Have you considered TurboTax Self-Employed instead of H&R Block? I've used both for my photography business, and I found TurboTax more intuitive for small business stuff. It imports from Quickbooks really smoothly too. The biggest difference I noticed was that TurboTax asked more detailed questions about my specific industry that led to deductions H&R Block didn't catch. Though both are WAY cheaper than paying $450+ per form!

Don't sleep on finding a good local CPA. I was in your exact situation 2 years ago - small business with my husband, fed up with huge fees. Found a local CPA who specializes in small businesses and she only charges $275 for everything, including unlimited questions throughout the year. H&R Block employees usually aren't CPAs and may miss small business deductions. And I personally had a TERRIBLE experience with them losing some of my documents and filing late without telling me. Not saying all locations are bad, but definitely check reviews for the specific office!

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this incredibly frustrating situation! 😔 As someone who navigated this same process about 18 months ago, I can confirm that the 6-month timeline is unfortunately accurate, though it can sometimes be shorter depending on specific circumstances. The key factor that determines your wait time is whether your children's father filed a joint tax return with a spouse. If he did, there's a mandatory 6-month waiting period because his spouse has the legal right to file an "injured spouse" claim to recover their portion of the refund. If he filed as single, you're looking at more like 3-4 months. Here are some practical steps that helped me get through the wait: • Call the Treasury Offset Program directly at 1-800-304-3107 - they can give you much more specific information about where your offset is in the process • Make sure you have direct deposit set up with your state's child support agency (saves weeks vs. paper checks) • Check if your state has an online child support portal for tracking case updates • Ask your caseworker specifically about the father's filing status and which stage your offset is currently in I know how overwhelming this feels, especially when you're already waiting for overdue support payments. The multi-agency process (IRS → Treasury Offset Program → State Agency → You) is painfully slow, but the money will eventually come through. In my case, it took exactly 4 months and 3 weeks. Stay strong - you're not alone in this frustrating journey! 💙

I'm really sorry you're going through this frustrating situation! 😞 I went through the exact same thing about 8 months ago and completely understand how overwhelming it feels, especially coming from a different country where you might be used to different government processes. The 6-month timeline your caseworker mentioned is unfortunately very real in many cases, though there are some factors that could make yours shorter. The biggest determining factor is whether your children's father filed his taxes jointly with a spouse or as a single filer. If he filed jointly, there's a mandatory 6-month waiting period because his spouse has the legal right to file an "injured spouse" claim to get their portion of the refund back. If he filed single, you might be looking at closer to 3-4 months instead. Here's what I wish someone had told me at the beginning: • Call the Treasury Offset Program directly at 1-800-304-3107 - they handle the offset before it goes to your state and can give you much more specific information about where yours stands in the process • Make absolutely sure you have direct deposit set up with your state's child support agency if you haven't already - this can save you several weeks compared to waiting for paper checks • Ask your caseworker specifically about the father's filing status and which exact stage your offset is currently in - don't let them give you vague answers The multi-agency process (IRS → Treasury Offset Program → Your State → You) is painfully slow, but the money will eventually come through. Mine took about 4.5 months total. I know how hard it is when you need that support money now, but try to think of this as the system finally working to get you what you're owed, even if it's frustratingly slow. You're not alone in this - so many of us have been through this exact wait! 💙

Something nobody's mentioned yet: Make sure you verify who's ACTUALLY the owner of these CDs from a legal standpoint. If these are UTMA/UGMA accounts where your child is the beneficiary, then yes, the interest legally belongs to your child and the 1099-INT should be in their name. But if they're joint accounts where you're just the custodian for convenience, the interest might legally be yours and the bank might be issuing the 1099s incorrectly. I had this exact problem with Wells Fargo where they were issuing 1099s in my daughter's name even though the accounts weren't properly set up as UTMA accounts. Had to get it fixed at the bank level.

Just an FYI - I worked at a bank for years in operations. If you added the child as a joint owner, the bank is required to get your child's SSN for the account and report a portion of the interest under that SSN. Usually it's split 50/50 for joint accounts unless you specified different ownership percentages when opening the account.

Quick question about the Schedule C - is anyone using any specific tax software that handles Poshmark 1099-Ks well? I tried using [popular tax software] last year and it was confusing trying to enter all my reselling info correctly.

One thing I wish I had known earlier - make sure you're tracking your time spent on your Poshmark business! The IRS uses this to determine if you qualify as a business vs. hobby. If they classify it as a hobby, you can't deduct expenses that exceed your income. Keep a simple log of hours spent sourcing, photographing, listing, packaging, and shipping. This documentation helps establish that you're running a legitimate business with profit motive, not just casually selling items. The "hobby loss rule" can be a real problem for resellers if you have a loss year or the IRS decides to audit. Also, since you mentioned setting up better tracking for this year - consider opening a separate business checking account even if you're not formally incorporated. It makes record-keeping so much cleaner and shows the IRS you're treating this as a real business operation.

I hate seeing so many people stressed about these codes! I had the exact same situation last year - 570 and 971 codes appeared together and I was panicking. Turned out the IRS just needed to verify my identity since I had moved and changed jobs. Got the CP05 notice about 10 days later asking for some documents, sent them in, and my refund was released 3 weeks after that. The whole process took about 6 weeks total but it wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. The key is to respond quickly once you get the notice and provide exactly what they ask for - no more, no less. Most of these reviews are really routine even though they feel terrifying when you're waiting. Try to stay calm and keep an eye on your mailbox! 🙏

I'm going through the exact same thing right now! Got my 570 and 971 codes on 02-24-2025 too and have been refreshing my transcript like crazy hoping for some movement. It's so frustrating not knowing what they're reviewing or how long it'll take. I called the IRS hotline yesterday but after being on hold for 2 hours they basically just told me to wait for the notice. The uncertainty is killing me because I have rent due next week and was really counting on this refund. Reading everyone's experiences here is both comforting and nerve-wracking - some people get resolved in 2 weeks, others are waiting months! I'm trying to stay positive but man, the IRS really needs to give us more transparency about what these holds are for. At least we're all in this together! 😤