Just wanted to chime in as someone who's been through multiple small claims cases for unpaid invoices. The key thing to remember is that even if you win your case, you still have to actually collect the money - and that can be the hardest part. I've won three small claims judgments over the years, but only collected on two of them. That said, having a court judgment definitely gives you more leverage and collection options. In Minnesota, you can garnish wages, put liens on property, or even have the sheriff seize assets. The threat of these actions alone often motivates people to pay up. For your immediate sales tax question though, definitely don't pay tax on money you haven't received. You can always adjust it later if you do collect through small claims, but paying it now would just be throwing good money after bad.

I'm dealing with something similar right now - had a client ghost me after I delivered a custom kitchen renovation worth $12K back in February. The whole sales tax question kept me up at night because I wasn't sure if I was supposed to pay tax on money I never received. After reading through all these responses, I'm definitely not paying sales tax on the unpaid amount for my quarterly filing next week. It sounds like Minnesota is pretty clear that you only remit sales tax on actual collected payments, not delivered work that went unpaid. I'm also going to look into both the small claims route and maybe trying that Claimyr service to get official confirmation from the state. The documentation requirements for proving it's a legitimate bad debt are really good to know about - I've been keeping all my follow-up emails but need to send that certified mail demand letter everyone's mentioning. Thanks for asking this question - saved me from potentially paying $780 in sales tax on money I never got!

mine cleared after 6 weeks. hang in there!

Looking at your transcript, the good news is your refund amount is solid at $15,621 - all your credits and withholdings add up correctly. The 570/971 combo usually means they're verifying some of your credits, possibly the large ones totaling $10,846. Since your 971 notice was issued 03-27-2023, you should have received or will receive mail explaining what they need. Sometimes it's just identity verification or documentation for certain credits. The April 16th dates you're seeing are just processing cycle dates, not your actual refund date. With a cycle code ending in 05, you're on a weekly cycle which is actually better for getting updates. Keep checking your transcript weekly for changes - once that 570 drops off, you should see an 846 refund date code pretty quickly after. Have you received any mail from the IRS yet? That 971 notice will tell you exactly what's holding things up.

Something nobody has mentioned yet - have you checked if Shareworks issued you a 1042-S form instead of or in addition to a 1099? That's often a clue that you're dealing with a foreign entity, as 1042-S is used for foreign persons receiving US-source income. If you only got a regular 1099-B, that generally indicates they're treating you as dealing with a US entity.

Has anyone here actually had to file FBAR for their Shareworks account? I'm in the same situation but mine is definitely over $15k. What software did you use to report it? TurboTax isn't very clear about how to handle this.

Has anyone who filed on 2/11 received any updates yet? It's like our returns are stuck in a traffic jam while later filers zoom past us on the express lane. I'm wondering if there's something specific about that filing date that's causing issues - like how sometimes a specific batch of mail gets misrouted and arrives later than mail sent days afterward?

I'm in the exact same situation! Filed 2/11, accepted same day, and still stuck on the first bar of WMR with transcript showing N/A. I've been checking daily like clockwork and it's driving me crazy. What's even more frustrating is seeing people who filed weeks after us already getting their refunds. I called the IRS twice but gave up after waiting over an hour each time. At this point I'm wondering if there was some kind of system glitch with the 2/11 batch that's causing all of us to be stuck in limbo together. Has anyone found any official explanation for why this specific date seems to be problematic?

Has anyone else noticed how software is changing the profession? Between DIY options like TurboTax and AI tools, I wonder if traditional tax preparers will eventually become obsolete.

Coming from a corporate accounting background myself, I made the switch to tax preparation three years ago and it's been one of the best career decisions I've made. The client interaction aspect you mentioned is exactly what drew me in too - there's something really satisfying about sitting down with someone and walking them through their tax situation. A few practical tips based on my experience: Start studying for the EA exam early if you're serious about this career. The credential opens doors and builds client confidence. Also, consider starting part-time during your first tax season while keeping your current job - it's a great way to test the waters without fully committing. The income variability is real, but manageable with proper planning. I set aside 60% of my peak season earnings to cover slower months and reinvest in continuing education. Building relationships with local small businesses for year-round bookkeeping work has been crucial for steady income. One thing that surprised me was how much I enjoy the detective work aspect - piecing together someone's financial story from their documents and finding legitimate savings they didn't know existed. It's like solving puzzles that actually help people.