One thing to consider - there are multiple education benefits (American Opportunity Credit, Lifetime Learning Credit, and the tuition and fees deduction), and you can only claim one of them. The AOTC is usually the most valuable (up to $2,500 and 40% refundable) but has more restrictions. Make sure you look at all your options to see which gives you the biggest tax benefit. And don't forget that your state might have additional education credits too!

Make sure you're looking at a 1098-T, not a 1095-T! 1095-T is for health insurance coverage, but 1098-T is for tuition payments. Easy to mix up the numbers but they're completely different forms for tax purposes!

Has your mom checked whether a "tax-free liquidation" under Section 337 might be possible? It's complicated but can sometimes allow for liquidation without recognizing gains. Also, don't forget to look into "step-up in basis" rules since the assets were inherited - this might significantly reduce any potential tax impact on sale.

I'm so sorry for your loss. Closing a business after a death is incredibly overwhelming, especially when you're still grieving. One important thing to consider is the timing of everything. Your mom has inherited these business assets with what's called a "stepped-up basis" - meaning their tax basis is reset to fair market value as of your dad's date of death. This can actually save a lot in capital gains taxes compared to what your dad would have owed if he had sold them while alive. Before making any major decisions about selling assets to family members, I'd strongly recommend having your mom meet with both an estate attorney AND a tax professional who specializes in business closures. The accountant's confusing explanation might be because there are several different tax strategies that could apply depending on how the business was structured (sole proprietorship vs. LLC vs. corporation) and the total value of assets involved. Also, your mom doesn't necessarily have to rush this process unless there are pressing debts or lease obligations. Taking time to properly value everything and find legitimate buyers at fair market prices will likely result in better outcomes than quick sales at below-market rates. The inventory and equipment in those shipping containers might be worth more than you think, and rushing to liquidate could leave money on the table that your family deserves.

Has anyone tried using the IRS Free File Fillable Forms for amended returns? I know they have limits but curious if that's a potential solution for the original poster's issue.

I went through almost the exact same issue last year with a 2020 amended return! The IND-031-04 error is so frustrating because the error message isn't clear about what it actually needs. What finally worked for me was using FreeTaxUSA instead of the bigger name software. They seem to handle the prior year verification issues better, especially for people who didn't file in previous years. When it asks for your prior year PIN or AGI, there's actually a specific checkbox for "I did not file a return for the prior year" that sends the correct code to the IRS system. The key thing I learned is that different tax software handles this verification differently on the backend. Some try to send "0" or blank fields, while others send specific non-filer codes that the IRS system recognizes. Before you give up on e-filing entirely, I'd suggest trying FreeTaxUSA or even calling their support line - they walked me through the exact steps for handling the prior year verification when you didn't file. It's worth one more attempt before dealing with the 6+ month paper processing wait! Also, just to confirm - you're trying to amend your 2021 return, not file it for the first time, correct? The process is slightly different and that might affect which options are available to you.

You should double check if youre getting all the credits you deserve as a single parent. Theres the Earned Income Credit, Child Tax Credit, and Child and Dependent Care Credit. With 2 kids and your income level u should qualify for all of these.

I'm going through the exact same thing! Single mom with two kids (3 and 6) and my refund dropped from around $3,800 last year to $1,400 this year. I was panicking until I realized it's mostly because of the Child Tax Credit changes everyone's mentioning. One thing that helped me was looking at my total tax liability compared to last year - I actually paid LESS in taxes overall, but got less back as a refund because less was withheld from my paychecks throughout the year. So it's not that we're worse off, it's just that the money came to us differently. For the question about applying part of your refund to next year - definitely say "no" if you need the money now. That option is just for people who typically owe taxes at filing time and want to make an estimated payment. Since you're getting a refund, you clearly don't owe anything, so take your full $1,250 now!

Does anyone know if you need a SEIN (State Employer Identification Number) in California just to issue 1099s? I'm in the same boat - freelancer in California occasionally hiring other freelancers, but I don't have any employees. Getting conflicting info about whether I need to register with EDD just to issue a few 1099s.

As someone who went through this exact situation last year as a California-based event planner hiring contractors across multiple states, I can share what I learned! The key thing to understand is that as an individual freelancer (not a business entity), your reporting obligations are much simpler than what corporations deal with. You're only required to report to California since that's where you're based and file your taxes. For boxes 5-7 on the 1099-NEC: - Box 5: Enter "CA" (your state) - Box 6: Leave blank if you don't have a California state employer ID (which you don't need as a freelancer with only independent contractors) - Box 7: Enter the full payment amount The contractors you hired are responsible for reporting their income to their respective home states (AZ, NY, CO). You don't need to file 1099s in those states unless you have a business registration or physical presence there, which it sounds like you don't. One important tip: Make sure you have W-9 forms from all your contractors before filing. This ensures you have the correct tax ID numbers and addresses, which prevents TIN mismatch penalties from the IRS. Track1099 should handle the electronic filing process smoothly once you have the boxes filled out correctly. You're doing great by getting this sorted out - many freelancers miss this requirement entirely!