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TurboTax Rejected My Return with Code "Personal_Info_Verification" - Can I Switch to Another Service?
Filed with TurboTax and got rejected even though all my info is correct. Been filing with them for 7 years with no issues until now. The rejection reason doesn't make any sense to me. Can I just use a different service to file or am I stuck with turbotax now? I just got a message on my TurboTax app at 10:24 that says "Live Tax Advice - Let's fix your returns and then refile". It shows my federal return was rejected and says "Don't worry, we'll help you fix it." The specific federal return rejection reason shown is "Your return has been rejected pending confirmation of personal information on your tax return" with a Reject Code of "Personal_Info_Verification". There's a "Fix it now" button there. It also says my New York return was rejected because of the errors on my federal return. At the bottom there's a "Continue without fixing" option. This doesn't make sense to me because I've triple-checked all my personal information and it's all correct. Same SSN, birthdate, address, everything I've been using for the past 7 years with TurboTax. Can I just abandon TurboTax at this point and start over with H&R Block or another service? Or am I somehow locked into fixing this with TurboTax now that I've submitted through them? I'm getting frustrated with this whole process and don't understand what could possibly be wrong with my "personal information.
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Nanny payroll confusion - Should I file Schedule H or 940/941 forms? Or do I need both?
I'm feeling totally overwhelmed with our household employee tax situation and hoping someone can clarify this for me. We've been using QuickPay (QP) for processing our nanny's payroll who worked full-time Monday through Friday between February and November 2024. According to the EFTPS website, we've made all our quarterly payments as expected, but I have no idea what form QP submitted during those payments. I'm completely confused about whether we should be completing a Schedule H with our personal taxes or if we need to file Form 940 for federal unemployment tax. Everything I've read online suggests that filing Schedule H alongside other employer forms might result in dual reporting - which sounds like we'd basically be paying the same taxes twice! Should I just ignore Schedule H completely and only file a Form 940? Or do I need to file both forms? Are there specific rules about household employers that make this different? Any guidance would be super appreciated because I'm totally lost here!
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One more thing to consider - don't forget about state unemployment taxes! If your nanny payroll service is handling federal forms, make sure they're also taking care of state unemployment tax filings. This is separate from the federal requirements we've been discussing. Some states also have additional requirements for household employers. For example, some require workers' comp insurance for household employees. Might be worth checking if your service handles all that too, or if you need to take care of some state-specific requirements separately.
This! I got hit with penalties because my payroll service only handled federal taxes and I didn't realize I needed to file state forms separately. Always double check!
Absolutely right. The state requirements can sometimes fly under the radar. It's always best to explicitly ask your payroll provider "Are you handling ALL of my state filing requirements?" and get specifics on exactly which forms they're filing versus which ones you might be responsible for. The requirements vary significantly by state, so there's no one-size-fits-all answer here.
This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm in a similar situation with our au pair and was making the same mistakes. Just wanted to add that if anyone else is struggling with this, the IRS Publication 926 (Household Employer's Tax Guide) is actually pretty clear once you understand the basics everyone has explained here. The key takeaway I'm getting is: if your payroll service files quarterly 941s and annual 940s, you still need Schedule H with your personal return, but you check Box 8 to avoid double taxation. And definitely confirm with your service exactly which forms they handle versus what you're responsible for - don't assume anything! Thanks everyone for breaking this down so clearly. Sarah, glad you got it figured out with QP!
When do I need to pay taxes on stocks I sold? $4k withdrawal question
Hey everyone! So I'm pretty new to investing and had a quick tax question. I pulled about $4,000 out of my brokerage account earlier this year after selling some stocks I only held for like 6 months. I know that's probably considered "short term" for tax purposes. I'm trying to figure out if I even need to pay taxes on this amount and if so, what percentage am I looking at? I've heard different things from friends about thresholds where you don't have to report smaller investment gains, but wanted to get some clarity from people who actually know what they're talking about. This is my first time having to deal with investment taxes so I'm pretty clueless about the whole process. Any help would be super appreciated!
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Just to add another wrinkle - if your $4000 withdrawal included any dividends from those stocks (not just capital gains from selling), those are taxed differently. Qualified dividends get favorable tax rates similar to long-term capital gains, while non-qualified dividends are taxed at your ordinary income rate. Your 1099-DIV from the brokerage should break this down for you. Just something else to be aware of!
Thanks for bringing this up! I actually did receive about $120 in dividends before I sold everything. I didn't even think about those being taxed differently. Would those show up on the same form as the stock sales or is it a separate document altogether?
You'll typically get two separate forms - a 1099-DIV for the dividends and a 1099-B for the stock sales. Some brokerages combine them into a consolidated 1099 package, but they'll still show as separate sections. The 1099-DIV will break down which dividends are "qualified" (better tax rate) versus ordinary. Most common stock dividends from U.S. companies are qualified if you held the stock for at least 60 days, but there are exceptions. The form will do this categorization for you, so you don't have to figure it out yourself.
This is all really helpful information! I'm in a similar boat as Sophia - first time dealing with investment taxes and feeling pretty overwhelmed. One thing I'm still confused about is the timeline. Since I sold stocks earlier this year, do I need to pay estimated quarterly taxes on those gains, or can I just wait until I file my regular tax return next year? I keep hearing conflicting things about whether you need to make estimated payments if you have capital gains, especially if it's your first time having investment income. Don't want to get hit with penalties if I'm supposed to be paying something now!
Do I need to file a 1099-NEC for services paid through personal Venmo accounts?
I run a mid-sized photography studio and I'm totally confused about my tax reporting obligations. I hire freelance makeup artists, assistants, and retouchers pretty regularly. Most of them ask to be paid through their personal Venmo accounts (not business accounts). This year I've paid around $7,800 to one makeup artist, about $5,200 to my regular assistant, and various smaller amounts to others. I've always just sent the money to their personal Venmo accounts because that's what they preferred. I'm now doing my tax prep and realized I have no idea if I need to issue 1099-NECs to these people or if Venmo handles that reporting. I know that if they had Venmo business accounts, Venmo would issue a 1099-K, but since these are personal accounts, I'm not sure what my responsibility is. Do I need to send them all 1099-NECs? Or does Venmo handle this reporting even for personal accounts? Or is nobody reporting this at all? I don't want to get in trouble with the IRS but also don't want to create unnecessary paperwork.
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Has anyone else noticed that Venmo's reporting rules changed for 2025? They lowered the threshold for issuing 1099-Ks from $20,000 down to $5,000. But this still only applies to BUSINESS accounts, not personal ones.
The threshold change keeps getting delayed! It was supposed to be $600 originally, then moved to $5,000, and I heard they might delay it again. Makes it so confusing for small business owners.
The key thing to remember is that your 1099-NEC filing obligation is completely separate from whatever Venmo does or doesn't report. As a business owner, you're required to issue 1099-NECs to any non-employee service provider you paid $600 or more during the tax year - period. The payment method is irrelevant. Whether you paid via personal Venmo, business Venmo, check, cash, or carrier pigeon, your reporting requirement stays the same. Venmo's 1099-K reporting (which only applies to business accounts anyway) is about THEIR obligation to report payment processing volume, not about YOUR obligation to report business expenses. So for your makeup artist ($7,800) and assistant ($5,200), you definitely need to issue 1099-NECs. Get their W-9 forms ASAP and file the 1099s by January 31st. Don't overthink the Venmo aspect - just focus on the basic rule: $600+ to a service provider = 1099-NEC required.
How do Schedule F deductions work for my small family farm compared to standard deduction?
Years ago when I was working as an electrician, I met with a tax professional about itemizing my work expenses. They explained that for itemization to be worthwhile, my total deductions needed to equal or exceed the standard deduction amount. Now my wife and I run a small hobby farm on the side to generate some extra income. I was chatting with my neighbor yesterday about his agricultural operation, and he mentioned we should be filling out Schedule F to claim our farm expenses. What surprised me was his claim that these deductions would apply regardless of whether they exceeded the standard deduction - saying they would be "in addition to" rather than "instead of" the standard deduction. Before I start gathering receipts and claiming these expenses, I wanted to check with people who actually understand this stuff. Is my neighbor right about Schedule F farm deductions working differently than regular itemized deductions? I definitely don't want to mess up our taxes and trigger an audit. Any insights would be greatly appreciated!
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Don't forget about self-employment taxes when running a farm. Schedule F profits are subject to self-employment tax (15.3%) in addition to regular income tax. It's a common oversight that hits farm owners hard at tax time.
I hadn't even considered the self-employment tax angle. Does that apply even if the farm is more of a side business to our regular jobs? And is there a minimum profit threshold before self-employment taxes kick in?
Yes, self-employment tax applies even if the farm is a side business. The IRS doesn't distinguish between main and side businesses for SE tax purposes. If you make a profit from self-employment activities, you'll generally owe SE tax. There is a small minimum threshold - you don't owe self-employment tax if your net earnings from self-employment are less than $400 for the year. But once you cross that very low threshold, the 15.3% tax applies to your farm profits. This catches many small farm operators by surprise, especially when they've been focusing on income tax rules and deductions.
Quick tip from someone who got audited over farm expenses: Keep detailed records of EVERYTHING. The IRS loves to question whether small farms are actual businesses or just hobbies, especially if you show losses. Document your efforts to make the operation profitable (marketing, business plan, etc). My audit was a nightmare but could've been avoided with better record-keeping.
What kind of records did they specifically ask for during your audit? I keep receipts but not much else.
They wanted to see everything that proved I was running a legitimate business operation rather than just a hobby. Beyond receipts, they asked for: business bank account records (separate from personal), documentation of time spent on farm activities, evidence of marketing efforts (flyers, website, social media posts), records of any agricultural education or training I'd pursued, and proof that I was actively trying to improve profitability (like soil tests, equipment upgrades, changes in crop selection). They also wanted to see my business plan and any correspondence with agricultural extension services. The auditor specifically said that simply having receipts isn't enough - they need to see that you're operating with a genuine profit motive and treating it like a real business.
Andre Lefebvre
Before u switch make sure ur looking at the RIGHT prior year AGI. Its gotta be from the ACTUAL return u filed last year not what u put in turbotax this year
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GalacticGuru
Check your 2023 tax return (the actual filed copy, not what's in TurboTax) for line 11 - that's your AGI from last year. The IRS is super picky about this matching exactly, down to the dollar. If you amended your 2023 return or there were any IRS adjustments after filing, you'd need to use the adjusted AGI amount instead. You can get your actual filed AGI from your tax transcript on the IRS website if you're not sure.
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