Has anyone tried using TurboTax's Electronic Funds Withdrawal option with Marcus instead of the direct account connection? I've been reading that sometimes this method works better for online banks because it processes differently in the system.

I used Marcus to pay my taxes through TurboTax last year and had a similar experience to what others have mentioned - it took about 4-5 days to process, which was nerve-wracking at first. The payment did go through successfully, but I learned a few things that might help you. First, make sure you have sufficient funds in your account with a little buffer, as Marcus sometimes puts a temporary hold on the full amount while processing. Second, I noticed that Marcus sends email notifications for large transfers like tax payments, so keep an eye on your email for any alerts. If you're really worried about it, you might want to call Marcus customer service and give them a heads up about the upcoming tax payment. When I did this, they noted it on my account which seemed to help with the processing. Their customer service is actually pretty good compared to other online banks. The Electronic Funds Withdrawal option that Zara mentioned is definitely worth considering for next year - I've heard good things about it being more reliable with online banks.

Quick question - does your cousin use the apartment at all? If she stays there when visiting, it might qualify as a second home for mortgage interest deductions if there's a loan on it.

Your cousin should also consider whether she needs to report this on her state tax return if she lives in a state with income tax. Some states have their own foreign asset reporting requirements that are separate from federal obligations. Also, since the apartment was gifted to her, she should try to get documentation of the property's fair market value at the time she received it. This will be important for calculating capital gains if she ever sells the property. The basis for gifted property is usually the donor's basis, but having the valuation at the time of gift can help with tax planning. One more thing - if she hasn't been reporting this property and decides to come into compliance, she should definitely document that the non-reporting was non-willful (meaning she didn't know about the requirements). This distinction is crucial for penalty mitigation under programs like the Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures that others have mentioned.

Does anyone know if there's an income limit for claiming the child tax credit? I have 3 kids and heard that if you make too much you start losing the credit amount.

I had a similar situation with my two kids last year and was worried about the same thing. What helped me was understanding that the child tax credit is worth up to $2,000 per qualifying child, so with your 4 kids you could potentially get up to $8,000 in credits when you file. One thing to keep in mind though - if you reduce your withholding too much by claiming all 4 dependents on your W-4, you might end up with a smaller refund (or even owing money) even though you'll still get the child tax credit. The credit reduces your tax liability, but if you haven't had enough withheld throughout the year, it might not cover the full amount you owe. I'd suggest running the numbers with the IRS withholding calculator on their website to see what works best for your situation. You can play around with different scenarios - like claiming 2 dependents vs all 4 - to find the sweet spot where you get more money in your paychecks without creating a big tax bill in April.

Has anyone successfully gotten the IRS to remove these penalties? I'm in a similar situation after selling some land last year and got hit with a $2,800 penalty even though I paid everything I owed by April.

I went through this exact same situation two years ago when I sold my small business. The frustration is real - you pay a massive tax bill and then get hit with penalties on top of it! What helped me was understanding that the IRS views this as "pay as you go" rather than "pay by the deadline." Even though it feels unfair for one-time events, the system treats all income the same way. A few things that might help: First, definitely look into the first-time penalty abatement if you haven't had penalties in the past 3 years. Second, you can also request reasonable cause relief by explaining that this was an unexpected one-time transaction. I filed Form 843 with a letter explaining my situation and got about 60% of my penalty removed. For future reference, when you have large capital gains, you generally need to make the estimated payment by the end of the quarter when the transaction occurs. So if you sold in Q3, the payment would have been due September 15th. It's annoying but now you know for any future large transactions!

This exact same thing happened to me two years ago! I was so frustrated that I ended up doing some research and found out that TurboTax uses deceptive design patterns to funnel people into paid upgrades. They'll often flag things like having more than one W-2 (if you and your spouse both work) or even basic things like claiming the Child Tax Credit as requiring their "Deluxe" version. What really bothers me is that they wait until the very end to spring this on you - after you've invested all that time entering your information. It's psychological manipulation at its finest. You're already mentally committed to finishing, so you're more likely to just pay the fee rather than start over elsewhere. I've been using the IRS Free File program ever since, and it's been genuinely free every year. The interface isn't as fancy as TurboTax, but it gets the job done without any surprise charges. The fact that TurboTax dropped out of the Free File program in 2021 tells you everything you need to know about their priorities. Sorry you had to deal with this - it's infuriating when companies pull bait-and-switch tactics during tax season when people are already stressed.

This is exactly why I switched to using FreeTaxUSA three years ago and haven't looked back. After getting hit with the same TurboTax bait-and-switch (they demanded $89 for their "Premier" version because I had some dividend income from a basic index fund), I was fed up with their deceptive practices. FreeTaxUSA has been completely transparent from the start - federal filing is always free regardless of your tax complexity, and state is a flat $15 if you need it. No surprise upgrades, no hidden fees, no psychological manipulation. The interface is straightforward and they actually explain what each section covers upfront. What really sealed the deal for me was their customer support. When I had a question about a form, I got connected to a real tax professional within minutes who walked me through it - no charge, no upsell attempts. Compare that to TurboTax's maze of chatbots and premium support fees. The tax prep industry's lobbying efforts to keep the system complicated while charging us for basic filing is truly disgusting. At least with services like FreeTaxUSA and the IRS Free File options, you can avoid feeding into TurboTax's predatory business model.