I completely understand your frustration! I went through something very similar last year with my energy credit return. Here's what worked for me after weeks of trying: Try calling the IRS at 800-829-1040 right at 7 AM local time on a Tuesday or Wednesday (avoid Mondays and Fridays). When you get the automated system, press 1 for English, then 2 for personal income tax questions, then 1 for form/payment questions, then 3 for all other questions, then 2 again. When it asks for your SSN, just wait - don't enter anything. After it asks twice, it should transfer you to hold for an agent. The key is persistence and timing. I had to try this method about 5-6 times over two weeks before I finally got through, but when I did, the agent was able to tell me exactly what was happening with my return. Your 8-week wait with an energy credit is actually pretty normal, unfortunately. The IRS manually reviews most returns with renewable energy credits, which can take 6-12 weeks during busy season. The "Return Received" status is typical during this review period - it won't change to "Approved" until they finish the manual review process. Hang in there! As long as you haven't received any letters requesting additional documentation, your return is likely just working its way through the queue.

I've been dealing with IRS delays myself and found that contacting your congressperson's office can sometimes help when you've exhausted other options. Most congressional offices have constituent services staff who can make inquiries to the IRS on your behalf - it's a free service for constituents. You typically need to fill out a privacy release form allowing them to discuss your case with the IRS, but they can often get answers or escalate issues that regular taxpayers can't. I contacted my representative's office after 10 weeks of waiting on an amended return, and they were able to get a response from the IRS within two weeks explaining exactly what was happening. It's worth trying if the other phone strategies don't work out. You can usually find the contact info for your representative's local office on their website under "constituent services" or "casework help.

This thread has been absolutely fantastic! As someone new to both this community and retirement planning, I'm amazed by how clearly everyone has explained these confusing IRS rules. The key insight that really helped me understand is that for Roth IRA contributions, you need to look at your **earned income** from working (wages, salary, self-employment), not your AGI or taxable income after deductions. So with your $8,420 from your part-time job, that becomes your basis for determining contribution limits (up to the annual maximum of $7,000 if you're under 50). What's really exciting is how advantageous your situation is right now. You're getting a rare combination of benefits: - Zero effective tax rate on Roth contributions (since your taxable income is $0 after standard deduction) - Potential Saver's Credit of up to $1,000 through Form 8880 - Decades of completely tax-free growth and withdrawals This is honestly one of the best retirement savings scenarios possible! Even if you can't contribute the full $7,000, any amount you put in now while you're in this favorable tax position will compound significantly over time. Don't forget you have until April 15, 2025 to make 2024 contributions, so there's still time to take advantage of this opportunity. Your future self will definitely thank you for maximizing this while your tax burden is so low!

As a newcomer to both retirement planning and this community, I want to thank everyone for making this such a comprehensive and helpful discussion! What really stands out to me is how clearly everyone has explained that it's your **earned income** that determines Roth IRA contribution limits - not your AGI or taxable income after deductions. So for someone with $8,420 in W-2 wages like the original poster, that earned income is what matters for determining how much you can contribute (up to the $7,000 annual limit if under 50). The tax advantages being discussed here are incredible for people in lower income situations. You essentially get a triple benefit: zero current tax burden on contributions since your taxable income is $0 after the standard deduction, potential Saver's Credit worth up to $1,000, and decades of completely tax-free growth. It's like the tax system is designed to reward early retirement savers in lower brackets! I'm particularly grateful for the reminder that there's still time to make 2024 contributions until April 15, 2025. This gives people in similar situations a chance to take advantage of this favorable tax position before it potentially changes as their income grows. This thread has motivated me to research Roth IRA options for my own situation. Even small contributions made during these low-tax years could compound significantly over time. Thanks to everyone for sharing such valuable insights and real-world experiences!

The math for catching up after being tax exempt isn't quite as simple as that 50% increase because of how withholding tables work, but you're on the right track with the thinking. When you're tax exempt, you're not just missing the flat percentage that would normally be withheld - you're also missing the progressive nature of how taxes accumulate throughout the year. The withholding tables assume you'll earn that same amount every pay period for the full year, so when you restart withholding mid-year, the system doesn't automatically "know" you need to catch up. A rough rule of thumb: if you were exempt for 4 months out of 12, you'll need to increase your normal withholding by about 60-70% for the remaining months to break even, not just 50%. This accounts for the fact that some of your income may have pushed into higher tax brackets that weren't being withheld during the exempt period. But honestly, rather than trying to estimate this, I'd recommend using the IRS withholding calculator and inputting your actual year-to-date earnings and withholding. It will give you a much more accurate picture of exactly how much you need withheld going forward. The calculator is designed to handle these mid-year changes and will account for your specific income level and tax situation. You're absolutely right that treating the court costs and tax catch-up as separate issues is the way to go!

I appreciate everyone's detailed responses here! As someone who works in payroll processing, I wanted to add a practical perspective on what happens when you make this switch mid-year. When you change from 1 to 0 allowances (or adjust your W-4 withholding), the change typically takes effect with your next payroll cycle. However, most payroll systems don't retroactively adjust for the year - they just apply the new withholding rate going forward. This means if you've already been working several months at the lower withholding rate, you'll need even more taken out to compensate. One thing I always recommend to employees in your situation: submit your new W-4 and then monitor your first few paychecks carefully. Calculate whether the new withholding amount, when projected over your remaining pay periods, will actually cover your expected tax liability. You might find you need to use the "additional amount to withhold" line on the W-4 to really catch up from those 4 months of tax exempt status. Also, since you mentioned budgeting for the change in take-home pay - remember that the withholding increase will reduce your net pay, but so will any Social Security and Medicare taxes that weren't being withheld during your exempt period. Make sure you're accounting for both when planning your budget.

Tyler, you're asking all the right questions! As someone who's helped many new business owners navigate this exact situation, here's the straightforward approach: Yes, you'll need to transfer money from your personal account to your business account first - this is called a "capital contribution" and it's completely normal. Document this transfer clearly (keep records showing it's an investment in your business, not a loan). Then use your business account to purchase all equipment. This creates a clean paper trail showing these are legitimate business expenses from day one. For the tax benefits, you're right that "writing off" doesn't give you immediate cash, but it will reduce your tax liability once you start earning income. Equipment like cameras and laptops can often be fully deducted in the first year under Section 179, which is much better than spreading the deduction over several years. Regarding your friend's approach - accumulating business debt with no plan to repay is definitely problematic. It could trigger audits and potentially make him personally liable if the IRS determines he's not operating the business legitimately. The key is treating your LLC like a real business from the start, with proper documentation and realistic financial planning. You're already on the right track by asking these questions upfront!

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is the importance of keeping your business and personal expenses completely separate from day one, even during the startup phase. I learned this the hard way when I started my consulting business. Here's what I wish I'd known: Open that business bank account immediately (which you've already done - great!), then make ONE clean transfer from personal to business as your initial capital contribution. Document this clearly as "Initial Capital Investment" or similar. Then use ONLY the business account for all business purchases, no matter how small. I made the mistake of mixing personal and business purchases in my first year, thinking "I'll sort it out later." That created a bookkeeping nightmare and red flags during my first business tax filing. The IRS wants to see clear business purpose and separation. Also, consider getting a business credit card in the LLC's name once you have that initial capital contribution documented. This helps establish business credit history separate from your personal credit, which will be valuable as your business grows. Your instinct to do this properly from the start will save you major headaches later. Many successful business owners started exactly where you are now - with personal funds as the initial investment to get things rolling.

This thread has been incredibly comprehensive! As someone who works in tax preparation software development, I can add some technical context to why the IRS prefers zeros over blanks. The IRS's automated processing systems use optical character recognition (OCR) and data validation algorithms that are specifically designed to handle numeric entries. When a field contains "0", the system can confidently process it as a deliberate zero-amount entry. Blank fields, however, require additional processing logic to determine whether they represent missing data, non-applicable items, or processing errors. For electronic filing, the XML data structure that gets transmitted to the IRS actually requires explicit values for most fields - the software automatically converts blanks to zeros during the submission process. But for paper returns, those blanks remain blanks, which can trigger quality control flags in their scanning systems. The bottom line: entering "0" makes your return more compatible with both electronic and paper processing workflows. It's a small detail that can prevent big headaches down the road!

I've been preparing taxes professionally for small businesses for about 8 years, and this zeros vs. blanks question comes up constantly with my clients. What I always tell them is that consistency is key - pick one approach and stick with it throughout your entire return. From a practical standpoint, I've found that using zeros helps avoid those dreaded "incomplete return" letters from the IRS that can arrive months later. I had one client a few years back who left multiple fields blank on their Schedule C, thinking it looked "cleaner." They ended up getting a CP2000 notice asking for clarification on those blank fields, which turned into a months-long correspondence nightmare even though no additional taxes were owed. For your specific situation with taxable interest and alimony, definitely use "0" on both lines. The IRS instructions for Form 1040 actually do specify this in the fine print - they want to see that you've considered each line item, and "0" is the clearest way to communicate that. One last tip: if you're ever unsure about a specific line, the IRS has a pretty comprehensive FAQ section on their website that addresses form completion questions like this. Much faster than calling their helpline!