lmaooo tried both... still waiting since march. its a joke at this point

Online verification through ID.me has been way faster for me personally. Just did mine last week and it took about 15 minutes total once I had all my docs ready (driver's license, SSN card, and last year's tax return). The key is making sure your photos are clear and you have good lighting. Phone lines are absolutely brutal right now - my sister waited 5 hours just to get disconnected. Save yourself the headache and go online!

I'm dealing with a similar situation at my company right now! My employer has been doing this "we'll pay your taxes as a benefit" thing for the past 6 months, and I've been getting increasingly worried about it. After reading through all these responses, I'm definitely going to bring this up with HR tomorrow. It sounds like even though my boss thinks they're doing something nice for us, they're actually creating potential problems. The point about this being considered additional taxable income is especially concerning - I had no idea about that. Has anyone here had success getting their employer to switch back to normal withholding mid-year? I'm wondering if there are any complications with changing the withholding system partway through the tax year, or if it's pretty straightforward to fix.

I went through something very similar with my previous employer about two years ago. What really helped me was documenting everything - I kept copies of all my pay stubs showing zero state tax withholding and any emails or conversations with my boss about this arrangement. When I finally got it resolved (after talking to the state tax department), I learned that Illinois specifically requires employers to withhold state income tax from employee wages. There's no legal exception for employers to "pay it later as a benefit." Your boss might think they're being helpful, but they're actually putting both of you at risk for penalties. The good news is that this is fixable! I'd recommend approaching your boss with the information others have shared here about Illinois withholding requirements. Most small business owners genuinely don't know the rules and are willing to correct it once they understand the compliance issues. If they push back, having documentation from the state tax authority (like others mentioned getting through Claimyr) can be really persuasive. Don't wait too long to address this though - the longer it goes on, the more complicated your tax situation becomes. You've got this!

Pro tip: stop checking and turn on email notifications in your IRS account settings. Save urself the headache 👍

From my experience, WMR updates once daily (usually overnight between 3-6am EST) and transcripts typically update weekly on Fridays around the same time. But like others mentioned, the cycle code on your transcript determines your specific update day - it's the last 2 digits of that long number on your account transcript. I used to check obsessively too until I learned this schedule! Now I just check Friday mornings and save myself the stress. The waiting game is brutal but at least knowing when to actually look helps 😊

Slightly off topic but congrats on having six figures in savings! That's impressive. Just make sure that money is working for you efficiently. At current high yield rates that's great, but you might want to look into I-bonds or CDs for portions of it if you don't need immediate access to all of it. Some CDs are paying even higher rates than savings accounts right now and the tax treatment is the same.

Great question Sofia! I went through something similar when my savings account started earning significant interest. One thing that really helped me was setting up automatic transfers to move a portion of my interest earnings into a separate "tax savings" account throughout the year. For your $5,500 projected interest, you're probably looking at owing around $1,100-1,400 in additional federal taxes depending on your bracket. I'd recommend adjusting your W4 withholding as others mentioned - it's much easier than remembering quarterly payments. Also, keep detailed records of all your interest statements throughout the year. While the bank will send you a 1099-INT, it's good to track it yourself monthly so there are no surprises. Some high-yield accounts compound daily so the actual amount can vary from projections. One last tip: if you're consistently earning this much interest, consider whether you need all $120k immediately accessible. You might want to ladder some CDs or Treasury bills for better rates while still maintaining liquidity for true emergencies.

friendly reminder to all my homies - don't spend it until it actually hits! seen too many pending deposits disappear 👀

NFCU member here! Same situation - filed 1/29, accepted same day, and just saw the pending deposit show up about an hour ago. Usually when I see it pending like this, it hits my account around 2-3am EST. Fingers crossed we all wake up to good news tomorrow! 🤞