Does anyone know if this happens with state tax returns too? My federal return was processed normally but my state return status disappeared completely from the tracker.

Same thing happened to me! Filed on 2/14 with the EV tax credit for my Tesla and my status bars disappeared on 2/20. I was panicking thinking something was wrong with my return. But after reading everyone's experiences here, I'm feeling much more confident this is just routine verification. It's frustrating that the IRS website doesn't explain what "still being processed" actually means - they could save people so much anxiety by just saying "your return is undergoing routine verification for claimed credits" instead of leaving us to guess what's happening. Thanks for sharing your timeline, it really helps to see I'm not alone in this!

Going through the same thing right now! Filed 2/28, accepted same day, bars disappeared 3/7. I claimed the Child and Dependent Care Credit for my daycare expenses and was convinced something was wrong. This post is really reassuring - sounds like it's just part of the normal process when you have credits that need verification. Thanks for sharing your timeline, it helps to know others have been through this too. Hopefully we'll both see some movement soon!

This is so helpful! I'm going through the exact same thing right now. Filed 2/15, accepted same day, and my bars disappeared on 2/24. I claimed both the Child Tax Credit and Additional Child Tax Credit for my two kids. I was completely panicked when I first saw the generic "still being processed" message, especially after reading all the horror stories online about people waiting months. But seeing everyone's timelines here makes me feel so much better - sounds like 2-4 weeks is pretty normal when you have credits that need verification. The hardest part is just not knowing what's happening behind the scenes. I keep checking every day hoping to see some kind of update, but at least now I know that's normal too and not slowing anything down. Thanks for creating this thread - it's exactly what I needed to read today!

I went through a very similar situation when I became trustee of my father's irrevocable trust that owned multiple rental property LLCs. One thing I learned the hard way is to also check your trust document for any specific provisions about inter-entity transactions or capital contributions. Our trust had a clause requiring written trustee resolutions for any transaction over $20,000 between trust-owned entities, which we almost missed. Even though I was the sole trustee, I still had to formally document the decision and keep it in the trust records for potential IRS audits. Also, if you go with the inter-company loan route (which I'd recommend based on Charlotte's advice), make sure to actually service the loan properly. The IRS has been known to recharacterize loans as distributions if payments aren't made consistently. Set up automatic transfers for the payments if possible to maintain the paper trail. The whole process was more complex than I expected, but documenting everything properly from the start saved us headaches later when we had to provide records to the IRS for an unrelated audit.

As someone who recently went through a similar situation with my grandmother's irrevocable trust, I'd strongly echo the advice about the inter-company loan approach. We ended up going that route after initially considering the trust account method. One additional consideration that our attorney pointed out: if you have multiple beneficiaries of the trust, cycling money through the trust account can sometimes create unexpected income tax consequences for them, depending on how the trust's distributable net income is calculated. The inter-company loan keeps everything at the entity level and avoids potential complications with K-1 distributions to beneficiaries. Also, since you mentioned this is across two states, make sure to check if there are any state-specific requirements for related party transactions. Some states have additional disclosure or approval requirements for transactions between entities owned by the same trust. The $45,000 repair sounds urgent - I'd recommend moving quickly once you get your documentation in place. Property issues tend to get more expensive the longer they sit, and having a formal loan structure will give you a clear path for similar situations in the future.

Regarding the IRS Free Fillable Forms option - this is essentially the electronic equivalent of filling out paper forms manually. There's minimal guidance, no calculational assistance between forms, and no error-checking beyond basic math. I would not recommend this approach unless you have a good understanding of which tax forms you need and how they interrelate. For cryptocurrency transactions, FreeTaxUSA does support reporting these, though you'll need to manually enter the information rather than having it automatically imported. If you have a significant number of transactions, this could be time-consuming but would still likely save you money over TurboTax's premium pricing.

I've been using FreeTaxUSA for the past two years after making a similar switch from TurboTax, and I can confirm your experience is spot on. The math is identical because they're all following the same tax code - you're basically paying TurboTax's premium for brand recognition and a slightly more polished interface. One tip for anyone considering the switch: if you have multiple investment accounts or a lot of transactions, take note of how much time the manual entry adds. For me, it's maybe an extra 30-45 minutes total, which is absolutely worth it for the $150+ savings. Also worth mentioning that FreeTaxUSA's customer support has been surprisingly good the few times I've needed it. Not that I needed much hand-holding, but they were responsive and knowledgeable when I had a question about a specific deduction. The biggest adjustment was just getting used to a slightly different interface flow, but honestly after the first year it felt completely natural.

One thing nobody's mentioned - make sure you have SOLID documentation for those expenses if they were from 2023 but you're claiming them in 2024. The IRS tends to flag mismatched years, especially with new businesses. Keep receipts, bank statements, credit card statements, and maybe even take photos of the equipment showing you still own and use it. Better safe than sorry!

Great question! I went through something similar with my photography business. The key thing to understand is that the IRS distinguishes between when you incur expenses and when your business actually begins operations. Since you didn't start generating income until 2024, that's when your business truly "began" for tax purposes. You can definitely claim those 2023 expenses on your 2024 return. For the equipment (mowers, trimmers, etc.), you'll likely want to look into Section 179 deduction which allows you to deduct the full cost of qualifying equipment in the year you place it in service for your business - which would be 2024 in your case. The utility trailer might be handled differently depending on its weight and use, but don't worry about losing those deductions. Just make sure you keep all your 2023 receipts and any documentation showing when you actually started operating the business in 2024. The IRS is pretty reasonable about startup situations like this as long as you have good records.