My toilet lid finally broke today, and it took me the entire afternoon fixing it. The thing has been wobblying for a while, and I knew it was the hinge that was giving out, not a loose screw or anything. Otherwise, that would have been an easy fix.
Replacing toilet lids isn't a difficult task or anything, but I kept fumbling my way throughout the process. For starters, I thought my toilet was regular sized, so I bought a regular sized lid. However, it turns out that it's actually elongated, so I had to drive back to the store. Halfway driving back, I realized I left my recipt at home, so I had to drive home again, get the receipt, and drive back to the store again for the right size.
Not that it might be of use to anyone else, but when it comes to toilet lids, please don't buy Bemis (that the previous owner had installed). Although it is only my personal and limited experience here, but Bemis lids require a ratchet wrench and the right sized hex nut to do the job correctly. Because I don't have such a wrench, unscrewing it with a crescent wrench was such a pain in the butt. And that's assuming the hinge is durable enough in the first place. Instead, I replaced it with a Kohler, which only requires a philips screwdriver at most, and I didn't even use that for the install!
(edit: Just realized that the Kohler lid squeaks a lot! I hope I can get used to this, or somehow this goes away. Kohler is what's recommended online too.)
Shifting gears, earlier this morning, I also received a much more helpful email about my 990-T situation, which is unfortunately still unresolved. I already learned earlier that having an MLP in my Roth is going to incur penalties, so I got rid of the position. Unfortunately, I didn't know exactly what and how much, but now I know. The new email reveals that I owe the IRS almost $17k in Unrelated Business Taxable Income (UBTI). Ok, wow, that's such a big "good" problem. My investments did well at least, to have incurred such a bill in the first place, but that is seriously going to drain out my emergency fund money. So yeah, I will need to get this paid in the near future. Talk about an expensive lesson, no more MLPs for me!
June 18th, 2026 at 10:24 pm 1781821493
Sorry about draining your emergency fund, but at least you have the money.
June 19th, 2026 at 08:38 pm 1781901496
Anyways, is the IRA at a custodian like Schwab or Fidelity? The custodian files the 990-T on your behalf and uses cash from your Roth to pay the tax.
Here's from a post for tax pros:
"In a typical custodian scenario, the custodian notifies the taxpayer that it will remit a specific tax amount with Form 990-T. Custodians often calculate the tax first, then debit the IRA and send the payment. Until the debit posts, the client's online balance may appear unchanged, even though a tax payment is pending.
The tax is owed by the IRA, not by the individual who owns it. The custodian should pay the tax from IRA assets, either from existing cash or by selling holdings inside the IRA. Because the tax is paid within the account, there is usually no Form 1099-R, Distributions From Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts, etc., and no taxable distribution to the client. The practical effect is that the IRA's value will drop by the amount of the tax and any related fees once the payment is processed."
Call the custodian to confirm, of course.
June 21st, 2026 at 01:08 am 1782004091
Dido: I don't remember exactly what I wrote, but basically, my previous ownership of a MLP position in my Roth account is what's causing me the 990-T tax penalty. At the time, I didn't learn or at least understand that all at once, so it's possible I only mentioned bits of it previously, because that was all that I had understood at the time. Anyway yes, it's all tied together.
I'm glad that you commented here, because I didn't realize that they would be taking money out of the Roth, rather than me having to pay separately. I wish they made that detail clear in the email. Just to be super clear here, when you say custodians, you are referring to my investment firm, right? And that they will automatically take care of it for me? Will I also need to sell some positions to clear the cash for the payment? Or are they going to do it for me automatically? Based on your quote, that sounds like that is what is going to happen.
Also, last year, I eventually noticed that money was taken out of my Roth, presumably to pay for that previous year's tax penalty. Again, I didn't fully understand what was going on at the time, but I can only assume they will do the same again this year. Once again, I've already gotten rid of this position, so this should be the last year I have to deal with this headache.
Thanks again, for your helpful comment! I really appreciate it.
June 21st, 2026 at 06:39 pm 1782067184
As I said, confirm with your custodian that they will be taking care of it for you. I believe they will take care of selling a position to raise cash so that you won't have to take action, same as last year. So you can sit easy with your emergency fund intact.
June 21st, 2026 at 06:59 pm 1782068381
If you want to get back into that space, there are ETFs that themselves invest in MLPs. That way you get some of the tax efficiency of the MLP passed through to you on the 1099, with the simplicity of 1099-B tax reporting.
June 22nd, 2026 at 12:15 am 1782087327
I looked into this some more, and it would appear that I do need to manually sell some positions and clear the cash for my er Custodian to pay for this. So, that is what I will be doing this coming week.
As for MLPs, nah I'm done with it. Even if I'm OK with holding oil/energy positions, I basically sold at a good time, what with all this Iran and Strait of Hormuz uncertainty causing gas prices to go up. So, I am pleased to have sold high, but I don't want to buy back in high, and the whole thing is just too volatile for me anyway.