The IRS Refund Hotline is 800-829-1954, which is specifically for refund inquiries. However, it's mostly automated just like the Where's My Refund tool. For actual human assistance, use 800-829-1040. Current average wait times are 73 minutes according to the IRS's February 2024 service report. If you filed electronically, they won't discuss your return until exactly 21 days after acceptance. If you mailed your return, they won't discuss it until precisely 6 weeks after mailing. Have you verified if either of those timeframes applies to your situation?

As someone who went through this exact situation last year as a newlywed, I completely understand your frustration! Here's what worked for me: First, definitely try the Where's My Refund tool and check your account transcript online - sometimes the issue is something simple that resolves automatically without needing to call. For actually reaching a human, I had success calling 800-829-1040 at exactly 7:00 AM EST when they open. Have your Social Security number, filing status, and exact refund amount ready. The key is persistence - don't get discouraged by busy signals. Since you mentioned this is your first year filing as married, double-check that you both didn't accidentally claim the same dependents or credits. That's a common newlywed mistake that can delay processing. If you've been waiting more than 21 days since e-filing (or 6 weeks if you mailed), and the online tools aren't giving you answers, then calling is definitely worth it. The agents can see much more detail about what's happening with your return than what shows up in the automated systems. One last tip: if you do get through and they say everything looks normal but just needs more time, ask them to put a note on your account about the inquiry. This can sometimes help expedite things. Good luck - the waiting is always the hardest part!

Be careful with deducting anything you might use personally. My brother tried to deduct coaching equipment for baseball last year and got audited! IRS made him prove exactly which items were exclusively for team use vs his personal use. He ended up having to pay back some of the deduction plus a penalty.

Just to clarify on the $350 fee situation - you can still deduct your out-of-pocket equipment expenses even though you're avoiding the volunteer fee. The fee waiver doesn't disqualify your equipment deductions; it just means you can't treat the waived fee itself as a charitable contribution. Think of it this way: you're making two separate contributions to the organization - your volunteer time (which saves you $350 but isn't deductible) and your actual cash expenditures for equipment (which are deductible as charitable contributions). The IRS looks at these separately. So your $175 in equipment purchases should still qualify for deduction as long as you have receipts and can show they were used for the team's benefit. Just make sure to document everything well, especially for any items that might have dual use.

In our case, the trust paid the taxes before distributing to beneficiaries. Our accountant said it depends on whether the trust is a "simple" or "complex" trust for tax purposes. For us it was complex since it had the option to accumulate income. Ur trust might be different tho. The accountant said the $200k was technically a capital gain to the trust since it was essentially selling its right to the property. They said the trust's basis in the property was the important part in calculating how much of that $200k was actually taxable gain.

This is a really complex situation that highlights why trust taxation can be so tricky! Based on what you've described, there are several key factors that will determine the tax treatment: 1. **Trust Classification**: Whether your trust is "simple" (must distribute all income annually) or "complex" (can accumulate income) will largely determine who pays the tax. 2. **Nature of the Settlement**: Since this was malpractice insurance compensating for a lost property interest, it's likely treated as a capital transaction rather than ordinary income. The tax calculation would compare the settlement amount to your trust's basis in the lost 21% property interest. 3. **Trust Document Language**: The specific provisions in your trust document about how settlements and capital transactions are allocated between income and principal will be crucial. Given the $200,000 amount and complexity involved, I'd strongly recommend getting professional guidance from a CPA who specializes in trust taxation before making any distributions. They can review your trust document, determine the trust's basis in the lost property, and calculate the proper tax treatment. The good news is that if it's determined to be a recovery of basis (rather than a gain above basis), the tax impact could be minimal. But you definitely want to get this right before distributing the funds!

One important thing to watch for with multiple W2s - Social Security tax. Each employer withholds 6.2% of your wages for Social Security up to the annual wage limit ($147,000 for 2022). If your combined income from both jobs exceeded that limit, you may have overpaid Social Security tax that you can get back when filing.

Just wantd to mention, when I had 2 w2s I just added the box 1 income from both, added the fed witholding together, and the state witholding together. Enter those on your 1040 and ur good to go! No need to complicate it imo.

lmaooo liberty tax stays playing games wit ppls money. switched to HR block this year and way better experience ngl

I used to work at a tax prep office and can confirm what Dylan said - Liberty Tax almost always takes their advance loan repayment from your federal refund first. They have to set up a temporary bank account during tax prep that intercepts your federal refund, deducts what you owe them, then deposits the remainder into your actual account. Your $800 state refund should come directly to you without any deductions. Just make sure to keep checking your account because sometimes the timing can be weird depending on when the IRS processes everything.