Its not always good news tho. I had 152 for 2 months then found out I was under review. Better check your transcript to be sure whats really going on.

Thanks for sharing this! As someone who's been checking WMR obsessively, this is really reassuring. I've had 152 showing for about 10 days now and was starting to worry something was wrong. Good to know it's actually a positive sign that things are moving along normally. The waiting is still nerve-wracking but at least now I know I'm not in some kind of error limbo 😅

My advice - just hire a CPA who specializes in trusts and estates. I went through this exact situation last year with my mom's estate and my sister being difficult about sending documents. I brought what info I had to a CPA, and they handled everything, including reaching out to the trust's accountant directly. Worth every penny for the stress reduction alone.

I'm dealing with a similar trust situation right now and wanted to share what I learned from my tax attorney. Even if you're trying to avoid your brother, you still have legal rights as a beneficiary to receive copies of all trust documents, including K-1s. You can send a formal written request (certified mail) directly to the trust's attorney or accountant - they're required to provide you with the documents regardless of any family drama. This way you bypass your brother entirely while still getting what you need to file correctly. The trust's legal and accounting professionals have a fiduciary duty to all beneficiaries, not just the trustee. It might cost a small copying fee, but it's much better than risking IRS penalties or having to deal with family conflict.

Has anyone tried having their high schooler volunteer for VITA using the virtual option? My son wants to volunteer but we live in a rural area without a site nearby.

This is such a great question! I've been helping coordinate our local VITA program for the past three years, and we absolutely welcome high school volunteers. In fact, some of our most dedicated and tech-savvy volunteers have been teenagers. Most sites will start you in a support role - greeting taxpayers, helping with paperwork, or assisting with document organization. It's actually perfect for learning the ropes! You'll pick up so much about tax preparation just by observing and helping with the intake process. The certification process is the same for everyone, but don't let that intimidate you. The materials are designed to teach you everything from scratch. Many of our high school volunteers find the online training modules easier to navigate than some of the older volunteers do! My biggest tip: reach out to multiple VITA sites in your area. Some are more flexible with younger volunteers than others, and you want to find one that's enthusiastic about having student volunteers. Also, this experience will absolutely stand out on college applications - admissions officers love seeing practical community service that demonstrates real-world skills. Good luck with your search! Feel free to ask if you have any other questions about the volunteer experience.

I'm dealing with a similar mess right now! After reading through all these suggestions, I wanted to share what's working for me so far. For PayUSATax, I finally got through using a combination of the phone tricks mentioned here. Called 844-729-8298 at exactly 8:30 AM EST and pressed 0-0-0 immediately when the recording started. It took me 6 attempts over 3 days, but I finally reached a human who gave me my IRS reference numbers within 5 minutes. The key thing I learned: when you make these credit card payments, the processors sometimes don't include enough identifying information for the IRS to properly allocate them. This is especially common when you're switching between MFS and MFJ mid-year like you did. The IRS receives the money but can't figure out which taxpayer or tax year it belongs to. One thing that might help immediately - call the IRS at 800-829-0922 (this is the accounts management line, not the general number) and ask them to do a "payment tracer inquiry" using your confirmation numbers. Even without the processor reference numbers, they can sometimes locate payments by amount and date. This saved me from having to track down all the processor records first. Good luck! The $5,300 credit suggests your payments definitely made it to the IRS, they're just sitting in the wrong bucket.

I've been lurking on this thread because I'm dealing with almost the exact same situation! Filed MFS originally for 2023, then amended to MFJ, and now I have a mystery credit on my IRS account that I can't track back to my original payments through these credit card processors. After reading all these suggestions, I'm planning to start with the social media approach since it seems to have the highest success rate. Going to reach out to both @PayUSATax and @Pay1040 on Twitter/X today with my confirmation numbers. One thing I wanted to add that might help others - I found an old email confirmation from Pay1040 that had a different customer service email address: payments@pay1040.com (instead of support@pay1040.com). Not sure if it's still active, but might be worth trying if the main support email isn't responding. Also, for anyone hesitant about using third-party services like the ones mentioned earlier in the thread, the traditional approaches shared here (social media, specific phone number tricks, accounts management line) seem to be working well without any additional costs. Sometimes persistence with the right strategy is all you need. Will report back on how the Twitter/X approach works for me!

Has anyone used a Coverdell ESA instead of a 529? I've heard they have more flexibility for pre-college expenses, but I'm not sure if that includes application fees either.

Great thread everyone! As a parent who just went through this process with my twin boys last year, I wanted to share a few additional insights. We ended up creating a separate "college application fund" early in their junior year specifically for all the non-529 eligible expenses mentioned here. One thing I learned the hard way: don't forget about CSS Profile fees if your kids are applying to schools that require it for financial aid. That's another $25 per school plus $16 for each additional school report. Also, if your student is applying to competitive programs, some require additional fees for auditions, portfolios, or supplemental applications that can add another $50-100 per school. My advice would be to start budgeting now for roughly $200-300 per school when you factor in application fees, test score sends, and any program-specific requirements. Keep those 529 funds safe for the guaranteed expenses once they're actually enrolled. The peace of mind is worth avoiding any potential penalties or tax complications!