I dealt with a similar situation after Hurricane Laura damaged my roof and garage. One thing that really helped my case was getting a "scope of loss" document from a public adjuster who reviewed what my insurance company missed or undervalued. Even though I had to pay the adjuster, it was worth it because they found an additional $12k in damages that insurance initially overlooked. For your chimney situation, you might want to consider getting a structural engineer's assessment showing that removing the chimney versus rebuilding it creates a permanent decrease in your home's structural integrity and value. This could strengthen your FMV decrease argument beyond just the aesthetic/functional loss. Also, don't forget that you can deduct the cost of temporary protective measures you took immediately after the hurricane (like tarping, boarding up windows, etc.) as part of your casualty loss. These often get overlooked but they're legitimate disaster-related expenses. Just make sure everything was within a reasonable timeframe after the federally declared disaster.

I went through a very similar situation after Hurricane Michael hit our area. One crucial detail that hasn't been mentioned yet - make sure you understand the timing rules for casualty loss claims. Since yours was a federally declared disaster, you actually have the option to claim the loss on either your 2024 return (the year it happened) OR amend your 2023 return to claim it there, which could get you a refund faster. The key documentation you'll need beyond what others have mentioned is a detailed timeline showing when the damage occurred, when you received the insurance settlement, and when you made the decision to go with the wall replacement instead of full chimney rebuild. The IRS wants to see that you made reasonable efforts to restore the property but were financially unable to do so. For your specific situation with the chimney-to-wall conversion, I'd strongly recommend getting an appraisal or real estate professional's written opinion on how this impacts your home's resale value. A missing chimney can affect both the aesthetic appeal and functionality (no fireplace option for future buyers), which supports your FMV decrease calculation. One last tip - if you're planning to sell your home within the next few years, keep all this casualty loss documentation. It could affect your capital gains calculation since the casualty loss reduces your home's adjusted basis.

I'm in the exact same boat! Just verified last Tuesday and checking my transcript obsessively. Based on what everyone's sharing here, it sounds like we're all part of the same frustrating waiting period. The two-phase explanation makes total sense - wish someone had told me that upfront instead of just saying "9 business days" like the letter implied. Has anyone found that calling actually speeds things up, or is it just a waste of time? Seems like @Dylan Hughes had some luck with that callback service, but I'm hesitant to pay extra when I've already been waiting this long.

I just went through this process myself a few weeks ago! Completed my ID verification on March 15th and got my refund on April 1st - so exactly 17 days. What really helped me was understanding that the timeline isn't just about verification completion, but also depends on when during tax season you're doing it. The IRS verification team gets more and more backlogged as we get deeper into tax season. One thing I learned is that the "9 business days" they mention in the CP01 letter is more like a best-case scenario from earlier in the season. Right now in late March/early April, 2-3 weeks seems to be the norm. My transcript showed the 570 hold code for almost 2 weeks after verification before switching to 571, then refund came within a week after that. Hang in there - it's frustrating but the money will come!

One thing to keep in mind is that most RSUs are taxed at vesting (your company probably withheld shares for taxes when they vested). So your actual cost basis for tax purposes is the FMV on vesting date, not zero. This means your older RSUs that are "lower than current price" might actually represent a loss if the current price is lower than when they vested! In that case, selling them would give you a capital loss you can use to offset other gains. Check your vesting statements carefully!

Great advice from everyone here! One additional consideration for @Kristin Frank - if you're in a higher tax bracket this year but expect to be in a lower bracket next year (maybe due to job change, retirement, sabbatical, etc.), it might make sense to delay selling the older RSUs to take advantage of the lower long-term capital gains rate when your overall income is lower. Also, don't forget about the Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT) - if your modified adjusted gross income exceeds $200K (single) or $250K (married filing jointly), you'll pay an additional 3.8% tax on investment income including capital gains. This could influence the timing of when you sell. The tools others mentioned like taxr.ai sound really helpful for modeling different scenarios, especially when you factor in state taxes and these additional considerations!

This is exactly why I always check for any processing issues before filing. H&R Block should have notified clients about this upfront - it's pretty frustrating to find out after the fact that your refund timeline just got extended by 1-2 weeks. At least now we know what's going on though. Thanks for sharing this info!

Same thing happened to me! Filed through H&R Block online on Jan 28th and was wondering why my state refund was taking so long. Really wish they had communicated this issue better - I only found out about the paper check thing when I called their customer service line yesterday. At least now I know to keep an eye on my mailbox instead of checking my bank account every day 📬

This is really encouraging to hear! I'm currently on day 19 with a 570 code and was starting to panic that something was seriously wrong with my return. I don't have an IP PIN yet but after reading this thread, I'm definitely going to request one for next year. It's crazy how the IRS can just leave us hanging with these cryptic codes and no explanation. The fact that yours resolved without any letters or additional verification gives me hope that mine might clear up soon too. Thanks for sharing the good news - sometimes we need to hear the success stories to balance out all the horror stories floating around during tax season! 🤞

This is such a relief to read! I'm currently on day 14 with a 570 code and have been spiraling into worst-case scenarios. Like others mentioned, the daily transcript checking has become an obsession - I even set an alarm for 6 AM to check before work 😂 Your experience with the IP PIN is really interesting. I've never had identity theft issues, but after seeing how smoothly your process went compared to some of the horror stories out there, I'm seriously considering requesting one for next year. It seems like such a small step that could potentially save weeks of anxiety. Did you notice the 570 and DDD changes happen on the same day, or was there any gap between when the hold was released and when the deposit date appeared? Thanks for sharing the positive outcome - we definitely need more success stories during tax season!