Just want to add an important warning - NEVER give these callers any personal information and NEVER agree to pay anything! A friend of mine got scammed out of $2,400 because the caller knew some basic info about him (probably from data breaches) which made the call seem legitimate. The scammers had him buy Target gift cards and read the numbers to them over the phone. The real IRS will NEVER ask for gift cards as payment!

I've been dealing with these exact same calls! What helped me was creating an account on the IRS website (irs.gov) and checking my tax transcript directly - it shows your complete tax history and any balances owed. Since you received your refunds, you're almost certainly fine, but seeing it officially documented gave me complete peace of mind. Another red flag with these scam calls is that they often demand immediate payment and threaten arrest or asset seizure. The real IRS sends multiple written notices before taking any collection action, and they accept standard payment methods like checks or bank transfers - never gift cards or cryptocurrency. If you want to be 100% sure, you can also request a tax account transcript by mail using Form 4506-T. It's free and comes directly from the IRS, so you'll have official documentation of your tax status. Stay strong and don't let these scammers stress you out!

I just received Notice 1462 yesterday and I'm honestly freaking out a bit! This is my first time dealing with anything like this from the IRS. Reading through everyone's experiences here is both reassuring and nerve-wracking - sounds like it's pretty common but the wait times are brutal. I claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit and have two dependents, so I'm guessing that might have triggered the review. Does anyone know if there are certain deductions or credits that are more likely to cause delays? I'm trying to prepare myself mentally for a long wait but really hoping mine processes faster than some of the timelines I'm seeing here. Thanks for all the info everyone has shared - this community is a lifesaver for understanding what's actually going on!

I got Notice 1462 about 5 weeks ago and I'm still in the waiting game too. From what I've gathered from this thread and my own research, it seems like the IRS is being extra cautious this year with fraud prevention, which is causing a lot of these delays. Mine was probably triggered because I had some side income from selling things online that I reported as miscellaneous income. The hardest part is the uncertainty - you never know if it'll be resolved in a few more weeks or drag on for months. I've been checking my transcript every Friday morning with my coffee, which has become a weird ritual at this point! One thing that's helped me mentally is remembering that the IRS isn't trying to keep our money - they're just overwhelmed and being super thorough. Hang in there everyone, we'll get through this eventually! 💪

I've used Venmo for tax refunds a couple times and it's been smooth. One thing I'd add to what others said - make sure you have the right routing and account numbers from Venmo. You can find them in the app under "Manage Balance" then "Direct Deposit". Also heads up that Venmo reports any deposits over $600 to the IRS now, but since this is your own refund it shouldn't matter tax-wise. Good luck!

I've been using Venmo for direct deposits for a while now and haven't had major issues, but definitely echo what others said about checking your limits. One thing I learned the hard way - make sure you enable the "Direct Deposit" feature in your Venmo settings first. It's not automatically on even if your account is verified. Also, keep screenshots of your routing/account info just in case you need to reference it later. The IRS customer service can verify if they have the right info on file if you're worried about it.

Ok but what about practical advice? My son (16) makes about $7,500 working part-time. Does he need to file? Will he get all that tax money back? His W-2 shows they took like $450 in federal taxes!!!

This is such a great discussion! I went through the same confusion when my 17-year-old nephew started working last summer. What really helped me understand it was looking at it from a different angle - minors DO benefit from government services that taxes fund, like public schools, infrastructure, emergency services, etc. The representation piece is tricky though. Technically, minors are "represented" through their parents/guardians who vote, and through elected officials who are supposed to consider all constituents. But you're right that it feels weird philosophically. One thing I learned is that the tax system has some built-in protections for minors - like the standard deduction Sofia mentioned, and the fact that most working teens end up getting refunds. It's not perfect, but there is some recognition that their situation is different from adult taxpayers. Have you looked into whether your sister qualifies for any of the education credits when she starts filing in future years? That might help offset some of the "taxation without representation" feeling!

Quick practical question - does anyone know if electric vehicle charging at work can be covered under these commuter benefits? My company just installed chargers but they're not free to use. Wondering if I can set up pre-tax dollars for that or if it only applies to parking and transit?

This is a really thoughtful question that gets at some fundamental issues with how we structure transportation policy through the tax code. From my perspective working in local government, these benefits are essentially a political compromise that emerged in the 1980s when direct transit subsidies were politically difficult to pass. They're what policy folks call "tax expenditures" - spending money through the tax code rather than direct appropriations. The parking vs transit contradiction you've identified is spot on. It's a classic example of how we ended up with competing policy goals within the same program. The parking benefit exists largely because of equity concerns - not everyone lives in areas with good transit access, and excluding those workers from commuter benefits would have made the whole program politically untenable. You're absolutely right that direct transit investment would be more effective environmentally and economically. But here's the reality: expanding Metro funding requires legislative battles every budget cycle, while these tax benefits fly under the radar once they're established. They're also easier for employers to administer than negotiating with multiple transit agencies. The irony is that your $600 annual savings probably costs the federal government more in lost tax revenue than it would cost to just improve your train service directly. But that's American transportation policy in a nutshell - we love indirect subsidies that hide the true costs.