This thread has been incredibly enlightening! I'm new to this community but stumbled upon this discussion while researching my own 60-day review notice. Got my CP05 dated March 21st - and surprise, surprise, I'm also a recent grad who claimed student loan interest deduction! 🎓 Reading through everyone's experiences has been such a relief. I was initially panicked thinking I'd made some major error on my return, but seeing how common this verification process is for people in our situation makes it so much less scary. The specific timelines everyone has shared (especially the 45-60 day resolution range) are incredibly helpful for setting realistic expectations. Ashley, I love your organized approach with the color-coded folders and spreadsheets - that's totally my style too! And to everyone else sharing their day counts and transcript monitoring tips, thank you so much. It's amazing how this community turns a stressful situation into something manageable just by sharing experiences and supporting each other. Looking forward to following along with everyone's updates and hopefully celebrating successful resolutions together! 🤞

Welcome to everyone joining this discussion! I'm also new to this community but found this thread while searching for answers about my own situation. Got my CP05 notice dated March 16th - and yes, you guessed it, I'm another recent grad who claimed student loan interest deduction! 🎓 It's honestly incredible how many of us are experiencing the exact same thing right now. Reading through all these experiences has been such a relief - I was initially worried I'd made some error on my return, but seeing this clear pattern of student loan interest verification reviews makes it so much less stressful. Ashley, your organized approach with the spreadsheets really resonates with me! I've also been obsessively checking my transcript (probably way more than I should 😅), but the specific timelines everyone has shared here - especially that 45-60 day resolution window - have really helped set realistic expectations instead of just wondering endlessly. The community support in this thread is amazing. It's so much easier to handle the waiting when you know you're not alone and that this is just routine verification rather than actual problems with our returns. Looking forward to following everyone's progress and hopefully celebrating successful resolutions together soon! 🤞

Just went through this exact situation myself! The key thing to remember is that state tax residency is based on where you physically lived and worked, not where your employer withheld taxes from your paycheck. You'll definitely need to file part-year returns in both states. For documentation, I'd recommend gathering your lease agreements, utility bills, bank statements showing address changes, and even things like voter registration or driver's license updates that show your actual move date. One thing that helped me was creating a simple timeline document showing exactly when I moved, when I notified my employer, and the pay periods affected. This made it much clearer when filling out the state forms. Most states have pretty clear instructions for part-year residents - you just need to be precise about the dates. Don't stress too much about the withholding mismatch. The states are used to this situation and have processes to handle it. You'll likely get a refund from your old state for the excess withholding after you moved.

This is a really common situation that trips up a lot of people! The good news is that state tax systems are designed to handle exactly this scenario. You're absolutely right to be concerned about the mismatch, but don't try to manually adjust anything on your own. Here's what you should do: 1. File part-year resident returns in both states for 2024 2. Enter your W-2 information exactly as it appears - don't modify the state withholding amounts 3. On each state's return, indicate your actual residency dates (when you moved) 4. The states will calculate what you actually owe based on your residency period, not the withholding amounts Your old state will likely issue you a refund for the taxes withheld after you moved, since you weren't a resident during that time. Your new state will calculate what you owe from your move date forward. Make sure to keep documentation of your move date (lease agreements, utility transfers, etc.) and consider using tax software that specifically handles multi-state situations - it will walk you through the process and ensure everything is allocated correctly. The key is letting the states sort out the withholding discrepancies rather than trying to fix it yourself, which could actually create more problems.

FYI, I learned the hard way that even if you're exempt from self-employment tax due to a totalization agreement, you still need to file Form 8966 to claim the exemption. Don't just not file - that's what triggered an audit for me.

I want to add some perspective as someone who went through a similar situation. The key thing to understand is that your situation might not be as dire as it seems, especially given your income levels. First, definitely look into the US-Germany totalization agreement that others mentioned. If you're contributing to the German social security system through your freelance work, you may be completely exempt from US self-employment tax. You'll need to get a certificate of coverage from Germany proving you're in their system. Second, with income around $380-400 monthly, you're right at the $400 annual threshold for self-employment tax. If your net income (after legitimate business expenses like software, equipment, home office deduction, etc.) falls below $400 in any given year, you won't owe SE tax for that year. For catching up on unfiled returns, consider the IRS Voluntary Disclosure Program if you qualify - it can help reduce penalties. Also, first-time penalty abatement is available if you have a clean compliance history. Don't panic - thousands of expat freelancers deal with this exact situation. The important thing is you're addressing it now rather than continuing to ignore it. Document everything, keep good records of your German tax payments and social security contributions, and consider getting professional help for the initial catch-up filing to make sure you're claiming all available exemptions and credits.

Think of the IRS processing system like a crowded highway during rush hour. Your 2/23 return is like a car that entered the highway at a particularly busy on-ramp. Some cars (returns) filed earlier or later might move through faster because they hit less congestion at their particular entry point. I filed and was accepted on 2/24, just a day after you, and my transcript updated Saturday night with a DDD of 3/20. The seemingly random nature of processing is concerning because you never know if you're just in normal traffic or if there's an actual problem with your return that needs attention.

Filed and accepted 2/23 as well, and I'm seeing the same frustrating lack of updates. What's particularly annoying is that my friend filed on 2/25 (two days AFTER me) and got her DDD yesterday for 3/22. Meanwhile, I'm still checking WMR daily and getting the generic "your return is being processed" message. I've checked my transcript multiple times - no cycle codes, no TC codes, nothing. It's like my return disappeared into a black hole. The inconsistency in processing times this year is really concerning. Some people are getting their refunds in 10-14 days while others of us are stuck in limbo well past the 21-day mark with no explanation.

Wait until u see how long the federal refund takes 😂

Glad you got it sorted out! Virginia really needs to step up their notification game. I had a similar issue last year where they sent my verification letter to an old address even though I updated it with them. Had to wait weeks for them to resend it to the correct address. At least once you verify, they're pretty quick with processing the refund!