For what it's worth, I checked with my accountant about a similar IRS TREAS 310 TAX REF deposit I received, and he explained that the IRS has been processing a backlog of corrections and adjustments from previous tax years. Many people are getting surprise refunds from tax years 2021-2023 as the IRS works through their processing delays. If you filed during the pandemic years, this could be a delayed adjustment from that period.

I work as a tax advisor and see this situation frequently with H1B holders. The IRS TREAS 310 TAX REF code specifically indicates a legitimate tax refund, so you can feel confident this isn't a mistake or something you need to worry about returning. Given your H1B status, there are a few likely explanations: 1) You may have qualified for tax treaty benefits between the US and your home country that weren't initially applied, 2) The IRS automated systems caught an error in your favor during their review process, or 3) You had excess withholding that created a larger refund than expected. To verify the exact reason, I'd recommend checking your IRS online account at irs.gov where you can see a detailed breakdown of your tax account activity. This will show you exactly which tax year and which specific adjustment generated the refund. This documentation is also helpful to keep for your records in case you ever need to reference it in the future. The money is yours to keep - just make sure to keep records of when you received it in case it affects any future tax filings.

This entire thread has been a lifesaver! I'm in week 11 with my W7 return and was starting to panic that something had gone wrong. Reading everyone's detailed experiences really shows that these extended timelines are unfortunately normal for ITIN cases. A few things I've learned from my own experience that might help others: 1. The IRS considers paper returns with W7 applications completely separate from regular returns - they go to specialized processing centers and follow different workflows entirely. 2. Even after you receive the ITIN, your return still needs to go through what they call "re-association" where they manually link the new ITIN back to your original return. This alone can take 2-4 weeks. 3. The "Where's My Refund" tool is essentially useless for W7 returns until they're completely processed, so don't panic if nothing shows up for months. For anyone still waiting, I'd highly recommend calling the ITIN-specific line at 1-800-908-9982 rather than the general IRS number. The agents there actually understand the W7 process and can give you much better information about where your return stands. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - it really helps to know we're not alone in this incredibly slow process!

I'm going through this exact same situation right now and this thread has been incredibly reassuring! I filed my return with a W7 for my spouse back in January, received the ITIN in early March, but I'm now at 15 weeks with no updates on the actual return processing. What's really helped me is understanding that this isn't just a "slow processing" issue - it's actually multiple separate processes that have to happen in sequence. The W7 gets handled first, then there's this manual re-association step that nobody tells you about, then it goes into yet another queue for final processing. I called the ITIN-specific line (1-800-908-9982) that everyone mentioned and the agent confirmed my return is in the "post-ITIN manual review" stage. She explained that returns with newly issued ITINs require additional verification steps to make sure all the information matches up correctly in their system. The most helpful thing she told me was to expect a total timeline of 18-22 weeks from original filing for first-time ITIN cases. That puts me at another 3-7 weeks of waiting, which is frustrating but at least I have realistic expectations now. For anyone just starting this process - definitely don't e-file a duplicate return thinking yours got lost. The paper W7 returns follow a completely different workflow and the normal IRS tools don't track them properly until they're fully completed.

The same thing happened to me. One thing no one has mentioned yet - check if your employer offers any pre-tax deductions that might be lowering your taxable wages. Things like: - 401k contributions - HSA/FSA contributions - Health insurance premiums - Commuter benefits I found out my federal withholding seemed super low because almost $20k of my salary wasn't being taxed due to maxing out my 401k and having expensive health insurance. Those pre-tax deductions reduced my taxable income substantially.

I had a very similar situation at my current job! What helped me was actually requesting my payroll department to show me exactly how they were calculating my withholding. It turned out they were using an older version of the withholding tables that didn't account for the 2017 tax law changes properly. Here's what I'd recommend: First, use the IRS withholding calculator online with your exact pay information to see what your withholding SHOULD be. Then compare that to what's actually being withheld. If there's a big difference, take both numbers to your HR/payroll department and ask them to verify their calculations. Also, since you mentioned your coworkers are having the same issue, this really does sound like a systemic problem with how your company is processing W-4s or which withholding tables they're using. You might want to bring this up as a group - sometimes companies are more responsive when multiple employees raise the same concern. The fact that this is happening to everyone suggests it's not just individual W-4 errors. In the meantime, I'd definitely recommend adding extra withholding on line 4(c) of your W-4 to cover the gap until the underlying issue gets resolved.

has anyone used TurboTax for handling multi-state work situations? does it handle this well or should i look for a tax professional? got a similar situation working from florida (home) but spent 3 weeks working from ny last year.

This is a really nuanced area that trips up a lot of remote workers! From what I've researched, California does have some of the strictest rules about this. They generally require non-resident tax filings if you're working there temporarily, but there are thresholds to consider. The key thing is that California considers any work performed within their borders as California-source income, regardless of where your employer is based. However, they do have a threshold - I believe it's around $1,000 in California-source income or working there for more than a certain number of days before you're required to file a non-resident return. For your situation, definitely keep detailed records of which days you work while in California versus days you take off. You might also want to consider structuring your trip so that you take actual vacation days while there and do your work before/after the trip to avoid the complexity altogether. One more tip - check if Wyoming has any reciprocity agreements with California that might simplify things, though I don't think they do since Wyoming doesn't have state income tax to begin with.

Don't forget to look into the Safe Harbor for Small Taxpayers provision if your property qualifies! If your rental property's unadjusted basis is $1 million or less AND your total annual repairs, maintenance, and improvements don't exceed $10,000 or 2% of the unadjusted basis (whichever is less), you might be able to deduct everything as a repair expense regardless of whether it would normally be classified as an improvement. This provision has saved me tons of headaches with my rental properties because I don't have to agonize over the repair vs. improvement classification as much. Worth looking into!

The distinction between repairs and improvements can be tricky, especially when what starts as a simple fix turns into major work. Here's my take on your situation: **Bathroom work**: Since you were attempting to restore the bathroom to its previous functional condition after the first contractor's poor work caused damage, this would likely qualify as a repair rather than an improvement - even though it resulted in extensive work. The key is that your intent was restoration, not enhancement. **Water heater replacement**: This is clearly a repair since you're replacing a failing component with a comparable one due to normal wear and age. **Invoice allocation**: Yes, you can reasonably estimate the water heater portion. Get a few quotes for similar water heater installations in your area to establish a reasonable cost. Document your methodology and keep the quotes with your tax records. One important consideration: if during the bathroom work you upgraded to significantly better fixtures or materials than what was originally there, those specific upgrades would need to be classified as improvements. But replacing damaged components with similar quality items as part of restoring functionality remains a repair. Keep detailed documentation of the original problem, the first contractor's mistakes, and your efforts to restore the property to working condition. This supports the repair classification if questioned.