I'm skeptical about any "no-fee" advance loan. According to IRS Publication 1345 guidelines, these products must disclose all charges, and typically the cost is embedded in preparation fees. Jackson Hewitt's Assisted Refund product with self-employment income triggers their Premium preparation tier, which increased from $249 to $319 for Tax Year 2024 filings. The "no-fee" advance is technically true, but you're paying significantly higher preparation fees to offset the underwriting risk.

According to the official Jackson Hewitt website (https://www.jacksonhewitt.com/offers/no-fee-refund-advance/), self-employment income doesn't automatically disqualify you, but it does impact approval odds. Their FAQ section specifically mentions that "mixed income sources may require additional verification." If you need a definitive answer, I'd recommend calling their customer service line at the number listed on their site. Based on community feedback here, many members with less than 30% self-employment income have successfully received advances, though sometimes at lower amounts than requested.

I ignored quarterly payments for three years in a row when I was self-employed back in 2020-2022. Ended up with a $12,000 tax bill plus penalties that took me 18 months to pay off. The IRS added both failure-to-pay penalties AND interest to my balance every month. What makes it worse is that I could have easily qualified for the Qualified Business Income deduction under Section 199A and several business expense deductions that would have cut my liability by 30-40%. Don't make the same mistake - get professional help with your return this year and set up proper quarterly payments for 2024.

Was in your exact shoes last year with $38k self-employment and two kids over 18. Thought I was going to owe thousands, but you know what? After claiming my legitimate business deductions (home office, mileage, supplies, health insurance premiums), the QBI deduction, and finding out my 19-year-old still qualified as my dependent because she was a full-time student, I only ended up owing $2,100. Not great, but way better than the $7k I was panicking about! Set up an IRS payment plan and now I'm making quarterly payments for 2024. Doesn't the whole self-employment tax system seem designed to trip us up?

Quick question. Are both W2s under the same SSN? Or did you get an ITIN for one job? This matters for matching. Some foreign income reporting has different rules. IRS Publication 525 covers this specifically. Timing also matters. When were these W2s issued exactly?

I was in a similar situation last year. Had three W2s and almost didn't report the smallest one. Decided to include it anyway. Good thing I did! My brother-in-law tried skipping a W2 in 2022. Got caught six months later. Paid original tax plus 20% accuracy penalty. Also had to pay interest from April 15th. The automated matching is incredibly thorough now. They even caught a $212 1099-MISC he forgot about. The peace of mind from filing completely accurately is worth the extra effort.

Be careful with amended returns. I filed mine last year. No updates for months. Then got a letter. They needed more documentation. Clock started over. Took 8 months total. Keep copies of everything. Check your mail daily. Don't miss their deadlines.

I'm curious, did you file your amendment electronically or by mail? I've heard that might affect processing times, but I'm not entirely sure if that's still true with the current backlog situation.

You might want to consider that refund advances often come with somewhat hidden costs that can potentially reduce your overall refund amount. In many cases, the convenience of getting money a few days earlier could cost you somewhere between $25-100 in fees, depending on the provider and amount. It might be worth exploring direct deposit options with the IRS instead, which typically process within about 21 days for most returns, though this timeframe can occasionally be longer during peak filing periods. I'm a bit concerned that switching tax platforms mid-season could potentially create verification issues that might actually delay your refund further.

Have you considered reaching out to the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program? They offer free tax preparation services for people with disabilities, and many locations now provide remote options due to COVID adaptations they've maintained. While they don't offer advances directly, they might be able to expedite your filing to get your refund faster. Do you qualify for any special credits related to your disability that might increase your refund amount? What's your timeline for needing the funds?

I think there might be some misunderstanding about how SantaBarbara works. It's primarily a professional tax software that preparers use, not necessarily the company pushing the advances. The advances are usually offered through partner banks or financial institutions. In my experience working with tax clients, SantaBarbara is actually fairly reliable, but the financial institutions handling the advances can sometimes cause delays, especially if there's any kind of verification issue with your return.

Have you tried checking your e-file status directly? Sometimes the WMR tool doesn't update properly but your return is actually processing normally. There's also the IRS2Go app which sometimes shows different status info than the website. Another option is to create an account on IRS.gov and check your transcript - that usually shows processing steps before they appear on WMR.

I just went through this exact situation last year! Here's what you need to do step-by-step: 1. First, determine your residency status for each state. For Michigan, you'll file as a part-year resident. 2. Gather all income documents and sort them by state. 3. Download Michigan's MI-1040 form and Schedule NR (Non-Resident/Part-Year Resident). 4. For Texas income, you won't need to file a state return since they don't have income tax. 5. On the Michigan return, you'll report ALL income for the year on the main form. 6. Then use Schedule NR to calculate what portion is actually taxable in Michigan. 7. Include documentation showing your moving dates (lease agreements, utility bills). 8. Most tax software can handle this, but double-check their multi-state capabilities. The key is properly allocating income based on when it was earned in each state!

So if husband's W-2 shows income from both states, do we need to calculate exactly how much was earned in each state? What if the employer didn't break it down that way? And for your business income, does that get allocated based on where you were physically located when providing services? I'm dealing with something similar and trying to make sure I understand the process correctly.

I'm curious about how you might prove the support requirement for your grandchild. In most cases, you would potentially need to show that you provided more than 50% of the child's support for the year, which might be somewhat complicated to calculate for a newborn who's only been with you for a month. Do you perhaps have documentation from the child's parent(s) releasing their claim to the child as a dependent? This could be relevant if they're planning to file their own tax returns.

I went through almost this exact situation on April 12th last year. Here's what I learned: the $2,000 Child Tax Credit isn't limited to just three children - that's a common misconception. Each qualifying child under 17 can get you the full $2,000 credit (with up to $1,600 being refundable). Your 17-year-old aged out of the full CTC and only qualifies for the $500 Credit for Other Dependents. Your 1-month-old grandchild, assuming you have legal custody as of December 31, 2023, should qualify for the full $2,000 CTC. Make sure you have documentation showing when you obtained custody. When I filed on February 3rd this year, I included a note explaining my custody situation and had zero issues with my refund.

I understand how overwhelming the education credits can be! I've claimed them for three years now, and here's what I learned: First, determine if you're eligible for AOTC (first 4 years of college) or LLC (any level, including grad school). Second, gather your 1098-T plus receipts for books and required course materials. Third, complete Form 8863 carefully - the worksheet helps calculate your qualified expenses. Fourth, if you received scholarships, you may need to allocate them between qualified and non-qualified expenses. I saw my refund increase by about $2,000 with AOTC, which really helped with next semester's expenses.

AOTC was a lifesaver for me tbh. Got back $2.5k last yr when I needed it most. Make sure ur actually eligible tho - must be degree-seeking, at least half-time enrollment, and within 1st 4 yrs of post-secondary ed. Also can't have felony drug convictions (weird rule but w/e). The refundable portion ($1k max) comes back to you even if u have zero tax liability. Def worth the extra paperwork IMO.

I believe Credit Karma might have a process for reinstating accounts specifically for tax purposes, though I'm not entirely certain about this. It might be worth contacting their customer support directly to inquire about temporary account restoration for refund advance purposes. They possibly maintain separate systems for their tax services versus their main credit monitoring platform, which could potentially allow for advance processing despite the closed main account.

I actually went through this exact situation last filing season! Had closed my Credit Karma account after getting a new credit monitoring service, then realized I needed it for my refund advance. Want to know what worked? I called their dedicated tax support line (not the regular customer service) and explained my situation. They were able to process a special exception that allowed the advance to be sent to my external bank account instead of requiring an active Credit Karma account. Took about 3 days longer than normal, but I got my advance without having to reopen anything. Worth asking about!