Pro tip: In the future, NEVER have your fees taken out of your refund! Always pay upfront with a credit card. When you choose to have fees deducted from your refund, your money goes through a third-party bank that charges additional fees and creates opportunities for "errors" like this. If you pay the tax prep fee directly, your refund comes straight from the IRS to your bank account with no middleman.

This is exactly why I switched to filing directly through the IRS Free File program last year. No middleman, no hidden fees, and your refund goes straight from the IRS to your bank account. I was tired of these tax prep companies finding creative ways to skim extra money. For your situation, definitely get your IRS transcript and document everything. The transcript will show exactly what the IRS sent and when. If there's a discrepancy between what they sent and what you received, you have TurboTax dead to rights. Don't let them drag this out - escalate immediately and threaten to file complaints with the CFPB and your state's attorney general if they don't resolve it within a week. These companies count on people not checking their math or giving up when they encounter resistance. Stay persistent!

Quick question - does anyone know if you can update your direct deposit info on the Where's My Refund tool? I'm thinking about filing my taxes this weekend and want to avoid this same problem.

I went through this exact same situation two years ago with Chase Bank - used their wire routing number instead of the ACH routing number for my tax refund. The good news is that your money isn't lost! Here's what happened in my case: The bank rejected the deposit after about 5-7 business days, and the IRS automatically reissued it as a paper check. The whole process took about 3 weeks from when the IRS first attempted the deposit. The "Where's My Refund" tool eventually updated to show "Your refund will be mailed as a check" instead of showing it as deposited. One tip that helped me was checking with my bank every few days to see if they had received and rejected anything - sometimes they can see attempted deposits in their system even before they officially bounce back to the IRS. Also, make sure your mailing address is current with the IRS since they'll be sending that paper check! Try not to stress too much - this is actually a pretty common mistake and the IRS has systems in place to handle it. Your $1,300 will find its way to you, it's just going to take a bit longer than expected.

I went through this exact same situation last year with my Shareworks ESPP account! The key thing that helped me figure it out was looking at my actual account statements more carefully. In the fine print of my quarterly statements, I found language that specifically mentioned "Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC" as the custodian, which is clearly a US entity. Even though the mailing address and some correspondence showed Canadian addresses, the actual legal entity holding my shares was US-based. You can also check your account opening documents or look in the "Important Disclosures" section of your online account. There should be clear language about which Morgan Stanley entity is your account custodian. If it says something like "Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC" or another US LLC/Corp designation, you're dealing with a US account and no FBAR required. If you're still not 100% sure after checking these documents, definitely call their customer service line and ask them directly to confirm which legal entity is the custodian of your account. They should be able to give you a definitive answer. Better to spend 20 minutes on the phone than worry about potential FBAR penalties!

I've been dealing with this exact Shareworks/FBAR question for months and finally got clarity from my CPA. The bottom line is that most Shareworks ESPP accounts maintained through Morgan Stanley are actually US accounts, even with the Canadian address confusion. Here's what I learned: When Solium was acquired by Morgan Stanley, most existing US participant accounts were transferred to Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, which is a US entity. However, some accounts might still be held by Morgan Stanley Canada depending on when your account was established and your company's specific arrangement. The easiest way to determine this is to log into your Shareworks account online and look for the "Account Details" or "Legal Information" section. It should clearly state which Morgan Stanley entity is the custodian. If it shows any US LLC or Corp designation, you're dealing with a domestic account and no FBAR is required. One thing to be careful about - even if you determine no FBAR is needed now, keep monitoring this if Morgan Stanley makes any changes to how they hold accounts in the future. Corporate restructuring can sometimes change the legal status of where accounts are maintained. Also worth noting: the $10,000 FBAR threshold is based on the highest balance at any point during the year, not just year-end balance. So if your account briefly hit $10,001 in March but was back down to $8,000 by December, you'd still need to file if it were indeed a foreign account.

I'm dealing with a very similar situation right now as a freelance consultant. What I've learned from talking to multiple mortgage brokers is that there's a huge difference between loan programs and individual lender overlays when it comes to self-employment income calculations. The key thing that helped me was getting pre-qualified with 3-4 different lenders before making any tax decisions. Some credit unions and smaller regional banks have been more flexible about adding back depreciation components, while the big national lenders seem to have stricter automated underwriting systems. One broker told me that if I could document that a significant portion of my business vehicle use was for meeting clients (rather than just commuting), some lenders view that differently than general business travel. Apparently the nature of the self-employment matters - professional services that require client visits get treated differently than other types of businesses. My advice would be to shop around with mortgage brokers who specialize in self-employed borrowers BEFORE you file your 2024 taxes. That way you can make an informed decision about which deductions to take based on actual lender feedback rather than guessing.

This is such a frustrating situation that many self-employed people face! I went through something similar when I was trying to qualify for a mortgage as a freelance graphic designer. What I learned is that mortgage underwriters are incredibly inconsistent in how they handle self-employment deductions, and it often comes down to the specific lender's internal guidelines rather than any universal rule. One thing that worked for me was getting a letter from my CPA breaking down my business expenses into categories - actual cash expenses vs. non-cash expenses like depreciation. Even though the standard mileage deduction bundles everything together, having that breakdown helped one lender understand that a portion of my mileage deduction was essentially a "paper loss" rather than actual cash out of pocket. I'd also suggest looking into portfolio lenders or credit unions in your area. They often have more flexibility since they're not selling the loans to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, so they can use their own underwriting guidelines. The community bank where I eventually got my mortgage was much more willing to work with self-employed borrowers and actually did add back a portion of my vehicle depreciation. It's maddening that you have to choose between paying more taxes or qualifying for the home you want, but unfortunately that's the reality for many of us who are self-employed. Good luck with your decision!

I completely understand your frustration - waiting for money you desperately need while getting vague status updates is incredibly stressful! Based on what others have shared here, it sounds like there are several potential causes for this delay. Since you mentioned medical expenses due by month-end, I'd recommend taking a multi-pronged approach: 1) Call your bank's ACH or fraud department specifically (not general customer service) to ask if they've received or rejected any government deposits, 2) Check your tax transcript at irs.gov for any codes that might explain the delay, and 3) If possible, verify that your legal name on your tax return exactly matches your bank account registration. Many people have reported that even small discrepancies (like middle initial differences) can cause deposits to get stuck in verification limbo for days. Given your time constraint, it might also be worth exploring the callback services mentioned here if you need to speak with the IRS directly. Hoping this resolves quickly for you!

I went through this exact same nightmare two years ago! My refund showed as deposited on a Friday but didn't appear until the following Wednesday - turned out my credit union had an internal policy of manually reviewing any government deposits over $5,000 for fraud prevention, but they don't show these reviews as "pending" in your account. The most frustrating part was that their regular customer service had no visibility into this process - I had to specifically ask to speak with their ACH processing department to find out what was happening. Once I knew it was just under review and not lost, the anxiety decreased significantly. In your case with medical expenses due soon, I'd definitely recommend calling your bank's ACH department first thing Monday morning and asking specifically about government deposit reviews. If they say there's nothing, then pull your transcript to check for any IRS codes that might explain the delay. The waiting is awful when you need the money, but in most cases it does eventually appear!