the irs deposited my refund at exactly 12:01 am on february 5th last year. the year before it was 3:17 am. i checked my transaction history this morning. so its definetly overnight/early morning deposits with my bank (wells fargo

Based on my experience and what I've seen with friends and family, the IRS typically sends direct deposit batches to banks overnight, and most people see their refunds hit their accounts in the early morning hours - usually between midnight and 6am. The exact timing really depends on your specific bank's processing schedule. Since your Where's My Refund tool shows "approved," that's a great sign! You're likely looking at seeing that deposit within the next 1-2 business days. I'd recommend checking your account first thing in the morning rather than staying up late refreshing - that's when most banks post the overnight ACH transfers from the IRS. Also worth noting that if you have direct deposit set up for other things (like payroll), your refund will likely post around the same time those usually appear. Good luck with your refund!

I went through this exact same situation two years ago as a digital nomad with German citizenship but no tax residency anywhere. After a lot of research and consultation with a tax professional, here's what worked for me: I listed Germany (my citizenship country) on Schedule OI and included a brief statement in Part I explaining that while I'm a German citizen, I don't meet Germany's tax residency requirements due to spending less than 183 days there annually and maintaining no permanent address. The key is being able to demonstrate that you genuinely don't qualify as a tax resident anywhere under each country's specific rules. I kept detailed records of my travel dates and locations, plus documentation showing I didn't maintain a permanent home anywhere. My return was processed without any issues, and I never received any follow-up questions from the IRS. The important thing is to be honest and accurate - if you truly don't have tax residency anywhere, the IRS understands this is a legitimate situation for modern digital nomads.

I've been dealing with this exact issue as a U.S. citizen living abroad without a clear tax residency. After consulting with an international tax attorney, here's what I learned: The IRS is primarily concerned with ensuring you're not trying to avoid reporting income or claiming false treaty benefits. For Schedule OI, if you genuinely don't qualify as a tax resident anywhere, you should: 1. List your country of citizenship in the residence field 2. In the additional information section, clearly state your situation: "U.S. citizen with no current tax residency in any country due to continuous international travel" 3. Be prepared to substantiate this claim with travel records if requested The attorney emphasized that this is becoming increasingly common with remote work trends, and the IRS has guidance for handling these "stateless for tax purposes" situations. What matters most is that you can demonstrate you're not artificially avoiding tax obligations in any country. One important note: even if you're not a tax resident anywhere, you still need to comply with U.S. tax obligations as a citizen, including FBAR and FATCA reporting if applicable. The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion might also apply to reduce your U.S. tax liability on foreign-sourced income.

I ran into this exact same issue last year with TaxAct and found a solution that might work for H&R Block too. Have you checked if there's a "Data Entry Worksheets" or "Forms View" option in your software? In my case, I discovered that while I couldn't copy from the main input screens, there was a separate worksheet view that displayed all my transactions in a more basic format that actually allowed copying. It was buried in the Forms menu under something like "Schedule D Worksheet" or "Capital Gains Detail." Also, if you're using the desktop version, try running it as an administrator (right-click the program icon and select "Run as administrator"). Sometimes copy restrictions are bypassed when the software has elevated permissions. Worth a shot before going the screenshot/OCR route!

Another approach that worked for me last tax season - check if H&R Block has a "Review" or "Summary" section before you file. Many tax software programs generate a comprehensive review document that includes all your entries in a more accessible format. In H&R Block, look for something like "Review Your Return" or "Tax Summary" - this often creates a consolidated view of all your forms and schedules. Sometimes this review format is more copy-friendly than the individual input screens. Also, if you're comfortable with it, you might try using browser developer tools if you're using the online version of H&R Block. Press F12, go to the Console tab, and sometimes you can access the underlying data that way. It's a bit technical but I've seen people extract form data this way when normal copy functions are blocked. The combination of these suggestions from everyone should definitely save you from having to manually type all 51 transactions!

To answer your second question about why we pay taxes on gross vs net - it's because the tax system is designed so that deductions are controlled by tax policy. If we taxed true "net" (after all your expenses), people would claim all sorts of personal expenses as deductions. Instead, the system defines specific deductions that are allowed (mortgage interest, certain business expenses, etc.) and everything else is considered part of your taxable income. It's not perfect, but it creates a more standardized system.

Box 1 on W-2 isn't actually gross or net - it's somewhere in between. It's your earnings minus pre-tax deductions like 401k, health insurance, HSA, etc. But it's not your take-home pay either because it's before federal/state/local taxes are withheld. The true gross income (what you earned before ANYTHING was taken out) isn't directly shown on a W-2. Box 3 and 5 are closest but even those might have some deductions taken out.

Has anyone tried using the specific ID method for figuring out which shares you sold? I'm dealing with multiple purchases of the same stock over years and some sales are showing up as undetermined. My broker is telling me to use FIFO (first in, first out) but I think that's going to result in a higher tax bill.

This is exactly the situation I found myself in last tax season! What helped me was creating a detailed spreadsheet tracking all my transactions. For the undetermined term lots, I went back through old account statements and trade confirmations to establish purchase dates. One tip that saved me time: if you have dividend reinvestment records, those often contain the purchase dates for fractional shares that might be causing some of the "undetermined" classifications. Also, don't forget that for inherited securities, you get a stepped-up basis to the fair market value on the date of death, and the holding period is automatically considered long-term regardless of how long you actually held them. The key is being systematic about it. I used Form 8949 with the appropriate boxes checked (C for short-term noncovered, F for long-term noncovered) and made sure to include code "B" in column (f) to indicate the basis wasn't reported to the IRS. Keep all your documentation - the IRS may not have the broker's records, but they can still ask you to substantiate your positions.