Does anyone know if my state taxes US obligation income differently than others? I'm in California if that matters. My tax software is asking about this but doesn't explain if California has special rules.

Just wanted to add something that might help clarify the confusion about finding this on your 1099 forms. When you're looking at your 1099-B, the "US obligations" won't necessarily be labeled that way explicitly. Look for securities with these types of identifiers or descriptions: - Anything starting with "912" (CUSIP numbers for Treasury securities) - Securities described as "T-BILL", "T-NOTE", "T-BOND" - "TREASURY" in the description - "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" as the issuer Also, if you have a 1099-INT form, Box 3 will show "Interest on U.S. Savings Bonds and Treasury obligations" - this is separate from capital gains but shows if you held these types of securities during the year. Don't forget that if you sold Treasury securities at a loss, you still need to report them in this section (you'd enter a negative number for the loss). The state exemption applies to both gains and losses on these securities.

If this is your first year filing with allocated tips, don't stress too much about not having perfect records for this year. Just be aware of what they are, report them correctly, and then start keeping better records going forward. I got allocated tips for years before I figured out how to handle them properly!

As someone who's been through this exact situation, I totally get how overwhelming allocated tips can be when you're doing your taxes for the first time! The good news is that once you understand what they are, they're not as scary as they seem. Here's the simple breakdown: Your restaurant is required to allocate tips if the total reported tips from all employees is less than 8% of food/beverage sales. These allocated tips in Box 8 represent what the IRS thinks you earned but didn't report to your employer during the year. For your tax return, you'll need to include these as income AND pay the Social Security/Medicare taxes on them using Form 4137 (TurboTax will help with this). The key thing to remember is that you CAN dispute these allocated tips if you have records showing you actually received less - but without documentation, you'll need to report the full allocated amount. Going forward, definitely start tracking your daily tips! Even a simple notebook or phone app will save you from this headache next year. Good luck with your first self-prepared return - you've got this!

I work for the IRS and want to clarify a few things that might help everyone here. First, the IRS Free File program is completely separate from commercial tax software companies - when you access it through IRS.gov, you're using software provided by our vetted partners but with guaranteed free filing for eligible taxpayers. The bait-and-switch tactics you're describing with E-File and other commercial services are unfortunately common. These companies aren't part of the official IRS Free File program. They use confusing marketing to make people think they're using an IRS service when they're not. For 2024 tax year, IRS Free File is available for taxpayers with adjusted gross income of $79,000 or less. You can access it directly at irs.gov/freefile - don't go through the commercial company websites. We also have Free File Fillable Forms for higher income taxpayers who are comfortable doing their own calculations. The IRS Direct File pilot program that was mentioned is indeed available in Minnesota and several other states. It's completely free with no upsells and handles common tax situations. You can find it at directfile.irs.gov. If you're dealing with misleading practices from tax prep companies, you can report them to us through the IRS website. We take these complaints seriously as part of our oversight responsibilities.

I'm dealing with this exact same issue right now with E-File! After reading through all these comments, I tried several of the suggested workarounds. The incognito browser window didn't work for me, but the "abandon your cart" trick that @Avery Saint mentioned actually did the trick! I got all the way to checkout, closed my browser in frustration, and when I came back an hour later there was suddenly a "Continue with Free Filing" option that wasn't there before. It's absolutely ridiculous that we have to use these workarounds just to access what they advertise as a "free" service. @Liam Sullivan - thank you for the official clarification about the IRS Free File program vs these commercial services. I had no idea there was a difference and definitely got misled by E-File's marketing. I'll be using the legitimate IRS free file options next year and will also be reporting E-File's deceptive practices. This kind of bait-and-switch should not be legal when it comes to something as essential as filing taxes.

One thing I'd add to all the great advice here - make sure you're tracking your "basis" in the S Corp properly. When you leave profits in the business like that $135k, it increases your basis in the company. This becomes important later if you ever take out more than the accumulated earnings or if you sell the business. Your basis starts with what you initially invested in the company, then increases with your share of profits (even if left in the business) and decreases with distributions you actually take. Keeping good records of this will save you headaches down the road, especially if you ever need to take large distributions or loans from the company. Most people don't think about basis tracking until they need it, but it's much easier to maintain these records as you go rather than trying to reconstruct them years later.

One more consideration that might be relevant - if you're planning to keep that $135k in the business for a while, make sure you're at least earning some interest on it. Since you'll be paying taxes on those profits this year regardless, you might as well put that money to work in a high-yield business savings account or short-term CDs. Also, don't forget that keeping cash reserves in the business can actually be smart for cash flow management and unexpected expenses. Just make sure your "reasonable salary" is truly reasonable for your industry and role - the IRS scrutinizes S Corps where owners take very low salaries but leave large amounts as retained earnings, since it can look like you're trying to avoid payroll taxes. The good news is that S Corp taxation is generally more straightforward than people think once you understand the pass-through concept. You're essentially paying individual tax rates on business profits, but you get to avoid the double taxation that C Corps face.

I'm going through the exact same thing right now! Been checking my IRS account every few days and seeing that same "Information Return Documents Unavailable" message. It's honestly such a relief to read everyone's responses here - I was starting to think my employer messed something up. The part about the system updating weekly is what caught my attention too. I've been treating it like it should update daily, but knowing it's only weekly makes way more sense. Guess I need to chill out and stop obsessively checking lol. My employer also confirmed they submitted everything on time, so I'm feeling much better about just waiting it out. Definitely going to take the advice about using the physical W2 they already sent me instead of waiting for the IRS system to catch up. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - makes this whole process way less stressful when you know other people are dealing with the same thing!

Been dealing with this same anxiety! I've been checking my account obsessively for weeks now and getting that same "Information Return Documents Unavailable" message. It's honestly driving me nuts lol. What's helping me cope is remembering that this is literally happening to millions of people right now - we're all in the same boat waiting for the IRS to process everything. The January 31st deadline for employers just passed, so now it's just a matter of waiting for their system to catch up. I finally decided to stop torturing myself with daily checks and just use the W2 my employer already sent me directly. The IRS online account is nice for verification, but it's not required to file your taxes. As long as you have your physical or electronic copies from your employer, you're good to go! Definitely taking the advice from others here about checking back around mid-February instead of constantly refreshing the page. My mental health will thank me for it 😅