I went through something very similar last year! My tax preparer filed my 2021 return but completely missed my 2020 return that I specifically asked her to handle. I was panicking when I discovered it months later. The good news is you have plenty of time - you can file your 2022 return until April 2025 if you're owed a refund. No penalties at all in that case. I ended up filing mine myself using TurboTax and got my refund within a few weeks. My advice: Don't wait for your current preparer to respond. Go get your documents TODAY if possible. I made the mistake of waiting and it just delayed everything. Also, definitely ask for a refund of whatever you paid for the 2022 filing since she never did the work. This is totally her fault and completely unprofessional. You're not the first person this has happened to, and unfortunately you probably won't be the last. The important thing is just getting it filed now so you can get your refund and move on with a better tax preparer next year!

I'm really sorry this happened to you! As a tax professional myself, this kind of oversight is completely unacceptable. You absolutely can still file your 2022 return - you have until April 15, 2025 if you're owed a refund, and there are no penalties for filing late when the IRS owes you money. Here's what I'd recommend doing immediately: 1. Go to her office in person and collect ALL your 2022 documents - don't wait for a callback 2. If she's avoiding you, send a certified letter demanding your documents and a partial refund for services not rendered 3. File your 2022 return ASAP using reputable tax software or find a new CPA 4. Consider reporting her to your state board if she's licensed - this is a serious breach of professional duty The fact that she charged you for both returns but only filed one is essentially theft of services. Document everything - your payment records, communications, etc. You have every right to demand accountability here. Don't stress about the IRS side of things though - this is completely fixable and you're well within the timeframe to get your 2022 refund!

With 0 exemptions, your still getting hit with a penalty because of the captial gains + 1099 income. When i had a similar situation, i checked the box for "multiple jobs" on my W-4 AND put an extra $100 per paycheck in the additional withholding section (line 4c). haven't had a penalty since. Also you might qualify for first-time penalty abatement if this is your first penalty. Call the IRS and ask. they waived mine completetly!

I went through almost the exact same situation last year - multiple W-4 jobs throughout the year plus capital gains from stock sales, and got slammed with an underpayment penalty despite having 0 allowances/exemptions. It's frustrating because you think you're being conservative with your withholding! The issue is that each employer withholds based on annualizing just that job's income, not your total annual income from all sources. So if you made $30k at Job A (worked 4 months), $35k at Job B (worked 5 months), and $25k at Job C (worked 3 months), each employer calculated withholding as if you'd make $90k, $84k, and $100k respectively for the full year. But your actual combined income was much higher, pushing you into higher tax brackets. For this year, I'd recommend: 1) Use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator whenever you change jobs, 2) Consider making quarterly estimated tax payments for any expected capital gains using Form 1040-ES, and 3) If you anticipate significant investment income again, add extra withholding on line 4(c) of your W-4. I now withhold an extra $75 per paycheck and it's kept me penalty-free. Also definitely look into First Time Penalty Abatement if this was your first underpayment penalty - the IRS will often waive it completely if you have a clean payment history!

Has anyone used both a professional appraiser and the IRS's Art Appraisal Services for valuable collectibles in an estate? My parents have some artwork that might need special handling on the 706.

This is exactly the kind of complex estate planning question that keeps me up at night! I'm dealing with a similar situation with my grandmother's estate planning. One additional consideration that might be worth discussing with your mother's financial advisor - the timing of when she passes could significantly impact the filing threshold since the basic exclusion amount changes each year (it's inflation-adjusted). For 2024, it's $13.61 million, and it will likely be higher in future years until the current law sunsets after 2025. Also, don't forget that if your mother remarries (I know this might seem unlikely, but it happens!), that could complicate the DSUE situation since she can only carry forward the DSUE from her last deceased spouse. Just something to keep in the back of your mind for comprehensive planning. Given the complexity here, I'd really recommend getting a second opinion from an estate tax specialist who deals with portability elections regularly. The peace of mind is worth the consultation fee, especially when you're dealing with estates of this size.

One thing to watch out for - if you have expenses from more than a year before your LLC actually started operating, the IRS might not allow them as startup costs. I tried deducting some costs from 15 months before my business launched and got questioned on it.

Great question! As someone who went through this same confusion with my consulting LLC last year, I can confirm you're understanding it correctly. You can indeed deduct up to $5,000 in startup costs AND up to $5,000 in organizational costs separately in your first year - so potentially $10,000 total. For your marketing consultancy, startup costs would include things like market research, initial advertising, professional development courses, business cards, website development, etc. Organizational costs are the legal costs to actually form the LLC - filing fees, attorney fees for drafting your operating agreement, etc. Just make sure to keep detailed records of what falls into each category. I used a simple spreadsheet with two columns to track them separately. Since you're filing as a sole proprietor (pass-through), these will go on your Schedule C as "Other Expenses" in Part V, but make sure to label them clearly as either startup or organizational costs. One tip: if your total costs in either category are under the $5,000 limits, you can deduct the full amount in year one. You only need to worry about the 15-year amortization if you exceed those thresholds.

I went through almost the exact same situation with my 2017 amended return that I filed in 2020. The waiting is absolutely maddening, especially when you've already paid what you think you owe! One thing I learned that might help - when you check your account transcript, look for the cycle date next to code 977. This shows when the IRS actually began working on your amendment. If it's been more than 16 weeks since that cycle date, you have grounds to request expedited processing when you call. Also, don't worry too much about your payment sitting as a credit. Mine sat there for almost 8 months before they applied it. The IRS is super cautious about applying payments until they've triple-checked all the math, especially on older tax years where there might be statute of limitations issues. The code 290 everyone mentioned will definitely appear when it's done - mine showed up on a Friday and by the following Tuesday I had a letter in the mail explaining the final adjustment. Hang in there, it will eventually move!

I went through a very similar situation with my 2019 amended return that I filed in late 2022. The waiting period is absolutely brutal, especially when you can see some activity but no resolution. One thing that helped me understand the process better was learning that there are actually sub-phases within the "processing" status that the online tools don't show. After code 977 appears, your return goes through several internal queues - first for initial review, then for calculation verification, then for final approval. Each step can take weeks or months depending on the complexity and current workload. In my case, I had codes 971 and 977 for about 7 months before anything else appeared. Then suddenly one week I saw code 290 with the exact additional tax amount I calculated, followed by codes showing interest assessment and payment application. The whole thing finalized within days once it actually reached the final stage. The hardest part is that there's really no way to know which internal queue your return is sitting in. But the fact that you already paid the amount you calculated was smart - it shows good faith and prevents additional interest from accumulating while they work through their backlog. Keep checking that transcript weekly. When the 290 code appears, you'll know you're finally at the finish line!