Has anyone mentioned the "qualifying relative" rules? Even though an ex-spouse can't be claimed, sometimes people don't realize they can claim other adults in their household. My roommate lost his job last year and I supported him (paid over half his expenses and he made under $4200). My tax guy said I could claim him as a dependent even though we're not related because he lived with me all year. Might not help with the ex-wife situation but worth knowing.

If u cant claim ur ex, maybe see if u can deduct any alimony payments? I think the old tax rules let u deduct alimony but new rules changed that for recent divorces. worth looking into tho.

If you're just looking to avoid manual entry, FreeTaxUSA probably isn't for you. I've used it for 5 years and what you save in money, you "pay" in time with manual entry. For simple returns it's great, but with lots of investment transactions, you might be better off with TurboTax or H&R Block despite the higher cost. That said, if you're determined to use FreeTaxUSA, here's what I do for my ETrade stuff: 1. Use ETrade's cost basis report (not just the 1099) 2. Focus on entering the summary information where possible 3. Set aside a dedicated chunk of time - it will take longer than you expect 4. Double-check your numbers - easy to make typos with manual entry

I made the switch from TurboTax to FreeTaxUSA last year and dealt with the same ETrade import issue. Here's what worked for me: ETrade provides a "Realized Gains and Losses" report in their tax center that's much cleaner than trying to work from the 1099-B directly. You can download it as a CSV file and it breaks everything down by short-term vs long-term gains, which matches exactly how FreeTaxUSA asks for the information. For the 40 transactions you mentioned, you'll likely be able to use the summary totals if they're all covered securities (most ETrade transactions from recent years are). FreeTaxUSA has a streamlined entry option where you just enter the totals from each category rather than individual trades. The whole process took me about 45 minutes once I had the right report from ETrade. Way better than I expected, and I saved over $100 compared to TurboTax's pricing this year. The trade-off in convenience was definitely worth it for me.

I've been through this multiple times and here's what you need to know about code 570: • It's a temporary hold that can be triggered by many different things • If it's PATH Act related, you'll usually see TC 570 with a date of April 15, 2024 • If you claimed refundable credits (EITC/ACTC), the PATH Act prevents refunds before mid-February • A 570 followed by 971 usually means they're sending you a letter • Most 570 codes resolve within 2-3 weeks without any action required Most importantly, don't panic - about 70% of these resolve automatically.

I'm dealing with something similar right now! Filed in early February and got a 570 code that appeared last week. From what I've researched, the timing matters a lot - if your 570 appeared around the same time as mine (mid-March), it's more likely to be routine verification rather than PATH Act related. The PATH Act delays typically show up much earlier in the process. I'm trying to stay patient since you mentioned last year worked out fine by April 2nd. Fingers crossed we both see movement soon!

This whole thing just shows how broken our tax system is. Why should regular people have to jump through all these hoops just to claim a legitimate credit? The government wants people to work but makes childcare expenses complicated to claim. And then we have to chase down sitters and babysitters for their personal info which makes everyone uncomfortable. I had the same issue with my mom's caregiver. Ended up writing "REFUSED" and my refund was delayed by 2 months! That's ridiculous. The IRS should have a better system for this by now.

I'm dealing with this exact situation right now! My daycare provider gave me her business name but refuses to provide her EIN, saying she "handles her own taxes." I've been going back and forth with her for weeks. What's frustrating is that I'm trying to do everything by the book, but these providers make it so difficult. I understand they might be concerned about tax implications on their end, but legally they're supposed to provide this information if we're claiming the credit. Has anyone had success explaining to their caregiver that providing the SSN/EIN doesn't automatically mean the IRS will audit them or cause problems? I'm wondering if there's a way to reassure her that this is just standard tax documentation. I really don't want to lose a good daycare provider over this, but I also don't want to miss out on a significant tax credit that I'm entitled to claim.

I'm dealing with the exact same situation! Filed through TurboTax on February 7th and my transcript is showing "Return Not Present" too. It's been really stressing me out because I need that refund for some medical bills. After reading all these comments, it seems like there's definitely something going on with February filings through TurboTax. So many of us are experiencing the same thing - got confirmation emails but transcript shows nothing filed. I just tried the taxr.ai tool that everyone's been recommending and honestly it was really helpful! For just $1 it analyzed my transcript and explained that the "not filed" status doesn't necessarily mean your return is lost - it often shows up when returns are in a verification queue or there's a processing backlog. It gave me a timeline of what to expect and when I should start worrying if nothing changes. Way better than trying to decode the IRS phone system that never lets you talk to a human. At least now I have some idea of what's happening instead of just panicking every day checking my transcript. Hopefully we'll all see our returns show up processed soon! 🙏

I'm going through the exact same thing! Filed February 12th through TurboTax and my transcript shows "Return Not Present" even though I have all the confirmation emails. It's been so stressful because I really need that refund money. After reading through all these comments, it's actually reassuring to see so many people dealing with this exact issue - especially other February TurboTax filers. Makes me think it's definitely a processing backlog or system issue rather than something we did wrong. I just tried the taxr.ai tool that everyone's been mentioning and wow, it was actually really helpful! For just $1 it analyzed my transcript and explained that "Return Not Present" often shows up when returns are stuck in verification queues or processing backlogs. It gave me a realistic timeline of what to expect and when I should actually start worrying if nothing changes. Way better than trying to get through to the IRS phone system which seems impossible right now. At least now I have some actual information about what's happening instead of just checking my transcript daily and panicking. Hoping we all see our returns processed soon! 🤞