Does anyone know if this affects amended returns too? I filed an amendment in September and the status has been stuck on "received" for 3 months now. Cant get any updates from the where's my amended return tool.

I've been dealing with the exact same issues! Filed in late November and have been getting locked out constantly when trying to check my transcript. It's so frustrating because you just want to know what's happening with your money. I noticed the lockouts seem to happen more frequently during business hours - I've had better luck checking very early morning or late at night like someone else mentioned. One thing that's helped me is setting up text alerts through my bank so I'll know immediately if a deposit comes through, rather than obsessively checking the IRS site. Also made sure to screenshot all my banking info from my IRS account before I got locked out again, just in case there are any issues with direct deposit like others have mentioned. The security concerns people are raising are really alarming though - definitely going to enable 2FA and change my passwords after reading these comments. Thanks for the heads up about checking account details, that could have saved me a major headache!

Has anyone used TurboTax to report RSUs? I'm having this same issue and wondering if there's a specific way to enter this in TurboTax to make sure it's handled correctly. Every time I try, it seems like I'm getting double-taxed on the RSU income.

This is a really common RSU reporting confusion! Let me break this down step by step: The $16,000 on your W2 represents the fair market value of your RSUs when they vested - this is already included in your taxable income (Box 1 of your W2). You've already paid taxes on this amount. The $9,000 on your 1099-B is what you actually received when you sold the shares. The "missing" $7,000 is most likely due to: 1. Tax withholding - your company probably sold some shares automatically to cover your tax obligation 2. Possible trading fees or timing differences For your tax return, you need to: 1. Report the stock sale on Schedule D/Form 8949 using the $9,000 proceeds 2. Your cost basis should be the portion of the $16,000 that corresponds to the shares you actually received and sold 3. If you sold immediately after vesting with minimal gain/loss, your cost basis should be very close to the $9,000 proceeds The key is making sure you don't get double-taxed on the RSU income that's already in your W2. Check your brokerage statements for any "tax withholding" or "shares sold to cover taxes" entries around the vesting date - that will explain the difference.

Am I the only one who thinks it's messed up that the burden is on employees to fight this? Companies know exactly what they're doing - saving thousands in taxes by shifting the burden to workers. My friend's architecture firm did this to 12 interns last year and only 2 fought it because everyone else was afraid of "causing trouble" in the industry.

This is absolutely infuriating and unfortunately way too common. What your employer did is completely illegal - they can't just decide to reclassify you retroactively because it's "easier for accounting." That's exactly the kind of employer abuse that makes my blood boil. Here's the thing - you clearly were an employee based on everything you described. You worked set hours, used their equipment, they controlled how you did your work, and you were paid hourly. The IRS has a 20-factor test for this, and you'd pass it easily. Don't let them get away with this. You shouldn't have to pay an extra $3,400 because they wanted to dodge their tax responsibilities. I'd recommend documenting everything first - that email where they asked to switch you is golden evidence. Then give them ONE chance to fix it by sending a formal email explaining that retroactive reclassification is illegal and asking them to issue a corrected W-2. If they refuse or ignore you, file Form SS-8 with the IRS immediately. The IRS takes worker misclassification seriously, especially when there's clear evidence like you have. You might also want to contact your state's labor department - they often move faster than the IRS. Don't feel bad about "causing trouble" - they caused the trouble when they decided to break the law to save money. You're just protecting yourself.

Something nobody has mentioned yet - the tax code is intentionally complicated. I worked briefly for a tax prep company, and there's a massive lobby from companies like Intuit (TurboTax) and H&R Block to keep it confusing so people need their services. Many developed countries have simple return-free filing where the government just tells you what you owe based on what they already know about your income, but that would hurt the tax prep industry's profits.

This is exactly why I got into studying tax policy! What's really eye-opening is that the "hidden" nature of many taxes is actually by design. Politicians love taxes that people don't directly see or think about - like the employer portion of payroll taxes (which economists agree is really paid by employees through lower wages), or taxes embedded in the price of goods. For example, when you buy a gallon of gas, you're paying federal excise tax (18.4 cents), state gas tax (varies widely), plus sales tax on top of that in many states. But it's all built into the pump price, so most people don't realize they're paying multiple layers of tax on that single purchase. The estate tax is particularly misunderstood - it only affects estates over $12.92 million (2023), so it impacts less than 1% of Americans. Yet it's often used as a political talking point because people think it affects everyone. If you really want to see where your tax dollars go, check out the "taxpayer receipt" tools that some organizations have created. You input your tax payment and it shows you exactly how much went to defense, education, healthcare, etc. Really puts things in perspective!

One thing nobody has mentioned - if your truck is over 6,000 lbs gross vehicle weight (most F-150s qualify), you might be eligible for Section 179 expensing which lets you deduct a big chunk of the purchase price in year 1. This is separate from the direct vs indirect cost question, but definitely worth looking into if you bought your truck recently.

As a small business owner who's been through this exact situation, I'd recommend getting really clear on your record-keeping system first before deciding between direct vs indirect categorization. For your F-150 that's 100% business use, the key is consistency. If you're billing clients for travel time or including vehicle costs in your job estimates, then fuel and maintenance tied to specific jobs would be direct costs. Otherwise, treat them as indirect overhead expenses - both are fully deductible either way. Since you mentioned you already track mileage, consider using a simple app like Everlance or TripLog to automatically categorize your trips by job site. This creates the documentation trail you'll need if the IRS ever comes knocking. I learned this the hard way when I got selected for review and had to reconstruct months of driving records. One more tip: if you're doing the actual expenses method (which sounds like it might work better for you given construction vehicle wear and tear), keep a dedicated business credit card just for truck expenses. Makes tax prep so much easier when everything's in one place.