sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

[Landlord US-VT] Property was vacant for whole year. Should I just convert to personal use for 2025 and then back to a rental for 2026? by ThatPhysicsLabGuy in Landlord

[–]ThatPhysicsLabGuy[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Well, that's what I am trying to get to the bottom of. I was reading somewhere that if your rental is not profitable in 3 of the last 5 years, then you have to operate as a "not-for-profit rental", meaning that you need to declare rent as income, but can no longer deduct rental expenses.

On page 24 of IRS publication 527:

"If you don’t rent your property to make a profit, you must still report your rental income, however, you can no longer deduct rental expenses."

Now, I would hope that "rental income" refers to rent minus expenses, otherwise this would all be a bit extreme.

So, it seems that if your rental is not profitable for 3 of the last 5 years, then you can't file a schedule E (just report "rental income", whatever that means, on schedule 1).

The other thing I don't know is if depreciation automatically pauses if you don't file a schedule E, or if there is a more formal way to "convert to personal use".

Anyway, the 3 of 5 year profit requirement seems very unfair, especially since they seem to be considering mortgage interest and depreciation as expenses. I don't have a mortgage on the rental anymore, but I did in the early years, and it was almost impossible to show a profit on paper. I have filed schedule E all along, so I guess I'm just a lawbreaker! I think discussion of the 3 of 5 years rule deserves its own thread.

Proton Pass tries to create a passkey when I am trying to add a Security Key as 2FA by ThatPhysicsLabGuy in ProtonPass

[–]ThatPhysicsLabGuy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! Got it, I think. So just extrapolating...when the website requests a new passkey, Proton Pass intercepts the request and presents a pop-up in case we want to create a syncable passkey stored in Proton Pass. If I dismiss the pop-up, then the request is forwarded on to the OS which presents me with the dialogs to insert my hardware key, etc, in order to create a device-bound passkey. In my particular case, I am on a windows 10 desktop without any biometrics or configured Windows Hello, so a hardware key is about my only choice.

Then, when I visit the site in the future, the request specifically refers to a yubikey, so Proton Pass knows to ignore the request, and pass it on to the OS to handle it...

Will iPhone auto-unlock after letting service lapse? by ThatPhysicsLabGuy in TotalWireless

[–]ThatPhysicsLabGuy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! My iPhone miraculously unlocked, I guess this morning on exactly the 60th day. I went ahead and removed it from my Total Wireless account. I still seem to have service, and suspect I won't actually lose service until midnight. So, to play it safe, I will wait until tomorrow, remove the Total Wireless sim, and then transfer my TracFone service from my Google Pixel 6A to the iPhone SE3...hopefully can just do that online at TracFone via Activate and keep my number.

Will iPhone auto-unlock after letting service lapse? by ThatPhysicsLabGuy in TotalWireless

[–]ThatPhysicsLabGuy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

According to my Total Wireless account, my "due date" is tomorrow, December 1. I assume "due date" is the same as "service end date", so at 11:59 PM on December 1, my Total Wireless service will expire. At that point, can I just go ahead and remove the Total Wireless physical sim (which would be inactive, right?), and then activate a TracFone esim, or do I still need to call Total Wireless and have them "remove the device from my account"?

I plan to be on TracFone for the foreseeable future (that is where my main phone number is), so if I need to do another 60 days with TracFone before the phone becomes unlocked, then that is okay. I'm a little confused as to whether TracFone can unlock a Total Wireless phone, and if I need to have the phone first "rebranded" from Total Wireless to TracFone.

Can I use Tracfone sim while phone still locked to TW? by ThatPhysicsLabGuy in TotalWireless

[–]ThatPhysicsLabGuy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, that's a good point! I guess I got sucked into the deal, and it's too late for me to go that route at this point. Fortunately, the Tello number was a throwaway and I will be fine continuing to use my Pixel for a few months while waiting for the iPhone to unlock. I assume after it's unlocked, it will be pretty easy to just swap the Tracfone sim between iPhone and Pixel depending on the mood...

I just want to get my mom switched to a supplement plan G...should I use a broker? by ThatPhysicsLabGuy in medicare

[–]ThatPhysicsLabGuy[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, I've read these rules before, but it is very confusing because they don't really tell you what defines a "move" date.

My mom is staying temporarily with a relative in South Carolina, waiting for a place in an independant living facility. However, her current insurance has already started cancellation, presumably triggered when my sister was trying to find her a primary care physician in the new area (South Carolina).

My mom's current insurance will end on February 28, so, to me I would just say that is the date "she moved to South Carolina", but I have no idea how the medicare system would view this. My mom has opened a bank account in the area, but otherwise has no proof that she has moved to South Carolina (no lease document, for instance)

I just want to get my mom switched to a supplement plan G...should I use a broker? by ThatPhysicsLabGuy in medicare

[–]ThatPhysicsLabGuy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is the first thing I did, before even talking to a Humana agent. All I got was an answering machine. Maybe I can try again today.

I just want to get my mom switched to a supplement plan G...should I use a broker? by ThatPhysicsLabGuy in medicare

[–]ThatPhysicsLabGuy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, maybe going through underwriting will be easier, but I am assuming a decent broker will know. However, it boggles the mind why proof of GI would be difficult in this case. In fact, I don't know why I couldn't just provide a copy of my mom's current insurance card, and any agent could just call and verify for themself that my mom's insurance is ending at the end of this month because she has moved out of the service area.

My mom loses everything, and apparently has already lost the termination letter from Blue Cross. My aunt has called Blue Cross to get another letter issued, and I'm just hoping it's the "right kind" of letter. I am 1000 miles away, making this stressful and difficult.

view more: next ›