Has anyone tried the IRS Free File options? I know they have income limits (usually around $73k) but I think some of them can handle investments too. Seems like the only truly free option these days.

Wow, I'm dealing with the exact same sticker shock! I've been a loyal TurboTax user for about 8 years and that $82.99 price tag made me do a double-take. What really gets me is they removed the early-bird discount - that was always my saving grace for dealing with their annual price creeps. I'm definitely intrigued by some of the alternatives mentioned here, especially taxr.ai with the document upload feature. My situation is pretty similar to yours - I've got investment accounts and a small rental property, so manually entering everything would be a nightmare. Has anyone compared how these alternatives handle Schedule E for rental properties specifically? That's always been the most time-consuming part of my return and I want to make sure whatever I switch to can handle depreciation schedules and expense categorization properly. Thanks for starting this thread - it's exactly the push I needed to finally explore other options instead of just complaining about TurboTax prices every year!

I was in the same boat as you last month - expired license and couldn't use ID.me. Calling that verification number was like trying to win the lottery, but I finally got through on my fifth attempt. The trick is to call right when they open at 7am. It's like trying to get concert tickets the moment they go on sale. I got my identity verified and my refund showed up 16 days later. Hang in there!

I went through this exact same nightmare in January! My license had expired right before I needed to verify, and ID.me was a complete dead end. Here's what worked for me: Call 800-830-5084 at exactly 7:00 AM your local time - I'm talking have your phone ready to dial the second the clock hits 7. I tried calling later in the day multiple times and gave up after 60+ minute waits, but the 7 AM call got me through in under 20 minutes. Have these ready: your SSN, filing status, exact AGI from your 2022 and 2023 returns, and your address from those returns. They also asked me about a previous address from like 5 years ago (super random but they have access to credit bureau info). The whole verification took about 25 minutes, and they gave me a confirmation number at the end - definitely write that down! My refund was released exactly 19 days after the call, even though they said it could take up to 9 weeks. Good luck with your apartment application - the timing stress is real!

This is such a helpful thread! I've been playing social casino games for about two years and had no idea about the tax implications. I probably made around $400 last year from various apps but never thought to report it since I didn't get any tax forms. Reading through all these responses, it sounds like I need to go back and figure out exactly how much I made and report it as "Other Income" on my return. One question though - for those apps where you can only cash out to gift cards (not actual cash), does that still count as taxable income? I have probably another $200-300 in various gift cards I've redeemed from gaming apps over the year. Also, if I bought coin packages but never cashed anything out from a particular game, I assume there's no income to report from that one, right? Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - this community is so much more helpful than trying to navigate the IRS website!

This is exactly the kind of situation I dealt with last year! I was playing multiple social casino apps and had small cashouts throughout the year that totaled around $650. What really helped me was creating a simple spreadsheet to track everything - date, app name, amount cashed out, and method (PayPal, gift card, etc.). One thing I learned that might help others here: keep screenshots of your cashout confirmations if possible. Some of these apps don't keep great records on their end, and if you ever need to verify your reported income, having those screenshots can be really valuable. Also, don't forget to check smaller apps - I almost missed about $80 from a word game app that let me cash out to Amazon gift cards. For the loss deduction question, remember you can only deduct losses if you itemize, and only up to the amount of your winnings. So if you won $800 but spent $1,200 on coin packages, you can only deduct $800 in losses. Make sure the math actually works out in your favor before choosing to itemize instead of taking the standard deduction!

One thing no one has mentioned yet - if you're itemizing deductions anyway (because of mortgage interest, state taxes, etc.), then these museum donations can be nice additional deductions even if you don't get the full amount back. I donate to several museums and also belong to a theater company where the membership is partially deductible. It's a nice way to support the arts while getting some tax benefit at the same time. Also, if your employer matches charitable donations, check if museum memberships qualify! Mine does, so I essentially get double the impact.

This is such a helpful thread! I had the exact same misconception about tax deductions. I was looking at a $500 membership at our local contemporary art museum and thought I'd get the full amount back too. After reading everyone's explanations, I realize I need to: 1) Check if the museum membership benefits reduce the deductible amount 2) See if my total deductions would exceed the standard deduction to make itemizing worth it 3) Calculate the actual tax savings based on my bracket (probably around 12%) It sounds like even though I won't get the full amount back, supporting the museum while getting some tax benefit is still worthwhile. Plus I genuinely want the membership perks anyway - the tax deduction is just a nice bonus. Thanks everyone for clearing up the confusion between deductions and credits! This community is so helpful for understanding these tax concepts.

Great thread everyone! As someone who just went through the IRIS transition myself, I wanted to add a few things that might help newcomers: **Record Limits**: Like others mentioned, IRIS doesn't have the same hard limits as FIRE. I've successfully submitted batches of 500+ records without issues. The system seems more focused on file format correctness than size limits. **CSV Validation Tips**: - Always save your CSV as "CSV (MS-DOS)" in Excel if you must use it, then open in Notepad to verify - Test with a small batch first (like 5-10 records) to validate your format - Keep a backup of your original data before any CSV conversion **Common Gotchas I've encountered**: - State codes MUST be the 2-letter postal abbreviation (not full state names) - Phone numbers should be 10 digits with no formatting (no parentheses, dashes, spaces) - Amount fields cannot have dollar signs, commas, or decimal points for whole dollar amounts The test submission feature in IRIS has been a lifesaver - definitely use it before your real submission. The error messages are much clearer than what you get from FIRE rejections. Hope this helps other folks making the transition!

This has been such a helpful thread! I'm transitioning from paper filing to IRIS this year and was completely lost on the CSV requirements. Reading through everyone's experiences has given me a much clearer roadmap. I wanted to add one thing I discovered during my research - the IRS has a dedicated IRIS help desk at 866-455-7438 that's separate from their main taxpayer service line. The wait times are usually much shorter (typically 15-20 minutes vs hours on the main line) and the agents are specifically trained on electronic filing formats. They walked me through the exact CSV layout for 1099-NEC forms and even sent me sample files to use as templates. For anyone else making the switch, I'd recommend calling them before you start building your CSV files. They can provide form-specific format guides that are much clearer than the general documentation on the IRS website. The agent I spoke with also confirmed that you can submit multiple test files without any limit - so definitely take advantage of that feature to perfect your format before the real submission. Thanks again to everyone who shared their experiences here. This community knowledge is invaluable for navigating these IRS systems!