I went through this exact same nightmare in early 2024! My refund got sent to an account I had closed months earlier and I was absolutely panicking about where my money went. The whole process took about 3 weeks from start to finish - bank rejected the deposit, SBTPG processed the return (which took forever), then mailed me a paper check. A few things I learned that might help you: - SBTPG's website updates are incredibly slow, so don't panic if the status doesn't change for days - Make sure your tax preparer confirms your current mailing address is on file with SBTPG - The paper check comes in the most generic envelope ever - seriously looks like junk mail, so be extra careful what you throw away - They'll deduct their processing fees before sending the check, so expect a bit less than your full $3,450 I know the waiting is torture when you need that money for bills, but it really does come through eventually. Their system is painfully slow but it works. Next year I'm definitely paying my prep fees upfront to skip this whole SBTPG middleman situation entirely - lesson learned the hard way!

I'm actually going through this exact situation right now too! My refund got sent to an account I closed back in December and I just found out yesterday. Reading through all these comments has been really helpful - sounds like the 2-3 week timeline is pretty consistent across everyone's experiences. The most frustrating part is how SBTPG makes it nearly impossible to get any real information about what's happening. Their website barely updates and from what everyone's saying, calling them is basically useless unless you want to spend your entire day on hold. I've already double-checked that my tax preparer has my current address on file, and after reading all these warnings about the plain envelope, I'm going to be super paranoid about checking every piece of mail that comes in over the next few weeks. Definitely don't want to accidentally throw away my own refund! This whole experience has convinced me to pay my prep fees upfront next year to avoid the SBTPG middleman entirely. Seems like such an obvious way to prevent this headache. Thanks everyone for sharing your timelines and tips - makes me feel a lot less anxious knowing this actually does get resolved eventually, even if the system is painfully slow.

Has anyone dealt with a situation where they rented out part of their house during the ownership period? I'm in a similar situation as OP but I rented out my basement for about 4 years of the 15 I've owned my house. Not sure how that affects the capital gains exclusion.

Just wanted to add another important consideration for your situation with your son on the deed - make sure you understand the "lookback" rule if you're planning to sell in 2026. If your son was added to the deed for estate planning purposes but hasn't met the 2-year ownership requirement yet, you might want to time the sale strategically. For example, if he was added to the deed in early 2024, he'd meet the ownership test in early 2026. Combined with the use test (if he's been living there), this could make a significant difference in your tax liability. Also, since you mentioned you've lived there 18 years continuously, you definitely meet both tests for the full exclusion. Just make sure to keep good records of when your son was added to the deed and his residency status to properly calculate each person's eligibility when you file.

I've been a retirement plan administrator for years and see this confusion all the time. When a 403(b) has both pre-tax and after-tax contributions, the rollover reporting can get messy. The distribution code "BG" is telling you something important. The "B" means qualified plan distribution, and the "G" specifically indicates this includes after-tax contributions. Those after-tax contributions ($12k in your case) should roll into your Roth IRA tax-free since you already paid tax on them. Only the earnings on those after-tax contributions (the $2k difference) would potentially be taxable when moving to a Roth. But if this was a direct transfer between trustees, even that might be reported differently. The blank in box 2a with unchecked box 2b is basically the provider saying "we don't know your tax situation, so we're not specifying the taxable amount.

Has anyone used TurboTax to handle this kind of situation? I'm going through something similar and wondering if the software can handle these complex rollover situations correctly.

I just went through this exact same situation with my Empower rollover! The BG code combination was throwing me off too, but after speaking with a tax professional, here's what I learned: The "B" indicates it's from a designated Roth account (like Roth 401k), and the "G" confirms it was a direct rollover. Since you rolled from one qualified plan to another, this should be completely non-taxable. The blank box 2a with "Taxable amount not determined" checked is actually normal for these situations. Empower is basically saying "we're not calculating the taxable portion because this should be handled as a rollover by the taxpayer." When I entered mine in TurboTax, I just had to make sure to answer "Yes" when it asked if this was a rollover. The software automatically treated it as non-taxable after that. You definitely still need to report the 1099-R on your return though - the IRS needs to see that you received it and properly handled it as a rollover. The different amounts in box 1 vs box 5 just represent your total distribution vs your original contributions. Since it was a proper rollover, you don't need to calculate anything - just report it correctly as a rollover and you should be all set!

I had a very similar situation last year with my 401k rollover and those BG codes on the 1099-R form. What helped me was understanding that you absolutely need to report this on your tax return even though it's not taxable - the IRS cross-references the 1099-R they received from Empower with what you report. The key thing is when your tax software asks about the distribution, make sure you clearly indicate it was a "direct rollover" or "trustee-to-trustee transfer." Most tax software will have a specific question about this. Once you mark it as a rollover, the software should automatically treat the entire amount as non-taxable. One thing to double-check: make sure the rollover was completed within 60 days if it wasn't a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer. If it was done properly between the two Empower accounts, you should be fine. The blank box 2a is actually working in your favor here - it means Empower isn't claiming any portion is taxable, which is correct for a proper rollover. Don't stress too much about calculating the taxable portion yourself - that's exactly why they left box 2a blank and checked the "not determined" box. Just report it accurately as a rollover and you'll be good to go!

Has anyone tried using TaxSlayer for business returns? Their website says they support 1120-S but I can't tell if they have good guidance for Schedule L specifically.

I've been struggling with Schedule L myself and found that the key is understanding that it's basically a snapshot of your business assets and liabilities at two points in time - beginning and end of tax year. One thing that really helped me was creating a simple mapping document between my QuickBooks chart of accounts and Schedule L line items. For example, my "Equipment" account maps to line 10a (Depreciable assets), and my "Accumulated Depreciation" account maps to line 10b. The biggest gotcha I found was that retained earnings on Schedule L needs to match your tax basis, not book basis. So if you have differences between book and tax income (like different depreciation methods), you'll need to adjust retained earnings accordingly. Have you tried running a "Balance Sheet Standard" report in QuickBooks for 12/31 of your tax year? That should give you most of the ending numbers you need. For beginning numbers, either use last year's ending balances or run the same report for the first day of your tax year.