This is a really concerning situation, and I'm glad you're questioning it now. As others have mentioned, while legitimate depreciation add-backs are a real thing in mortgage underwriting, what your loan officer suggested crosses into fraud territory. The key issue is that you can ONLY claim business mileage for miles you actually drove for legitimate business purposes. If you amended your return to include fictional miles just to boost your mortgage-qualifying income, that's tax fraud regardless of how mortgage lenders might treat the depreciation component. I'd strongly recommend: 1. Consult with a CPA immediately about your amended return 2. If you claimed miles you didn't actually drive, file another amendment to correct it 3. Consider finding a new mortgage lender - one that doesn't suggest illegal tactics There are legitimate ways to present self-employment income favorably to lenders without breaking tax laws. A good mortgage broker should know the difference between proper income analysis and fraud. Your current loan officer has put both of you at risk with this advice. Better to delay your home purchase than face potential IRS penalties, mortgage fraud charges, or having to explain falsified tax documents later. The housing market will still be there when you get your finances properly sorted.

As someone who went through the self-employment mortgage process recently, I want to echo what others have said - this is definitely concerning territory. The legitimate practice of adding back depreciation exists, but your loan officer crossed a major line by telling you to amend your taxes with potentially fictitious business miles. Here's what I learned during my own process: legitimate lenders who work with self-employed borrowers will add back non-cash expenses like depreciation, but they do this based on what's ALREADY on your tax returns. They don't ask you to modify your returns to create these deductions. A few suggestions from my experience: 1. Find a mortgage broker who specializes in self-employed borrowers and ask them upfront about their income calculation methods 2. Get a consultation with a tax professional about your amended return situation 3. Look into asset-based lending or bank statement loan programs if your tax returns don't show enough income The red flags to watch for: any loan officer who suggests modifying tax documents, making deposits to inflate bank statements, or claiming expenses you didn't actually incur. Good mortgage professionals work with what you legitimately have, not what you can manufacture. It might delay your home purchase, but fixing this properly now will save you from much bigger problems down the road. The IRS doesn't mess around with amended returns that can't be substantiated.

The EXACT same thing happened to me!! I was so angry I took screenshots of everything. My payment was "pending" for $1,243 but my account showed $0 paid! I was panicking thinking I'd get hit with late payment penalties or something. But it did finally update on the exact day they said it would. The whole time I was thinking "how can a company that literally specializes in FINANCIAL SOFTWARE have such a terrible payment tracking system??" 🤬 So frustrating but at least you know you're not alone in this mess!

I'm going through this exact same situation right now! My payment shows as pending with TurboTax support but my account dashboard still shows $0 paid. It's so stressful when you're dealing with tax payments and the system seems broken. Reading everyone's experiences here is really reassuring though - sounds like this is unfortunately just how their system works. The trace number definitely seems to be the key proof that everything is actually fine. Thanks for posting this Dylan, it's helping a lot of us who are in the same boat! I'll definitely be saving that trace number and waiting for my pending date.

I'm dealing with the same waiting game right now! My state portal updated to "sent" on Friday and I'm still refreshing my banking app every few hours. Based on what everyone's saying here, it sounds like 1-3 business days is pretty normal. I think the hardest part is that "sent" doesn't necessarily mean it left their system that exact day - could have been queued for the next ACH batch. Trying to stay patient but when you're expecting that money for bills, every day feels like forever! 😅

I've been through this exact scenario multiple times over the years! The "sent" status can be a bit misleading because it usually means they've initiated the ACH transfer, not that it's actually left their system yet. In my experience, state refunds typically show up 1-2 business days after that status change, but I've had it take up to 4 business days during busy tax season when the ACH network gets congested. The good news is once you see "sent" you're basically guaranteed to get it - just a matter of waiting for the banking system to do its thing. I usually tell myself to expect it by day 3 so I'm pleasantly surprised if it comes earlier!

I'm going through the exact same thing right now! Filed my MI-1040 and homestead credit on January 28th and it's been under manual review since February 5th. The wait is brutal but from what I've read here and other forums, it seems like this is just the new normal for Michigan returns with property tax credits. I called the Treasury department last week and they basically said the same thing - June timeframe for manually reviewed returns. At least we're not alone in this! Hoping we all get our refunds sooner than expected 🤞

I'm dealing with this exact same situation! Filed my MI-1040 and homestead credit on February 1st and got the "manual review" status on February 8th. I've been checking eServices obsessively every day hoping for an update but nothing yet. The June timeline is really disappointing - I was counting on getting my refund much sooner. It's reassuring to see I'm not the only one though! Has anyone here who went through this last year actually received their refund around the June timeframe they mentioned, or did it come earlier/later? Just trying to set realistic expectations for myself at this point.

This thread has been incredibly informative! I'm currently on an F-1 visa (just started working on OPT) and planning to return to South Korea in about 18 months. I've only been contributing to my Roth IRA for about a year, but this discussion has me wondering if I should even continue given all the potential complications. From what I'm reading, it seems like even when the US treats qualified Roth distributions as tax-free, each home country has its own interpretation and compliance requirements that could significantly complicate things. South Korea has been implementing stricter foreign asset reporting requirements recently, and I'm concerned about the ongoing administrative burden. A few specific questions that this discussion has raised for me: 1) For those who went through this process, what was the total cost (legal fees, tax preparation, compliance, etc.) of managing the cross-border aspects? I'm trying to do a cost-benefit analysis of whether the Roth IRA benefits justify the complexity for someone with a relatively short US work period. 2) Has anyone considered just withdrawing their Roth contributions (which I understand are always tax-free) before leaving the US to avoid the ongoing international compliance issues? Obviously you'd lose the growth potential, but it might simplify things significantly. 3) Are there any alternative retirement savings strategies that work better for temporary US workers who plan to return home? Maybe focusing more on taxable investment accounts that might have simpler international treatment? The experiences everyone has shared really highlight how much more complex this is than I initially realized. Thank you all for the detailed insights - it's helping me make a much more informed decision about my retirement planning strategy!

This has been such an incredibly detailed and helpful discussion! As someone who's been lurking in expat tax forums for months trying to understand this exact situation, I can't thank everyone enough for sharing their real-world experiences. I'm currently on an H1B visa planning to return to the Netherlands in about 2 years, and I've been contributing to my Roth IRA for the past 3 years. After reading through all these experiences, I'm realizing I need to research the Dutch tax treatment much more thoroughly than I initially thought. One thing that's become clear from everyone's stories is that the US-side tax treatment (qualified distributions being tax-free) is really just the beginning of the analysis. Each country's domestic tax law, reporting requirements, banking regulations, and even recent policy changes can completely change the practical benefits of maintaining a Roth IRA as an expat. @Liam McConnell - your questions about cost-benefit analysis really resonated with me. I'm starting to wonder if the complexity and ongoing compliance costs might outweigh the tax benefits, especially for those of us with shorter US work periods. The currency risk aspect that several people mentioned is also something I hadn't fully considered. With the euro-dollar exchange rate volatility, there's an additional layer of uncertainty about the real purchasing power of future distributions. I think I need to start researching Netherlands-specific treatment of US retirement accounts and possibly consult with a cross-border tax advisor sooner rather than later. This thread has made it clear that early planning with country-specific expertise is absolutely essential. Has anyone dealt with Dutch tax authorities regarding US retirement accounts, or found good resources for Netherlands-US tax treaty implications for retirement planning?