This is frustrating but unfortunately pretty normal this year. I went through the exact same thing - federal refund processed in 19 days, state took 6 weeks. The state systems are just slower and more backed up, especially since many states upgraded their fraud detection systems after the pandemic. My advice: check your state's tax portal every few days for status updates, but don't stress about it unless it hits the 8-week mark. At that point, definitely call them. In the meantime, at least you got your federal refund! That's usually the bigger chunk anyway.

I'm going through this exact situation right now! Filed both federal and state on March 10th, got my federal refund last week, but my state return has been "under review" for over 3 weeks now. It's really reassuring to see I'm not alone - sounds like this is just the new normal with states being more cautious this year. I'm in California and their FTB website is pretty vague about timelines too. Guess I'll try calling early morning like Owen suggested, but honestly might just wait it out since everyone seems to say it eventually comes through. Thanks for posting this - was starting to worry something was wrong with my return!

One thing nobody's mentioned yet - make sure you check if you qualify for the American Opportunity Credit (AOC) vs the Lifetime Learning Credit. AOC is generally better (up to $2,500 credit with up to $1,000 refundable) but has more restrictions - you must be pursuing a degree, be at least half-time, and can only claim it for 4 tax years. Lifetime Learning has no limit on years but maxes out at $2,000 non-refundable credit. In my experience with MGIB, I qualified for AOC for my first four years, then had to switch to Lifetime Learning. The tax software should help determine which is best for you.

Just wanted to add some clarity from my own experience with MGIB taxes. The confusion often comes from the fact that Montgomery GI Bill payments are structured differently than other VA education benefits. With MGIB, you're essentially getting a monthly education allowance that you can use for any qualified education expenses - tuition, housing, books, etc. The key point everyone's making is correct: if YOU paid the tuition directly to the school (showing up in Box 1 of your 1098-T), and the school didn't receive any direct payments from the VA (which would show up in Box 5), then you're eligible for education tax credits. Your monthly MGIB allowance doesn't disqualify you from these credits. I'd recommend double-checking with IRS Publication 970 (Tax Benefits for Education) which specifically covers how military education benefits interact with tax credits. It's dry reading, but it clearly states that payments you make with your own funds - even if those funds originally came from VA benefits - still qualify you for education credits as long as the school wasn't paid directly by the VA.

This is really helpful! I'm in a similar boat with my new freelance writing business that I started in September. Made about $2,800 in profit and was wondering if I qualified for the QBI deduction. Based on what everyone's saying here, it sounds like I should qualify under that same income threshold exception since writing is also typically considered an SSTB. My husband and I file jointly and our total income is around $195,000, so we're well under that $375,800 threshold. One thing I'm curious about - do we need to have any specific business structure (LLC, etc.) or does it work for sole proprietorships too? I'm just operating as a sole proprietor right now and reporting everything on Schedule C.

This is such a helpful discussion! I'm dealing with a similar situation with my new freelance graphic design business. Started it in November 2024 and made about $3,200 in profit. My spouse and I file jointly with total income around $210,000. Reading through all these comments, it sounds like I definitely qualify for the QBI deduction under that same income threshold exception, even though graphic design is typically an SSTB. The 20% deduction on my business profit would be around $640 - not huge but definitely worth claiming! One question I have is about timing - since I only operated for 2 months in 2024, do I need to do anything special on the form, or do I just report the actual profit I made during those months? Also, has anyone had issues with the IRS questioning new businesses claiming this deduction?

Wow, this thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm dealing with a similar situation where my tax software is showing I owe way more than expected. Based on everyone's suggestions here, I'm going to: 1. Double-check all my W-2 entries for typos (especially withholding amounts) 2. Verify my filing status and dependent claims 3. Compare my actual W-2 withholdings to what I thought was being withheld all year It sounds like data entry errors and employer withholding mistakes are way more common than I realized. Emily, I really hope you get this sorted out - definitely check those paystubs against your W-2s like Ethan suggested. That could be the smoking gun! Has anyone else had success stories with getting these kinds of issues resolved? This is giving me hope that my $8k tax bill might not be real either.

This is such a stressful situation, but I'm glad you're getting some good advice here! One additional thing to check - make sure you didn't accidentally enter your gross income instead of your adjusted gross income somewhere, or vice versa. I once made that mistake and it inflated my tax liability by thousands. Also, if you're still stuck after checking all the data entry issues everyone mentioned, you might want to try a completely different tax software as a third opinion. Sometimes there can be bugs or calculation errors in the software itself, though it's rare for both TurboTax and FreeTaxUSA to have the same bug. The withholding discrepancy that Ethan pointed out sounds like it could be your smoking gun though. Definitely pursue that with your wife's HR department - if they were supposed to be withholding an extra $500/paycheck but weren't actually doing it, that would explain almost everything. Keep us posted on what you find!

I've seen this happen to several taxpayers this season, and I understand it can be concerning. According to Internal Revenue Manual 21.4.1, the IRS operates multiple databases that don't always synchronize in real-time. The Electronic Funds Transfer Payment System (EFTPS) that issues direct deposits can process faster than the Integrated Data Retrieval System (IDRS) that updates transcripts. What you're experiencing isn't uncommon, especially during high-volume processing periods. The important thing is that you've received your refund. I'd recommend keeping documentation of the deposit for your records, but there's likely no cause for concern. Many people are in similar situations this tax season as the IRS works through their processing backlog.

This exact thing happened to me last month! Filed on 1/31, got my deposit on 2/19, but my transcript didn't show the refund issued (846 code) until 2/22. The WMR tool was stuck on "processing" for days after I already had my money in the bank. I was panicking thinking something was wrong, but it turns out the IRS payment system and their tracking systems run on completely different schedules. The financial side moves faster than the status reporting side, especially during busy season. I'd definitely screenshot your bank deposit and maybe check your transcript again in a few days - mine eventually caught up and showed all the proper codes. You're not alone in this weird limbo situation!