Has anyone had problems with the foreign tax credit affecting other parts of your return? Last year I claimed about $200 in foreign tax credit from my Betterment account, and it somehow messed up my qualified business income deduction calculation. TurboTax kept giving me an error about "modified taxable income" being affected.

I had this exact same issue with my Schwab account last year! The Box 6-d confusion is super common because most investment platforms don't make the country information easily accessible on their standard 1099-DIV forms. One thing that helped me was logging into my Schwab account and looking for "Tax Center" or "Tax Documents" section - they often have more detailed breakdowns there that show which specific countries withheld taxes. For your $127 amount, you're definitely under the $300 threshold for the simplified foreign tax credit, so you might not even need to specify each country. If you can't find the detailed breakdown and don't want to spend time on hold with Betterment, you could also just proceed with the simplified credit option in TurboTax. The IRS allows this for smaller amounts and it's much less complicated than filing Form 1116. Just make sure to select that you're claiming the credit for taxes under $300 when TurboTax asks.

I've used H&R Block for the past 3 years. First year was $225, second year $350, and this year they charged me $525 for basically the identical situation each time. When I asked about the increase, they just said "rates have gone up" with no actual justification. I'm definitely looking elsewhere next year! Their convenience isn't worth the premium anymore.

Just walked out of H&R Block myself because they wanted $795 for my taxes!! I'm self employed too, but just a simple Etsy shop. Ended up using TaxAct online for $110 total for federal and state. Took me about 2.5 hours but TOTALLY worth saving almost $700!

Has anyone considered putting an addendum in their modification to explicitly state that you want to keep the old tax treatment? My attorney suggested adding language like: "Both parties agree that this modification does not expressly state that the repeal of the alimony deduction under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act applies to this modification, and therefore the original tax treatment of alimony payments as deductible by the payor and includible in the income of the recipient shall continue." Would that be helpful or create more problems?

This is such a helpful thread! I'm dealing with a similar situation where my 2017 divorce agreement was modified in 2024, and like the original poster, our modification is silent on tax treatment. Reading through everyone's experiences, it sounds like I should be able to continue deducting my alimony payments since there's no explicit language in the modification adopting the new tax rules. But I'm curious - has anyone here actually been through a tax season filing this way and had any issues with the IRS? Also, @Rudy Cenizo, that addendum language your attorney suggested is brilliant. I wish I had thought of that before we finalized our modification. For anyone else reading this who hasn't modified yet, definitely consider adding that protective language! One question for the group - if I continue taking the deduction based on the silence in my modification, should I attach any documentation to my tax return explaining the situation, or just file normally and keep the divorce documents in case of questions later?

$172 is definitely above the threshold you need to report. I work at a bank (not tax advice) and we send 1099-INTs to both customers AND the IRS for anything over $10. The IRS computer systems automatically match these documents against tax returns, so they'll know this income wasn't reported. Here's what typically happens: The IRS will eventually (6-9 months later) send you a CP2000 notice saying they found unreported income. They'll calculate the additional tax, add interest from the original due date, and possibly a small penalty. Then you'll have to respond and pay the amount. It's much simpler to just amend now before that happens. Plus it looks better if you correct the mistake voluntarily rather than waiting for them to find it.

You absolutely should amend your return for the $172 interest income. I went through something similar last year and learned the hard way that the IRS automated matching system is very thorough. Here's the reality: Your bank already sent a 1099-INT to the IRS showing that $172 in interest income. When the IRS runs their matching program (usually 6-12 months after filing season), they'll compare what you reported against all the 1099s they received. The discrepancy will trigger an automated notice. At your income level ($76k), you're probably in the 22% federal bracket, so we're talking about maybe $38 in additional federal tax, plus California state tax (probably around 6-8% depending on your exact bracket). So total additional tax would likely be under $60. The key benefit of amending voluntarily is that you avoid the failure-to-report penalty and minimize interest charges. If you wait for the IRS to find it, you'll pay interest calculated from the original due date plus potential penalties. Form 1040-X isn't too complicated for a straightforward addition like this. Just report the additional interest income and pay the difference. Much better to handle it proactively than deal with IRS notices later.

Pro tip: If you're waiting for an amended return and need that money ASAP, call the Taxpayer Advocate Service at 877-777-4778. If you can demonstrate financial hardship (like potential eviction, utilities being shut off, can't afford medications), they can expedite your case. I was waiting on a $4,500 amended refund for over 4 months and was about to miss a mortgage payment. Called the TAS, explained my situation, and they pushed my amendment through in 3 weeks. You'll need documentation of the hardship, but it's literally their job to help when the normal IRS processes are causing financial difficulties. Worth a shot if you're really struggling while waiting!

I'm in a very similar situation - filed an amended return 11 weeks ago to add my son's SSN for the child tax credit after finding his social security card during a move. Also used H&R Block and everything should be straightforward. Reading through all these responses is both reassuring and concerning. It's good to know that 20-30 weeks is more realistic than the 16 weeks the IRS claims, but that's still a long time to wait for money you're legally entitled to. The advice about waiting until week 20 before contacting them makes sense, and I'm glad to hear that adding a dependent's SSN is low-risk for audit. I've been checking that tracking tool obsessively and it's frustrating how it just sits on "Processing" with no real updates. Thanks to everyone sharing their experiences and solutions - it helps to know I'm not alone in this waiting game. Going to bookmark some of these resources in case I need them down the road!