The MFS filing status definitely creates a maze of restrictions, but don't give up on retirement savings entirely! Here are a few additional strategies to consider: 1. **Spousal IRA contributions**: If your spouse has little to no income, you might be able to contribute to a spousal IRA on their behalf (subject to the same MFS limitations, but it's another avenue). 2. **HSA contributions**: If you have a high-deductible health plan, HSAs offer triple tax benefits (deductible, tax-free growth, tax-free withdrawals for medical expenses) and aren't subject to the same MFS restrictions as IRAs. 3. **Taxable investment accounts**: While not tax-advantaged, you can still save for retirement in regular brokerage accounts. Focus on tax-efficient index funds to minimize the tax drag. 4. **Timing considerations**: If your need to file separately is temporary (like the student loan situation), you might consider maxing out other retirement accounts this year and then catching up on IRA contributions in future years when you can file jointly again. The key is not to let the perfect be the enemy of the good - even non-deductible Traditional IRA contributions with tax-deferred growth can be worthwhile over a long time horizon.

One thing that might help is understanding that the MFS restrictions aren't necessarily permanent for your situation. Since you mentioned this is due to student loan repayment considerations, you might want to track when those loans get paid down or if the repayment terms change. In the meantime, definitely don't skip retirement savings altogether! Even if you can't get the full tax benefits from IRAs right now, you have other options: - Max out any employer 401(k) match if available (this isn't subject to MFS restrictions) - Consider a backdoor Roth conversion strategy if your income allows it - Look into increasing contributions to other tax-advantaged accounts like HSAs The student loan/MFS situation is frustrating but temporary. Keep saving for retirement in whatever way works best under your current constraints, and you can optimize your IRA strategy again once your filing status changes. The most important thing is maintaining the savings habit and not losing years of potential compound growth.

PSA: If anyone else is dealing with this, direct deposit is the way to go next time... just sayin 💅

Also worth noting that if your check does get returned to the IRS due to forwarding issues, they'll typically reissue it as a paper check to your updated address once you file Form 8822. The whole process can add another 3-4 weeks though, so definitely update your address with them ASAP even if USPS forwarding is working for now.

Has anyone using TurboTax had issues with how it calculates NIIT when you have capital loss carryforwards? Mine seemed to handle it strangely last year and I'm wondering if I need to switch to a different software.

I've been dealing with a similar situation and wanted to share what I learned from my tax preparer. One thing that might help is understanding that Form 8960 (the NIIT form) has its own separate calculation for net investment income that doesn't mirror your Schedule D exactly. The key insight for me was realizing that while your capital loss carryforward reduces your net capital gain to zero for NIIT purposes (which is great), you still need to be careful about other investment income like dividends, interest, or rental income that might push you over the NIIT threshold. Also, make sure you're considering the modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) thresholds - $200K for single filers, $250K for married filing jointly. Even if your net investment income is low due to the loss carryforwards, you might still owe NIIT if your overall income exceeds these thresholds. Have you calculated whether you'll be above the MAGI threshold this year? That's really the first step in determining if NIIT will even apply to your situation.

This is absolutely infuriating and unfortunately way too common with Indiana this year. I'm a tax professional and we're seeing unprecedented delays - easily 3x longer than previous years. The most frustrating part is that the DOR reps genuinely don't have access to detailed information about why returns are held up, so they give these generic responses that help nobody. A few things that might help based on what I've seen work for clients: 1. If you moved addresses in the past year, that's almost certainly why you're delayed - it triggers automatic identity verification 2. Try calling right at 8:30 AM and ask to speak with a "refund specialist" rather than general customer service 3. Document every call - date, time, rep name if they give it, and what they told you. This helps when you escalate 4. The state rep route really does work - they have direct contacts who can actually see what's happening with your return The cash flow management theory mentioned by the former employee makes perfect sense. They're basically using our refunds as an interest-free loan while charging us penalties for late payments. It's completely backwards and honestly should be illegal. Don't give up - keep pushing and use multiple strategies. This is 100% a systemic failure on their part, not anything you did wrong.

I'm dealing with this exact same issue! Filed my Indiana return on February 9th, accepted immediately, and it's been 57 days of complete silence. What's really frustrating is that I work in finance myself, so I understand processing systems - and there's no legitimate reason for these delays on straightforward returns. After reading through all these experiences, I'm convinced this is systematic dysfunction rather than isolated issues. The fact that federal returns process in under two weeks while Indiana takes 2+ months for the same taxpayer data is inexcusable. The inconsistent explanations from reps (I've gotten three different stories in four calls) suggests they either don't have real system access or are trained to give non-answers. I'm going to try the state representative approach this week - seems like that's the only thing that consistently gets results based on everyone's feedback here. Also planning to use one of those callback services to bypass the hold music torture and actually speak to someone with authority. Thanks to everyone sharing their timelines and strategies. It's oddly comforting to know this isn't just me, though it's infuriating that so many of us are dealing with this incompetence. Will update if I make any progress!

Does anyone have experience with how the R&D credit works for pass-through entities like an LLC? My accountant mentioned something about our company needing to process it at the entity level first and then it flows to our personal returns, but I'm confused about the mechanics.

Just wanted to add a practical tip that might help - make sure to keep detailed project documentation throughout the year, not just at tax time. The IRS loves contemporaneous records for R&D credit audits. We learned this the hard way when we got selected for review. Having emails, technical specifications, and meeting notes that showed we were genuinely facing technical uncertainty and experimenting with solutions made all the difference. The IRS agent specifically mentioned that our real-time documentation was much more credible than trying to recreate everything after the fact. For your wife's software development company, I'd recommend keeping records of any technical challenges encountered, different approaches tried, and why certain solutions didn't work. Even failed experiments count as qualified research expenses if they were part of a systematic process to eliminate technical uncertainty. The combination of good documentation plus being able to take both the wage deduction AND the credit makes this one of the most valuable tax benefits for development companies. Just don't forget that the credit can carry forward for 20 years if you can't use it all in the current year!