This is such great information from everyone! I'm actually an enrolled agent who helps nonprofits with tax compliance, and I wanted to add a few practical tips for your golf tournament. First, create a simple spreadsheet to track all sponsor contributions and what they receive in return. This will be invaluable when it comes time to issue proper acknowledgment letters. Include columns for: sponsor name, amount paid, description of benefits received, fair market value of benefits, and tax-deductible portion. Second, get everything in writing with the Huntington's Disease Foundation before you start collecting money. You'll want a formal fundraising agreement that specifies how funds will be transferred, who issues tax receipts, and what documentation they'll provide to your sponsors. Third, consider setting up separate sponsorship tiers - some that are purely charitable donations (no benefits) and others that include golf/dinner packages. This makes the tax calculations much cleaner for everyone involved. The IRS Publication 526 has excellent guidance on charitable contributions that might be helpful for your sponsors to reference. Good luck with your tournament - sounds like it's going to be a great event for an important cause!

As a CPA who has worked with several charity golf tournaments, I want to emphasize something that's been touched on but bears repeating - documentation is absolutely critical for everyone's protection. One thing I always recommend to tournament organizers is creating a "sponsor packet" that includes: - A copy of the charity's IRS determination letter (proving 501c3 status) - Clear breakdown of what sponsors receive vs. their tax-deductible amount - Timeline for when they'll receive their official donation receipt - Contact information for the charity if they have questions Also, be aware that if you're handling any of the money directly (even temporarily), you may need to report it on your personal tax return and then show the subsequent donation to the charity. This is why working directly through the charity's existing systems is often simpler. One last tip: some sponsors may want to pay directly to the charity rather than through your organizing committee. Be prepared for this and have the charity's donation processing information ready. It actually makes things cleaner from a tax perspective, even though it might feel like you're losing control of the fundraising process. The tournament sounds like it's going to be amazing - the tax stuff seems complicated but it's really just about proper documentation and clear communication with all parties involved!

Have you checked your state's department of revenue website specifically? Many states have their own "Where's My Refund" tools that are completely separate from the federal IRS site. Also, what state are you in? Some states are notoriously slow with processing amended returns - California and New York can take 6+ months sometimes. Did you e-file or paper file your state amendment?

Just to add my experience - I filed amended returns for both federal and state last year, and the difference in processing times was incredible. Got my federal refund in about 12 weeks, but my state refund (Pennsylvania) took almost 8 months! The PA Department of Revenue website barely had any updates during that time either. What really helped me was setting up alerts on both the IRS "Where's My Amended Return" tool and my state's system so I wasn't constantly checking manually. Also learned that some states like mine still require paper filing for certain amended returns, which slows things down even more compared to federal e-filing.

This is a great question that trips up a lot of people! The SALT deduction cap is one of the most confusing parts of the current tax code. Just to add some context to the excellent explanations already given - the reason you're seeing such a dramatic difference between 2024 and 2025 is likely because: 1. You mentioned buying a house in late 2024, so 2025 is your first full year of property tax payments 2. Property taxes can easily be $15k-25k+ annually depending on your location and home value 3. Combined with state income taxes, this quickly pushes you over the $10k cap One thing to keep in mind is that this SALT cap is currently set to expire after 2025, so it may not be a permanent limitation. However, nothing is guaranteed until Congress acts. Also, make sure you're not double-counting any property taxes that might have been prorated at closing - those should only be deducted once, in the year you actually paid them to the tax authority (not necessarily when they were due).

One thing that might help clarify the SALT situation is understanding that the $10,000 cap is per tax return, not per person. So if you're single, you get $10,000. If you're married filing jointly, you still only get $10,000 total (not $10,000 each). This is why some married couples consider filing separately - each spouse could potentially claim up to $10,000 in SALT deductions on their separate returns. Also, since you mentioned using FreeTax USA, make sure you're looking at the right forms. Your total SALT taxes paid will show up on the detailed worksheets, but only up to $10,000 will actually flow through to your Schedule A as a deduction. The software should clearly show both numbers - what you paid versus what you can deduct. Given that you bought a house in late 2024, you're probably going to be dealing with this cap for the foreseeable future. It might be worth tracking your quarterly estimated state tax payments and property tax payments throughout the year so you can plan ahead for next year's filing.

I'm going through this exact same situation right now! Filed my Form 2553 about 8 weeks ago and haven't heard anything back yet. My tax preparer keeps asking me about the status because we need to know how to handle my quarterly payments. Based on what everyone's saying here, it sounds like I'm still within the normal timeframe, but the uncertainty is really stressful when you're trying to make important financial decisions. I think I'm going to try calling the IRS using that Claimyr service that @Jamal Anderson and @QuantumQuest mentioned - sitting on hold for hours just isn't feasible with my work schedule. Has anyone else had experience with their accountant or tax preparer during this waiting period? I'm wondering if there's a standard way CPAs handle the interim period before the CP261 Notice arrives.

I just wanted to share my recent experience since I was in almost the exact same situation as you! Filed my Form 2553 in early February and was getting really anxious around the 8-week mark because my business banker was asking for confirmation of my S corp status for a credit line application. I ended up calling the IRS directly (took about 3 hours of waiting, but I got through eventually). The representative was actually very helpful - she confirmed that my Form 2553 had been processed and approved, gave me the effective date (which matched what I had requested), and mentioned that the CP261 Notice had been mailed out just a few days prior. Sure enough, the notice arrived about a week later. One thing the IRS agent mentioned that might be helpful for your situation with estimated taxes - she said that as long as you filed Form 2553 in good faith and within the proper timeframe, you can generally proceed with S corp tax treatment even before receiving the official confirmation, as long as you're prepared to make adjustments if anything unexpected comes up. Obviously check with your accountant about this, but it gave me peace of mind to know that the IRS recognizes there's often a gap between filing and receiving confirmation. Hope this helps ease some of your anxiety!

I know exactly how you're feeling - that "Notice issued" status can be really nerve-wracking when you're already waiting months for your refund! The good news is that it typically just means the IRS is sending you paperwork about your return, not that there's anything seriously wrong. Since you mentioned claiming EIC, this is super common - they do extra reviews on those claims every year. I went through something similar last tax season and it turned out to be just a simple verification request. The notice will usually arrive within 5-10 business days and will tell you exactly what they need. Try not to stress too much until you see what it actually says - most of the time these notices are way more routine than we initially fear they'll be!

I totally understand the panic when you see "Notice issued" - I had the same reaction when it showed up on my transcript last year! The good news is that 99% of the time it's nothing to lose sleep over. Since you mentioned claiming EIC, this is actually super routine - the IRS does additional verification on those claims as a standard practice. In my case, it turned out to be a CP12 notice for a small math correction that actually increased my refund by $8! The notice should arrive in your mailbox within the next week or so and will spell out exactly what's happening. Until then, try to stay calm - "Notice issued" just means your return is actively being processed rather than sitting in limbo, which is actually progress! Keep us updated when you get the notice! 🤞