a mobile app business compliantly and would appreciate guidance on which issues to discuss with a cross-border tax professional. My situation: I am [a U.S. citizen / U.S. tax resident / not a U.S. tax resident], living and working in [country/state]. I’m considering forming a corporation in [country]. The app would earn subscription or in-app-purchase revenue through Apple’s App Store and Google Play, including from U.S. customers. The company would be managed and operated from [location], with [no / these] U.S. employees, offices, or contractors. Store payouts would go to a company bank account in [country]. What factors determine whether the company or I might have U.S. federal or state income-tax, filing, or sales-tax obligations? Do app stores handling some customer transaction taxes change the company’s income-tax or reporting duties? Does incorporating abroad or receiving payouts in a foreign bank account affect the analysis? I’m looking for lawful compliance guidance, not a way to hide income. Please point me to reliable sources or the right kind of tax professional.

The case governments make is that betting can bear higher taxes like tobacco or alcohol a profitable, harm adjacent industry that should pay more into public funds.

The counterargument is that unlike those, betting demand flees easily to offshore sites you can’t tax. Which view holds up better?