Has anyone used FreeTaxUSA for filing with Form 4852? I'm having a similar issue with missing W-2s and wondering which free service handles this best.

I went through this exact situation two years ago and completely understand the stress! Here's what worked for me: First, don't panic about the accuracy of your Form 4852 estimates. The IRS knows you're working with limited information and they're reasonable about good faith estimates. Use your bank statements to calculate gross income, and for withholding estimates, you can use online calculators based on your filing status and number of allowances. One thing that really helped me was checking if my employers filed electronically with the IRS. Even though I couldn't get my physical W-2s, the information was already in the IRS system. You can request a wage and income transcript from the IRS website (irs.gov) which shows exactly what employers reported for you. This gives you the precise numbers for Form 4852 instead of guessing. For California extensions, yes you need to file separately - Form FTB 3519. The federal extension doesn't automatically cover state filing. Also, if you do file an extension, remember it's just for filing the return, not for paying any taxes owed. If you think you'll owe money, try to estimate and pay that by April 15th to avoid penalties. You've got this! The IRS deals with missing W-2 situations all the time and Form 4852 exists exactly for cases like yours.

Has anyone used FreeTaxUSA to compare the two filing options? TurboTax wanted to charge me extra to run both scenarios but FreeTaxUSA seems to let you do it for free.

Sarah, based on your income levels ($82k + $65k), filing jointly will almost certainly be better for you. The "marriage penalty" mainly hits couples where both spouses earn high six-figure incomes - not your situation. Here's what you'll likely gain by filing jointly: - Higher standard deduction ($29,200 vs $14,600 each separately) - Student loan interest deduction (up to $2,500 total) - Access to various credits that aren't available when filing separately - Better tax brackets for your combined income The main exception would be if either of you is on an income-driven student loan repayment plan, since those payments would increase based on your combined income when filing jointly. If that's the case, you'll need to calculate whether the tax savings outweigh the increased loan payments. With your new house, you'll have mortgage interest and property taxes to consider too. These deductions work better combined on a joint return in most cases. My advice: use tax software to run both scenarios with your actual numbers. Don't stress too much though - for most couples in your income range, joint filing saves significant money compared to separate filing.

I'm confused about what specific job expenses we're talking about. Does this include things like home office supplies if we're working remote? Or uniforms? What about professional licenses and continuing education?

I'm a CPA and wanted to clarify something important that might help with your $850 in unreimbursed expenses. While you're correct that most unreimbursed employee business expenses aren't deductible as itemized deductions from 2018-2025, there are still some options to explore. First, double-check if any of your expenses fall into categories that ARE still deductible - like educator expenses (if you're a teacher), certain moving expenses (for military), or impairment-related work expenses. Second, consider asking your employer about implementing an accountable plan as others mentioned. This is honestly your best bet for getting tax-free reimbursement going forward. Third, if any of your expenses relate to education or training that maintains or improves job skills, you might qualify for education tax credits instead of deductions - these can actually be more valuable than deductions anyway. Finally, keep detailed records of everything. If the TCJA provisions aren't extended past 2025, you'll want that documentation ready for potential future deductions. The political landscape around tax policy is always changing, so staying organized pays off long-term.

This is definitely frustrating! Based on what you've described and the timing with your POS system update, I'd strongly recommend getting a detailed breakdown from payroll ASAP. Here's what I'd do in your situation: 1. **Compare paystubs line by line** - Look at your last normal paycheck versus these $0 ones. Check if federal withholding, state withholding, FICA, or any other deductions changed dramatically. 2. **Ask specifically about the POS system change** - Since this started around the time they updated systems, ask your manager exactly how tip reporting changed. The new system might be auto-declaring 100% of credit card tips instead of letting you declare a portion. 3. **Verify your W-4 info** - Sometimes system updates reset withholding preferences. Make sure your filing status and allowances are still correct in their system. 4. **Document everything** - Take photos of all paystubs and keep records of conversations with management. If your employer can't give you a clear explanation, consider contacting your state's Department of Labor. You shouldn't have to guess why your pay suddenly disappeared, especially when nothing changed on your end. This sounds like either a system configuration error or incorrect tax calculation that needs to be fixed immediately.

I'd also recommend checking if your employer changed their tip allocation method or if there's an issue with how they're calculating your "allocated tips" versus your actual reported tips. Under IRS regulations, restaurants with more than 10 employees must allocate tips to ensure total reported tips equal at least 8% of gross receipts. If the new POS system is automatically allocating additional tips to you (beyond what you actually received), you'd be taxed on that phantom income even though you never got the money. This is different from the credit card tip reporting issue others mentioned - allocated tips are essentially the IRS forcing restaurants to assign additional tip income to workers when total reported tips fall below the 8% threshold. You'd see this as a separate line item on your paystub, often labeled "allocated tips" or similar. If this is happening, you can file Form 4137 with your tax return to report the actual tips you received versus what was allocated to you. But first, check with payroll to see if tip allocation is now part of their new system and whether that's causing your withholding to spike.

One thing to remember is that any money withheld from an IRA conversion for taxes counts as taxes paid on April 15th of the following year, not when the withholding actually happens. So if you do a conversion in January 2025 with withholding, that withholding counts as paid on April 15, 2026 for purposes of estimated tax requirements. This can mess up your estimated tax calculations if you're not aware of it!

Great question! I went through this same process last year and learned some important details the hard way. Yes, you absolutely need to report the full conversion amount as taxable income - including any withholding. So if you convert $50,000 and have $10,000 withheld for taxes, you'll report $50,000 as income on Form 8606 and your 1040. The $10,000 withholding will show up as taxes paid on your W-2 equivalent form (1099-R). Regarding refunds - any overpayment comes back to you as a regular tax refund, not back into your IRA. Once money leaves the IRA as withholding, it's gone from your retirement account permanently. One thing I wish I'd known: if you're under 59.5, the withheld amount may be subject to the 10% early withdrawal penalty since it's not going into the Roth. I ended up paying the conversion taxes from my regular savings account to avoid this issue and maximize what actually gets converted to the Roth. Consider doing a test run with a smaller amount first to see how the tax treatment works out before doing your full conversion!