The "free" tax prep industry is such a scam. Most of these companies actively lobbied AGAINST the IRS creating its own free filing system for years. They make their interfaces deliberately confusing to upsell you on premium features. I switched to paper filing with the official IRS forms a few years ago and never looked back. Yes, there's a learning curve, but once you understand the basic forms, it's not that complicated for most people. Plus, you actually learn how taxes work instead of just plugging numbers into boxes without understanding why.

I've been dealing with this same frustration! Last year I got hit with a $25 amendment fee from TaxAct after they advertised "free filing." It's so misleading when they only mention the fees buried in the fine print. One thing that helped me was using the IRS's own Free File Fillable Forms for my amendment this year. It's completely free but you're basically filling out the raw Form 1040-X yourself without much guidance. The interface is pretty bare-bones but if you have your original return handy and the corrected information, it's manageable. The key is being extra careful since there's no error-checking like the commercial software. I printed out the IRS instructions for Form 1040-X and followed them step by step. Took me about 2 hours but saved me the $20+ fee. For next year, I'm planning to be more methodical about gathering ALL my tax documents before I start filing to avoid amendments altogether. Maybe make a checklist of all possible income sources from the previous year.

Watch out for state estate or inheritance taxes too! Everyone's focused on federal, but depending on where your father-in-law lived, there might be state taxes to deal with that have much lower exemptions than federal. Connecticut, for example, has a lower estate tax exemption than the federal one.

This is such a complex situation, and I really appreciate everyone sharing their experiences and insights. As someone who works in estate planning, I want to emphasize a few key points that haven't been fully addressed: First, timing is absolutely critical here. The 9-month deadline for filing Form 706 (with possible 6-month extension) isn't just about taxes owed - it's about preserving options. Even if the marital deduction eliminates all estate tax, filing preserves the portability election AND starts the statute of limitations running on IRS challenges to asset valuations. Second, the trust structure really does determine everything. If this was a revocable trust, the assets are included in the estate for tax purposes but may still qualify for the marital deduction depending on how the trust is structured post-death. If it's an irrevocable trust created during lifetime, you need to determine if it was a completed gift (requiring gift tax analysis) or if your father-in-law retained powers that kept it in his estate. Third, don't overlook the generation-skipping transfer tax implications if the trust has provisions for grandchildren or other skip persons. This can create additional filing requirements and potential taxes even when estate tax is avoided through the marital deduction. I'd strongly recommend getting professional help given the $14.5 million estate size - the cost of proper planning and compliance is minimal compared to potential penalties or missed opportunities.

14 One thing nobody's mentioned - if the trust has any expenses related to managing the assets (like trustee fees, investment advisor fees, etc.), those might offset some of the income and could potentially bring you below the $600 threshold. However, I'd still recommend filing the 1041 even if you drop below $600 after expenses, just for documentation purposes. It creates a clean record showing you're properly administering the trust, which can be important if beneficiaries ever question your management.

9 Don't forget that even if all income is distributed, the trust may have undistributed net income from prior years. I learned this the hard way! The $600 threshold applies to current year gross income, but if there's UNI from previous years, different rules apply.

I literally just went through this last week! For Line 4 (tax liability), I just used my 2022 tax return and found the line that said "total tax" (I think it was line 24 on the 1040). For line 5, I added up all the federal taxes from my paystubs for 2023 (look for "Fed Withholding" or similar). Line 6 was just the difference, and for line 7, I paid about half of what I owed just to be safe.

I completely feel your frustration! I was in the exact same boat last year - staring at Form 4868 like it was written in hieroglyphics. Here's what helped me understand it: Think of "tax liability" as your final grade on a test, and "payments" as all the homework points you already earned throughout the year. Line 4 is asking "what do you think your final tax grade will be?" and Line 5 is "how many homework points (tax payments) have you already earned?" Since you don't have your W-2 yet, here's a quick workaround: Look at your last paystub from December 2023. It should show your year-to-date federal tax withholding - that's your Line 5 number. For Line 4, if your income was similar to 2022, you can use last year's "total tax" from your 2022 return as a starting estimate. Don't stress too much about getting it perfect - the IRS knows these are estimates on extension forms. The key is making a reasonable good-faith effort. Once you get all your documents, you'll calculate the exact amounts on your actual tax return. Also, remember that filing an extension gives you until October to file your return, but if you owe money, you still need to pay by the original deadline to avoid interest charges. So it's better to overestimate a bit than underestimate!

Has anyone tried Cash App taxes? They don't do advances but its completely free to file

ur better off waiting for ur actual refund tbh. these advance loans are just another way for these companies to make $$ off poor people 💅