Have you considered requesting your transcript by mail instead? What about calling the practitioner priority line if you work with a tax professional? Could your tax software provider offer transcript access through their professional portal? If you need it urgently, try the automated phone system at 800-908-9946. It's ancient technology but sometimes works better than the website. Press 2 for transcripts, then follow the prompts. Takes about 5-10 days to arrive by mail, but at least you'll have it.

I've been dealing with this exact same issue! As someone who needs quarterly transcripts for my small business, I've found a few workarounds that might help: **What's worked for me:** - The mobile app (IRS2Go) sometimes loads when the website won't - try that first - Incognito/private browsing mode occasionally bypasses whatever's causing the error - If you're getting the "identity verification" error, make sure your ID.me account is fully set up and linked **Backup options:** - The automated phone line (800-908-9946) is your friend - it's clunky but reliable - Request by mail using Form 4506-T if you can wait 5-10 business days - If you work with a tax pro, they might have access through practitioner channels The timing advice others mentioned is spot-on - early morning or late evening definitely helps. I've also noticed weekends tend to be less problematic than weekdays during tax season. Hope this helps! The system is definitely overloaded right now, but you should be able to get what you need through one of these methods.

I just went through this exact situation with my spouse's forgiven medical debt from before our marriage! The key insight that helped me was understanding that insolvency is determined based on who originally owed the debt, not your current filing status. Since your wife's student loan debt was entirely hers before marriage, you only include her individual assets and liabilities when calculating insolvency on Form 982 - even though you're filing jointly. This means you can get the best of both worlds: the $1,350 savings from joint filing AND the insolvency exclusion for her forgiven debt. When I worked through Form 982, I only used my spouse's pre-marital assets (bank accounts, car value, personal property, etc.) and liabilities (other loans, credit cards, etc.) as of the cancellation date shown on the 1099-C. It felt strange excluding my assets from the calculation while filing jointly, but that's exactly how the IRS expects it to be done. Make sure to keep detailed documentation of how you calculated her insolvency - bank statements, loan balances, reasonable estimates for personal property values, all from right before the debt cancellation date. The IRS may want to see your work later. We successfully filed this way and saved significant money on taxes with no follow-up questions from the IRS. You're definitely on the right track!

I'm in a very similar situation with my husband's forgiven credit card debt from before we got married! Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful - I had no idea you could file jointly while still claiming insolvency just for the spouse who originally owed the debt. The explanation about insolvency being determined "per debt" rather than by filing status makes so much sense now. Since the debt belonged entirely to one spouse before marriage, it's logical that only their pre-marital assets and liabilities should count in the insolvency calculation. I've been putting off dealing with our 1099-C because I thought we'd have to choose between the tax savings from joint filing or excluding the forgiven debt. Learning that we can actually do both is such a relief! The potential savings for us would be around $1,600 from joint filing, plus excluding about $28k in forgiven debt. Now I need to gather all his financial statements from right before the cancellation date and work through Form 982. The advice about thorough documentation seems crucial - I'd rather have too much paperwork than face questions from the IRS later. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences with this tricky situation. This community knowledge has probably saved me from making a costly mistake on our taxes!

I'm confused about something related to this... if I have both W-2 income from my main job AND 1099 income from side gigs, do I combine them or file separately? My 1099 is only like $900 but my W-2 job pays over $45k.

Just to add one more important point that might help you feel less overwhelmed - even though you need to file, the good news is that with only $1,924 in DoorDash income, your actual tax burden will likely be pretty small after deductions. Don't forget you can deduct business expenses like: - Mileage (probably your biggest deduction - 67¢ per business mile for 2024) - Phone bill percentage (if you use it for deliveries) - Insulated delivery bags - Car phone mounts or other equipment - Even parking fees or tolls during deliveries Many gig workers find that after legitimate business deductions, their net profit drops significantly, which reduces both their income tax and self-employment tax. The self-employment tax on your net earnings will be around 15.3%, but you also get to deduct half of that self-employment tax when calculating your income tax. Since this is your first time with 1099 income, consider using tax software that handles Schedule C and Schedule SE, or consult with a tax professional to make sure you're claiming all eligible deductions.

I'm dealing with a very similar situation right now! I accidentally marked "yes" for backup withholding when helping my elderly neighbor open a new account last week. The panic was real when I realized what I'd done. From my research and calls with the bank, I can confirm what others have said - the deposits themselves aren't affected. The backup withholding only applies to interest payments, not the money you're putting into the account. My neighbor has been making regular deposits while we wait for the W-9 correction to process, and everything has gone smoothly. One thing that really helped was asking the bank representative to walk me through exactly what would happen with each type of transaction. They confirmed that cash deposits are available immediately, check deposits follow their normal new account hold policy (which was 7 days for amounts over $200), and debit card transactions work normally from day one. The 14-day processing time seems to be pretty standard across banks. We're on day 8 now and haven't had any issues. Your uncle should definitely feel comfortable making those deposits - the backup withholding mistake is more of a paperwork inconvenience than an actual barrier to using the account.

I actually had this exact same thing happen to me about 8 months ago when I was rushing through opening a business checking account online. Clicked "yes" to backup withholding without reading it carefully and immediately panicked when I realized what I'd done. Here's what I learned from my experience: the backup withholding flag really is only about interest and dividend payments, not your regular deposits. I was able to deposit my business funds (around $5,000) the same day without any issues. The money was available according to their normal new account policy - cash immediately, checks held for a few days. The W-9 correction did take the full 2 weeks to process, but during that time the account functioned completely normally. I made deposits, wrote checks, used the debit card - everything worked exactly as expected. The only difference would have been if the account had earned interest, which it didn't since business checking accounts typically don't pay interest anyway. Your uncle should be fine to make his deposits. The anxiety is understandable (I definitely felt it too!), but the practical impact is much smaller than it seems. The bank systems treat this as a tax reporting issue, not an account restriction issue. One tip: when you call to check on the W-9 processing status, ask to speak with someone in the tax reporting department rather than general customer service. They tend to have more specific knowledge about these situations and can give you clearer timelines.

Great question about state gift taxes! Only a handful of states actually have their own gift tax laws separate from federal. Connecticut and Minnesota are the main ones that come to mind, though the rules and thresholds can be different from federal. Most states don't have gift taxes at all - they just follow federal rules. But it's definitely worth checking your specific state's tax code or consulting with a local tax professional if you're dealing with larger gifts. For a $15,000 gift like the original poster mentioned, it would likely be under most state thresholds anyway, but always good to double-check! The state tax implications are usually much less of a concern than getting the federal documentation right.

California doesn't have a separate gift tax - you're good there! California follows federal gift tax rules, so as long as you're compliant federally (which you are with the $15,000 gift), there are no additional state requirements. I just went through this exact situation in California last year with a $20,000 gift from my parents for my house down payment. The only documentation I needed was the gift letter and bank statements showing the transfer, just like others have mentioned here. One tip specific to California home buyers - if you're planning to use this gift for a down payment, some of the state's first-time homebuyer programs have their own gift documentation requirements that can be slightly different from standard lender requirements. But for tax purposes, you're all set with just following federal guidelines. Keep that gift letter and your bank statements, and you'll be fine come tax time!