I totally understand the confusion! I work in government benefits administration and see questions like this all the time. The "fed-prov/terr Canada" deposit you received is definitely a legitimate government benefit payment - most likely the GST/HST credit, Canada Workers Benefit, or a provincial climate action payment. These deposits can seem random because they're based on your previous year's tax return, not your current job situation. So your new second job wouldn't trigger this payment, but it might affect your eligibility for benefits when you file next year's taxes. The quickest way to identify exactly what this payment is for is to call the CRA's automated telephone information service at 1-800-387-1193. You just need your SIN and it will tell you all recent benefit payments without any wait time. No need to stress about setting up online accounts or waiting on hold for hours. Most importantly - don't worry about having to pay this back! If the CRA deposited money into your account, you're entitled to it based on your tax filing. These aren't accidental overpayments. The government systems are quite accurate when it comes to benefit eligibility and payments.

I completely understand your confusion - those unexpected government deposits can be really nerve-wracking when you don't know what they're for! Based on your description and the "fed-prov/terr Canada" label, this is almost certainly a legitimate benefit payment you're entitled to. The timing with your second job is just coincidence since these payments are calculated from your previous year's tax return. However, that second job might actually work in your favor for next year's benefits depending on your total income bracket. I'd definitely recommend trying the automated phone line at 1-800-387-1193 that several people mentioned - it's by far the easiest way to identify the payment without waiting on hold or dealing with websites. Just enter your SIN and you'll know exactly what it is within minutes. Don't stress about spending the money - if the CRA deposited it, you've earned it based on your tax filing. These systems are pretty accurate and they don't send payments by mistake. Once you know what specific benefit it is, you'll also know if you can expect similar payments throughout the year. It's actually kind of nice to get these surprise reminders that filing your taxes properly pays off!

I've been following this thread with great interest since I'm in a similar situation with my two kids. What strikes me most is how many different angles people have found to approach this problem - from checking state transportation laws to identifying related deductible expenses. After reading all the responses, I realize I've been too narrowly focused on trying to deduct the basic daily school transportation miles. Instead, I should be looking at the bigger picture of ALL education-related expenses and transportation to see what might legitimately qualify. For instance, I drive my youngest to speech therapy twice a week that was recommended by the school for his developmental delays - those miles could potentially qualify as medical deductions. I also volunteer at the school library once a month and attend monthly school board meetings to advocate for special needs resources - those might qualify for charitable mileage deductions. The key takeaway for me is documentation and categorization. I'm going to start tracking everything separately rather than just seeing it all as "school driving." Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and expertise - this has been incredibly educational!

This has been such an enlightening discussion! As someone who drives 15 miles daily for school transport, I came here feeling frustrated about the lack of tax relief. But reading through everyone's experiences has completely changed my approach. I'm particularly grateful for the tax preparer's advice about detailed record-keeping and categorizing different types of school-related trips. I never realized that while basic transportation isn't deductible, related activities might be. For example, I drive my son to weekly tutoring sessions recommended by his teacher for reading comprehension issues - those could potentially qualify as educational or even medical expenses if there's a learning disability diagnosis. Also, the success story about challenging the district's transportation policies was inspiring. I'm going to research our state's requirements since we live 4 miles from school and have never been offered bus service. What I love most about this community is how we've collectively turned a "no, you can't deduct that" answer into a comprehensive strategy for maximizing legitimate deductions and ensuring we're getting the services we're legally entitled to. Sometimes the best tax advice isn't about creative deductions - it's about understanding all your options and rights!

This is such valuable information! I wish more parents knew about this scholarship exception. Just to add one more important detail - make sure you understand the difference between "tax-free" scholarships and "taxable" scholarships when calculating your penalty-free withdrawal amount. If your daughter received scholarships that exceeded her qualified education expenses, that excess amount would be considered taxable income to her. You can only take penalty-free 529 withdrawals up to the amount of tax-free scholarships she received. So if she got $30K in scholarships but only $25K was tax-free (because $5K exceeded her qualified expenses), you could only withdraw $25K penalty-free from the 529. This is a nuance that trips up a lot of families, so definitely worth double-checking with the school's financial aid office or a tax professional if you're unsure about the tax treatment of any specific scholarships.

Great question about the scholarship tax treatment! You're absolutely right that this can get complicated with multiple scholarships from different sources. Most schools will provide a Form 1098-T that shows the total scholarships/grants received and qualified tuition/fees paid, but they typically don't break down which specific scholarships were applied to qualified expenses versus excess amounts that became taxable income to your daughter. Here's what I'd recommend: Start by gathering all scholarship award letters and your daughter's 1098-T forms for each year. Then compare the total scholarship amounts to her qualified education expenses (tuition, fees, required books/supplies). Any scholarship money that exceeded those qualified expenses would have been taxable income to her (and should have been reported on her tax returns). You're spot-on that professional help can be valuable here - a tax professional can help you reconstruct this analysis for each year and ensure you're calculating the correct penalty-free withdrawal amount. The stakes are high enough with potential penalties and interest that getting expert guidance is often worth the cost, especially when dealing with multiple years and substantial amounts. The key is being conservative and well-documented. When in doubt, it's better to withdraw slightly less than risk penalties on an overly aggressive interpretation.

I'm dealing with this exact same issue right now! Just started a new job two weeks ago and my federal withholding seems way higher than expected. I'm also single with no dependents and one job, but I made the mistake of leaving everything blank except the basic info. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful - especially the explanation about how leaving the optional sections blank defaults to "single with 0 allowances" equivalent. That explains why so much is being taken out compared to my previous job where I claimed 2 allowances. I'm definitely going to try the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator first since it's free and seems to be the most accurate approach. The $8,600 deduction amount that several people mentioned gives me a good starting point to expect, but I want to make sure I get the exact right number for my salary. Has anyone here had experience with how long HR departments typically take to process W4 changes? I'm hoping to get this sorted out quickly since I'm losing a significant amount from each paycheck right now.

I'm going through this exact situation right now too! Just switched jobs last month and was completely thrown off by the new W4. Like many others here, I left the optional sections blank and my first paycheck had way more federal taxes taken out than I expected. The explanation about how leaving sections blank defaults to "0 allowances" equivalent really clicked for me - no wonder the withholding felt so high compared to my old job where I also claimed 2 allowances. I just finished using the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator that everyone's been recommending, and it was actually much simpler than I anticipated. Took about 15 minutes with my pay stub and last year's tax return. For my situation (single, one job, ~$65K salary), it recommended putting $8,400 in Step 4(b), which is pretty close to that $8,600 rule of thumb people mentioned. Planning to submit the updated W4 to my HR department tomorrow. Really appreciate everyone sharing their experiences - it's so helpful to know I'm not the only one confused by this transition from the old allowances system!

One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet is the AMT (Alternative Minimum Tax) implications. Investment interest deductions that are allowed for regular tax purposes might be treated differently under AMT calculations. If you're subject to AMT, some of your investment interest deductions could be disallowed or limited further. Also, make sure you're not double-counting any expenses. For example, if you paid property taxes with the loan proceeds, you can't deduct both the property tax payment AND claim the loan interest as deductible - the interest portion used for property taxes would be non-deductible personal interest. Another consideration is state tax implications. Some states don't conform to federal rules for investment interest or home equity interest deductions, so you might need to make adjustments on your state return even if everything is properly handled federally. The allocation method you choose needs to be reasonable and consistently applied. Whatever approach you use for dividing the interest expense, document your methodology thoroughly in case you need to defend it later. The IRS appreciates clear, logical allocation methods backed by solid documentation.

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm dealing with a similar situation where I used a margin loan for multiple purposes. One additional consideration I wanted to mention is the wash sale rule implications if you're using loan proceeds to buy stocks. If you sell stocks at a loss and then use your margin loan to repurchase the same or substantially identical securities within 30 days, the wash sale rule could disallow the loss deduction, which would affect your net investment income calculation for Form 4952. This could indirectly impact how much of your investment interest expense you can actually deduct. Also, for anyone considering this type of financing strategy going forward, it might be worth opening separate accounts or taking separate loans for each intended use. While it's more complex to manage multiple credit facilities, it makes the interest allocation much cleaner from a tax perspective and reduces audit risk. The documentation requirements mentioned by @fd111dffc265 about maintaining clear paper trails really cannot be overstated. I've seen cases where taxpayers lost substantial deductions simply because they couldn't adequately document how loan proceeds were used, even when the underlying transactions were legitimate.