All Posts

Hi, I’m currently trying to file my Canadian tax return using TurboTax, but I’m running into an issue with getting support. I worked in Canada last year from January to August and have my T4, but I have since moved back to Mexico and no longer have a Canadian phone number. Because of this, I’m unable to schedule a call with a TurboTax expert, as the system seems to require a Canadian number. I would appreciate guidance on two things: How can I access support or speak with an expert without a Canadian phone number? Are there any specific steps I should follow in TurboTax for filing a departure return as someone who left Canada mid-year and is now a non-resident? Any help or direction would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hello! For 2025, I can contribute up to $9550 to my HSA including catch-up. Through Oct 2025, my payroll deductions were $8000. My employer however transferred about $1800 more into my HSA account by error even though they did not withhold that amount from my paychecks. I was planning on contributing the remaining $1550 myself but the HSA trustee is indicating that there is already an excess contribution of $250 to my account that I must withdraw before April 15th to avoid excise tax. The 5498-SA from the trustee would have the $9800 amount reported to the IRS. I understand that an employer can withdraw the erroneous contribution any time. So my conundrum is whether or not I should contribute the $1550 myself into a different HSA account in anticipation of my employer withdrawing the excess contribution. If I do contribute, is there a way to indicate to the IRS that there has been an erroneous contribution that must be returned to the employer.  If I don't contribute and also proceed to withdraw the excess contribution of $250, and then later my former employer withdraws the erroneous contributions, I would have missed out on maxing out my contributions and miss the deduction. The twist here is that in Oct 2025 my former employer went out of business and I am unable to contact them anymore.  Thanks.  

Each year, I pay about $1,000 in self-employment tax for what are essentially royalties from comedy /spoken word albums that I recorded over 20 years ago, but still generate income from SoundExchange (Pandora radio and Sirius/XM airplay) and income from a distributor (Tunecore) that collects revenue from sites like Amazon and iTunes. Both send me 1099-MISC tax forms at the end of the year. However, according to Google, "Royalties are subject to self-employment tax only if they are earned as part of an active trade or business. If your royalties are business income, you report them on Schedule C and pay self-employment tax. If they are considered passive investment income—such as royalties from property you own but did not create yourself—they are typically reported on Schedule E and are not subject to self-employment tax." Am I considered running an 'active business'?  I really don't do anything other than sit around and watch the income come in.   

I have a job where most of the pay is tips, all of which come in my paycheck and are on my W2. Overtime premium is not listed on the W2, but I have that information on my year end pay stub.   When I try to enter this into Turbo Tax, I get an error: "Manually entered overtime should not be greater than one-third of W-2 Box 1 (Wages) minus W-2 Box 7 (Social Security tips)"   The problem is, the box 1 has my total wages+tips MINUS what I put into my 401k, so that number is actually lower than what is in box 7.  Box 5 is what actually has my gross wages+tips.   Is this a bug in the software or did my employer fill out the W2 incorrectly? Is there any workaround?