I'm at week 13 of waiting for my injured spouse refund and wanted to add my experience to this incredibly helpful thread! Filed Form 8379 with my joint return in mid-February, and like so many others here, my state refund (North Carolina) processed in about 3 weeks while federal remains stuck in processing limbo. Following the excellent advice shared here, I pulled my account transcript around week 10 and found TC 570 and TC 971 codes that actually showed progress was being made - something the useless "Where's My Refund" tool never indicated. When I called the IRS armed with these specific codes and cycle dates, I finally got a helpful agent who confirmed my injured spouse allocation had been calculated and my case was in the final review stage. What's been most valuable about this discussion is learning that 11-14+ weeks is genuinely normal for these claims, not a sign that something went wrong. The IRS really needs to be upfront about these realistic timelines instead of letting people panic when they hit week 6-8 with no updates. The manual review process for injured spouse allocations is just inherently slow, especially during busy season. For anyone just starting this journey - file electronically, check your transcript around week 8-10 for actual processing details, and don't let the generic "still processing" messages drive you crazy. This community has provided more practical guidance than any official resource, and it's reassuring to know we're all navigating the same frustrating but ultimately successful process!

I'm just getting started with the injured spouse process myself - filed Form 8379 with my joint return about 3 weeks ago and already feeling anxious about the timeline! Reading through everyone's experiences here has been incredibly eye-opening and honestly a huge relief. I had no idea that 11-14+ weeks was normal for these claims - I was expecting the typical 21-day refund timeline and would have been in full panic mode by week 6 without finding this discussion. The tip about checking account transcripts for TC codes around week 8-10 is brilliant advice that I never would have known about otherwise. It's so frustrating that the IRS doesn't clearly communicate these realistic timelines upfront. The "Where's My Refund" tool apparently gives you nothing useful, but at least I know now that doesn't mean something's wrong. My state return is still processing too, so I don't even have that small win yet, but it sounds like state and federal move on completely different timelines anyway. Thank you to everyone who's shared their real experiences and timelines - this community discussion has been more helpful than hours of searching official IRS resources. I'll definitely be checking back to share updates as I progress through this lengthy but apparently normal process!

Has anyone found a way to get the Excel formulas for Box 12 to properly link to the right forms? My template has fields for the codes but doesnt seem to do anything with them lol.

I've been using Excel templates for my taxes for about 3 years now and have learned a few things about handling Box 12 codes the hard way! The key is understanding that Box 12 codes fall into different categories: some reduce your current taxable income (like Code D for 401k), some require additional forms (Code W needs Form 8889 for HSA), and some are just informational (like Code AA for Roth contributions). For your specific situation with codes D, W, and AA - Code D doesn't need any action since it's already excluded from your Box 1 wages. Code W will need Form 8889 if you want to deduct HSA contributions. Code AA is just tracking info for your Roth contributions. Most basic Excel templates don't handle the complexity of linking these codes to the right forms automatically. You might want to create a simple reference sheet in your workbook that lists each code, its purpose, and which form it affects. This has saved me from making costly mistakes in previous years. If your template doesn't have built-in logic for these codes, you're essentially doing manual tax prep with Excel as a calculator - which can work but requires you to really understand the tax rules.

One more thing to consider - if you do end up filing jointly to get the EITC, make sure you calculate your income correctly. I got audited last year because my husband and I didn't include some of his gig work income, and it changed our EITC amount. The IRS is really strict about EITC claims.

I went through this exact situation two years ago! The rules are frustrating but clear - you cannot claim EITC when married filing separately if you're living together. I learned this the hard way when I tried to file separately to maximize my refund. However, I'd strongly recommend running the numbers both ways before deciding. Even without the EITC, filing separately might still make sense in your situation, especially with your husband's old tax debt. But honestly, when I calculated everything (including the EITC we'd lose), filing jointly saved us about $2,800 more than filing separately, even after accounting for some complications. The injured spouse form (8379) that Alana mentioned is definitely worth looking into if you're worried about your refund being seized for his debt. That way you could potentially file jointly, keep the EITC, and still protect your portion of the refund. It's a bit more paperwork, but it might be the best solution for your situation.

Just logged into my account too and seeing the exact same thing - $0.00 balance across all years and the site is running SO much better than it has in weeks! No more error messages or endless loading screens. The fact that literally everyone is reporting the same experience after this maintenance period has me thinking they might actually be making real progress behind the scenes. The improved performance alone tells me they did more than just basic maintenance - they seem to have fixed some serious backend issues. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much, but when you combine the system improvements + universal $0.00 balances + that disclaimer about recently processed returns not being reflected yet... it really does feel like they might be actively working through the backlog right now. Has anyone checked if the "Get Transcript" section is working better too? That might give us a clearer picture of what's actually happening with our returns.

Just wanted to chime in as another data point - I'm seeing the exact same thing! Logged in around noon today and my account shows $0.00 across all tax years (2022-2024) after getting those frustrating "system unavailable" messages all morning. What really stands out to me is how much faster everything is loading now. Usually it takes forever to even get past the login screen, but today everything loaded instantly. That combined with everyone reporting identical experiences makes me think this wasn't just routine maintenance. I'm cautiously hopeful that the system improvements + the $0.00 balances + that disclaimer about recently processed returns not being reflected yet means they're actually working through our returns behind the scenes. The timing feels too coincidental to just be random maintenance. Still trying to manage expectations though - we've been disappointed before! But at least we can actually access our accounts again without those error messages. That's progress in itself 🤞

Just wanted to add another perspective on this - I think the confusion comes from how different tax software and employers use terminology. Some payroll systems will actually label things differently than what appears on your official W-2. For example, my company's payroll portal shows "Taxable Wages" but that's actually referring to what becomes Box 1 on my W-2 (after pre-tax deductions). Then when I use tax software, it asks for "W-2 wages" which is again referring to Box 1. The key thing to remember is that Box 1 is your starting point for tax calculations, but it's not your final taxable income. You'll still need to account for other income sources, above-the-line deductions to get AGI, and then standard/itemized deductions to get your actual taxable income. I found it helpful to think of it as a funnel - your gross pay gets reduced by pre-tax deductions to become Box 1, then Box 1 gets combined with other income and adjusted to become AGI, then AGI gets reduced by deductions to become taxable income. Each step serves a different purpose in the tax calculation.

I was in the exact same boat last tax season! What finally helped me understand this was realizing that your W-2 is essentially a summary of what your employer already withheld and reported to the IRS throughout the year, but it's not your complete tax picture. Think of Box 1 on your W-2 as your "employer-reported taxable wages" - it's your gross pay minus the pre-tax stuff your employer handled (401k, health insurance, etc.). But your actual tax calculation starts fresh on your 1040 form where you report ALL your income sources, not just your W-2. So yes, you're absolutely right that W-2 Box 1 is essentially your AGI if you only have W-2 income and no other adjustments. Then you subtract your standard deduction from that AGI to get your taxable income. The reason Box 1 isn't already reduced by the standard deduction is because the IRS wants to see your full income picture first (AGI), then apply deductions. This also allows people to choose between standard and itemized deductions based on what's most beneficial for their situation. Your understanding is spot on - you just needed confirmation that you were thinking about it correctly!