Has anyone used TurboTax to handle this kind of situation? Their rental property section is confusing me with all these percentage allocations and I'm not sure if I'm entering it correctly.

One thing I'd add that hasn't been mentioned yet - make sure you're keeping detailed records of all your expenses and how you're allocating them. The IRS loves to audit mixed-use properties because the allocation rules can be complex and people often make mistakes. I'd recommend creating a simple spreadsheet showing: - Total property expenses by category - Your allocation percentages (75% rental, 25% personal for the base property, plus any adjustments for the roommate period) - The calculated amounts for each category Also, don't forget about depreciation on the rental portion of your property. That's often the biggest tax benefit for rental property owners, but it only applies to the business/rental use percentage of your property value (minus land value). For your roommate situation, I'd calculate it exactly like others mentioned - figure out what percentage of your unit they used, multiply that by your unit's percentage of the total property (25%), and apply that for the months they were there. Keep their rental payments and any receipts showing the space they occupied.

Ugh same exact situation here! Filed my MA return on Jan 15th and it's been stuck on "received" status for over 3 weeks now. The MA DOR website is absolutely useless - just keeps saying "being processed" with no timeline or actual updates. Really wish they would give us better status tracking like the IRS does. Anyone know if there's a way to get more detailed info about what's actually happening with our returns? This waiting game is driving me crazy! 😩

Just wanted to chime in as someone who went through this exact same frustration last month! Filed my MA return on December 28th and it was stuck on "received" for almost 6 weeks. I was checking that useless MA DOR tracker multiple times a day and getting nowhere. Finally broke down and tried taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here so much - honestly it was a game changer! It showed me my return was actually progressing normally through their system, just with zero visibility on their public tracker. Got my refund 3 days after taxr predicted it would arrive. Definitely worth the small fee to stop the anxiety of not knowing what's happening! Hang in there everyone - they're just really backed up this year 💪

Quick question - does using education credits as a resident alien affect your ability to apply for a green card later? I've heard some people say claiming certain benefits can make you a "public charge" but I'm not sure if tax credits count for that.

This is such a helpful thread! I'm in a similar situation - been in the US on F1 since 2018 and just realized I need to file as a resident alien this year. One thing I wanted to add that might help others: when you transition to resident alien status, make sure to double-check that your university's international student services office updates their records. Mine was still sending me reminders to use Sprintax even though I had already passed the substantial presence test. Also, if you have any income from your home country (like interest from bank accounts or freelance work), you'll need to report that now as worldwide income. I almost missed this since I was used to only reporting US-source income on the 1040-NR. The education credits are definitely a nice benefit of the status change though - I'm getting back way more in refunds than I ever did as a non-resident! Has anyone dealt with state taxes during this transition? I'm wondering if the rules are similar at the state level or if it varies by state.

Just went through this last month. The 507 code almost always means identity verification. In my case, they needed to verify I was really me because I filed from a different address than last year. I had to upload a copy of my driver's license and a utility bill through their ID verify site. Refund was released 9 days later. Don't stress too much - it's pretty routine, just annoying.

I'm glad to see this thread helped so many people resolve their 507 errors! For anyone still dealing with this issue, I wanted to add that it's also worth checking if you have any outstanding notices or requirements from the IRS before calling. Sometimes the 507 code can be triggered by missing forms like a Schedule C if you reported self-employment income, or if there's a mismatch between your federal and state filings. Also, if you're planning to move soon like the original poster, make sure to update your address with the IRS using Form 8822 after you move. This can help prevent similar identity verification issues in the future. The IRS gets suspicious when they see filing patterns that don't match their records, so keeping your address current is really important. Hope everyone gets their refunds sorted out quickly!

I've tried both and honestly went back to TurboTax. FreeTaxUSA is cheaper for sure, but I missed a pretty big education credit when I used it because the questions weren't as clear to me. Ended up filing an amended return. If your taxes are super simple, FreeTaxUSA is fine, but if you have anything slightly complicated I'd stick with TurboTax.

I made the switch from TurboTax to FreeTaxUSA last year and it's been great! For your situation (W-2, mortgage interest, investments), FreeTaxUSA will definitely handle everything you need. The interface is more straightforward - less flashy graphics but very functional. One thing I really appreciated was no constant upselling like TurboTax does. With TurboTax I always felt like they were trying to get me to upgrade to a more expensive version I didn't need. FreeTaxUSA just asks the questions, handles your taxes, and that's it. The savings are real too - I went from paying around $80 with TurboTax to $15 for state filing only (federal is free). Same accuracy, way less cost. The only thing you'll miss is some of the hand-holding, but honestly the step-by-step process is still very clear.