25 Something nobody mentioned - make sure you check local tax requirements too! I found out the hard way that my city requires a business license and annual business tax return even if your business hasn't started operating yet. Cost me a $75 late fee because I didn't realize this applied to "pre-revenue" businesses.

One thing I'd add from my experience with a similar situation - don't forget to get an EIN if you haven't already! You'll need it for the Form 1065 filing. You can apply for one online at the IRS website for free (be careful of scam sites that charge for this). Also, even though you haven't started operations, consider setting up a simple bookkeeping system now. Something basic like QuickBooks or even a spreadsheet to track that initial $8k investment and any future expenses. It'll make next year's taxes much easier when you do have actual business activity to report. The sooner you establish good record-keeping habits, the better off you'll be. And definitely keep receipts for any startup costs you incur before beginning operations - LLC formation fees, business bank account setup fees, etc. These can often be deducted as startup expenses once you begin operations.

I got the same email and was panicking too! Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences here - it really helped calm my nerves. I decided to check my 2018 return by manually comparing my W-2s to what was imported into TurboTax, and thankfully everything matched up correctly. For anyone still worried about this, the key takeaway seems to be that even if there was an error, the 3-year statute of limitations has passed for most 2018 returns (unless you had major underreporting). So while it's worth checking for peace of mind, you're probably not going to get hit with surprise back taxes at this point. The bigger concern would be if you overpaid and missed the window to get that money back, but there's nothing you can do about that now. Really appreciate all the helpful info from the tax professionals in this thread!

I'm an enrolled agent and wanted to add some clarity here. The TurboTax notice is legitimate - they discovered their W-2 import feature had bugs that affected some 2018 returns. The most common issues I've seen are incorrect withholding amounts in boxes 2 and 17, and problems with box 12 codes (like retirement plan contributions). For most people, you're protected by the statute of limitations at this point. However, I'd still recommend doing a quick manual comparison of your actual W-2 against what's showing in your 2018 TurboTax return, especially if you remember having multiple W-2s or complex box 12 entries that year. If you do find discrepancies, don't panic. Document what you find, but remember that for routine errors on 2018 returns, both the IRS collection period and your refund claim period have likely expired. The peace of mind from knowing your situation is usually worth the 15-20 minutes it takes to check.

DONT CALL THE IRS PHONE NUMBER its completely useless. Waited 2 hours just to be told they cant help me. Do the online verification if u can

Just went through this whole process myself! Got the 5071C letter about 3 weeks after filing. The ID.me verification was actually pretty smooth - took maybe 20 minutes total. Had to upload my driver's license and take a selfie, then they did a video call to verify my identity. After that, it was a waiting game. My refund finally showed up 7 weeks later. Pro tip: keep checking your transcript every Friday - that's when they usually update with new processing dates. Hang in there!

11 Quick question about this MLP situation - if I do end up with a small amount of UBTI in my retirement account from an MLP (like $200), do I need to report it anywhere or only if it exceeds the $1000 threshold?

8 This is a great discussion that highlights an important distinction many investors miss. For your specific situation with day trading MLPs in your Roth IRA, you're correct that you don't need to report anything since you didn't receive distributions and only generated capital gains. One thing to add: even if you do receive a K-1 form in the mail (which happens sometimes even for short-term holdings), look specifically at Box 20 Code V for any UBTI amounts. If it's blank or shows zero, you're definitely in the clear. The custodian of your Roth IRA should also be tracking any UBTI, but it's good to understand this yourself. For future reference, if you want MLP exposure without the tax complications, consider energy sector ETFs like XLE or pipeline-focused ETFs like AMLP - these give you similar exposure without the K-1 forms and UBTI concerns in retirement accounts.

im in exactly the same boat as u right now lol. verified last thursday, status changed yesterday. from the research I've done, the change in wording is definitely step 1 of good news. Now we just gotta wait til our cycle days (I'm 05 too). Hoping we both wake up to good news tmrw!!!

This is exactly what happened to me! Filed in March, stuck on "still processing" forever after getting the dreaded ID verification letter. Finally verified online and within 4 days saw that same status change to "being processed." My transcript was still blank too at first, which had me worried. But sure enough, on my cycle day (Thursday morning) my transcript updated with all the codes including my DDD. Got my refund deposited exactly 5 business days later. The status change really is a good indicator that your verification went through and your return is moving again. Hang tight - Thursday morning should bring good news for you!