I totally feel your pain on the constant refreshing! 😅 I'm in the same boat - SBTPG showed funded around 10am this morning and I've been obsessively checking my account ever since. From what I've gathered reading through everyone's experiences, it seems like the timing really depends on your specific bank's ACH processing schedule. Some banks do same-day ACH if it's received before their cutoff (usually around 2-3pm EST), but others batch process overnight. Since you're doing gig work too, I know that refund anxiety is real when you're counting on that money! Last year mine took about 30 hours from funded to deposit, so I'm trying to manage my expectations and not get my hopes up for today. But fingers crossed we both get lucky! 🤞

I'm going through the exact same thing right now! SBTPG updated to "funded" around 8am this morning and I've been refreshing my Chase app like it owes me money 😂 From everything I've read here and my own research, the trace number thing is internal - we'll never see it as customers. It's basically just how banks track the transfer on their end. As for timing, it really seems to be a coin flip whether you'll get it today or tomorrow. Chase usually processes ACH transfers pretty quickly, but their same-day cutoff is around 3pm EST. Since it's already past that in most time zones, I'm mentally preparing for tomorrow morning. The waiting game is brutal though, especially when you're relying on gig work income! I've got rent due next week and this refund is literally my lifeline right now. At least knowing that "funded" means the money is actually moving makes me feel a bit better than just staring at "processing" on the IRS site for weeks! Hang in there - based on everyone's experiences here, it sounds like we should definitely see something by tomorrow afternoon at the latest! 🤞

This is actually a really common issue that many employers get wrong! You're absolutely correct that Box 12W should include both your pre-tax contributions AND your employer's contributions to the HSA. The fact that your W-2 only shows $475 (just your contributions) while excluding the $900 in employer contributions is definitely an error. I'd recommend taking a two-pronged approach: First, gather all your HSA statements showing the deposits from both you and your employer, then present this documentation to your payroll department again. Sometimes it helps to reference IRS Publication 969 which clearly states that employer HSA contributions must be included in Box 12 with code W. If they still refuse to issue a corrected W-2, you can absolutely file your taxes accurately using the correct total of $1,375 on Form 8889. The key is making sure your tax return reflects the actual contributions made, regardless of the W-2 error. Just keep all your HSA documentation in case the IRS has questions about the discrepancy between your W-2 and your tax return. Don't let payroll's confidence shake you - you clearly understand HSA reporting better than they do in this case!

I work in payroll and unfortunately see this mistake all the time! Your employer is definitely wrong - Box 12W absolutely should include both employee pre-tax contributions AND employer contributions to HSAs. It sounds like your payroll department might be confusing HSA reporting with other benefit reporting. What often happens is that payroll systems are set up incorrectly or the person processing W-2s doesn't fully understand HSA reporting requirements. The $1,375 total you calculated is exactly what should appear in Box 12W. Here's what I'd suggest: Print out page 12 of IRS Publication 969 (the 2022 version) which clearly explains that employer HSA contributions must be reported in Box 12 with code W. Highlight the relevant section and bring it to your payroll department along with your HSA statements showing all deposits. If they still refuse (which unfortunately happens), you can file correctly using Form 8889 and report the actual total contributions. The IRS may eventually catch the discrepancy and contact your employer directly about the incorrect W-2, which often motivates companies to fix their processes for future years. Don't second-guess yourself - you understand this correctly and your employer needs to issue a corrected W-2!

Since no one mentioned it yet - don't forget that 2025 tax rules now allow each qualifying child to potentially get you up to $2,000 in tax credits (that's the increased amount after the recent tax law changes). So make sure whoever claims each child can actually benefit from the full credit amount. If your girlfriend doesn't have enough tax liability due to her part-time work, she might not be able to claim the full child tax credit amount even though she's eligible to claim your son. Something to consider when deciding who claims which child!

Great question! I was in a nearly identical situation a couple years ago. One thing that really helped me was getting everything organized early in the year rather than scrambling at tax time. Since you're paying the mortgage and most household expenses, you should definitely qualify for Head of Household status when claiming your daughter. Just make sure you're tracking everything - I started keeping a simple monthly log of who paid what, which made things so much clearer when it came time to file. Also worth noting that the IRS has gotten stricter about auditing HOH claims in recent years, especially when there are multiple taxpayers at the same address. But if you legitimately pay more than 50% of household costs and have proper documentation, you should be fine. The key is being able to prove your contribution level if they ever ask. One last tip - consider having a quick consultation with a tax professional this year to make sure you're set up correctly going forward. It's much easier to establish the right pattern from the beginning than to fix problems later!

Quick question - I did something similar with my rental bathroom last year. Does anyone know if I can split the renovation into separate categories? Like the toilet and vanity as 5-year property but the tile work and shower as 27.5 years? Or does the whole bathroom have to be treated the same way?

This is such a timely question! I just went through this exact scenario with my rental property last year. One thing I'd add to the great advice already given is to consider the "unit of property" rules when determining what constitutes a single improvement versus separate components. The IRS looks at whether you're improving a single unit of property (the entire kitchen) or separate units (individual appliances, flooring, etc.). Since you did a complete gut renovation, the structural elements (cabinets, countertops, flooring) would likely be treated as one unit of property and depreciated together over 27.5 years. However, don't forget about the de minimis safe harbor election! If you have receipts showing individual items under $2,500 (or $5,000 if you have applicable financial statements), those can potentially be expensed immediately rather than depreciated. This might apply to smaller items like faucets, light fixtures, or cabinet hardware that were part of your renovation. Also, since your rent increased by $300/month after the renovation, make sure you're properly documenting this as evidence that the improvements added value to the property. This helps support your position if the IRS ever questions the capital improvement classification.

I think people are overcomplicating this. If you're just casually trading skins and occasionally making a small profit, it's hobby income. Report it on Line 8z of Schedule 1 as "Other Income" and call it a day. Only need Schedule C if you're truly running this as a business with regular, consistent activity aimed at making profit.

Based on what you've described, you're definitely running this as a business activity since you're systematically buying skins at below market value with the specific intent to resell for profit. The IRS doesn't distinguish between digital and physical goods when it comes to business income. You'll want to use Schedule C to report this activity. Track your gross receipts (all sales - so yes, that $2,000), then subtract your cost of goods sold (what you paid for the skins) to get your net profit. That $300-400 profit will be subject to both regular income tax and self-employment tax. Pro tip: Keep meticulous records going forward. Save screenshots of all transactions, PayPal receipts, and Steam transaction history. Also consider tracking any business expenses like platform fees, internet costs for trading, or storage costs if applicable. The IRS loves detailed documentation, especially for newer types of businesses like digital item trading. Since you're already 6 months in, I'd recommend gathering all your transaction history now before it becomes an overwhelming task. Most platforms let you export your transaction data, which makes record-keeping much easier than trying to reconstruct everything later.