Has anyone used a bank product like Republic Bank Tax Refund Solutions? My tax guy said he can offer a refund transfer through them, but I'm not sure if it's worth the extra fee ($39.95 in my case). Also slightly worried about delaying my refund by adding another party to the transaction.

I was in a similar situation last year with my side business and ended up going with a local CPA who didn't offer refund transfers. Here's what I learned: Most independent CPAs require payment upfront or when services are completed, but many are more flexible than you'd expect if you just ask. I called around to about 5 different CPAs in my area and found that 2 of them were willing to work out payment arrangements - one let me pay half upfront and half when my refund came in, and another was willing to complete the return and wait for payment until after I received my refund (though they held onto filing it until paid). The CPA I ended up using charged $280 but found business deductions I never would have known about that increased my refund by over $600. The extra paperwork and questions they asked revealed legitimate expenses I could claim that TurboTax's interview process never would have caught. My advice: Call a few local CPAs, explain your cash flow situation honestly, and ask about payment options. Many small business owners face the same issue and good CPAs understand this. The peace of mind and potential extra deductions often make it worth paying a bit more than the software route.

I went through something similar with international tax complications after working overseas. One thing that helped me was getting a comprehensive transcript from the IRS showing all my account activity. You can request this through Form 4506-T or online through the IRS website. This will show exactly what the IRS has on file for each tax year and can help you and your tax preparer strategize the best approach. Also, don't overlook the possibility of amended returns for other years that might generate additional refunds or reduce what you owe. Sometimes there are credits or deductions you missed that could help offset your current tax debt. The statute of limitations for amended returns is generally 3 years from the original due date or 2 years from when you paid the tax, so you might still have options for more recent years. If the financial disability route doesn't work out, definitely explore payment options with the IRS. They're usually willing to work with taxpayers who are making good faith efforts to resolve their tax issues, especially when there are extenuating circumstances like health problems and international complications.

I've been following this thread and there's one more avenue that might be worth exploring - the "seriously delinquent tax debt" provisions. If your 2020 tax debt exceeds certain thresholds and remains unpaid, the IRS might eventually certify it as seriously delinquent, which can affect your passport and other things. However, this certification process sometimes provides additional opportunities to negotiate with the IRS about your overall tax situation. Additionally, I'd suggest looking into whether any of your Japan-sourced income might qualify for different treatment under the US-Japan tax treaty that could affect your 2019 or 2020 calculations. Article 15 of the treaty covers employment income, and there are specific provisions about short-term assignments that might apply to your situation. One practical step: if you haven't already, request a complete account transcript for both 2019 and 2020 tax years. This will show you exactly what information the IRS has on file and might reveal if they received any tax documents (like foreign employer reporting) that could impact your calculations. Sometimes the IRS has more complete records than taxpayers realize, especially for international situations where multiple parties might have reporting obligations. The combination of your health issues, international complications, and the pandemic timing really does create a unique set of circumstances. Don't give up on that 2019 refund without exploring every possible exception - $14,000 is definitely worth the effort to pursue all available options.

Has anybody ever been audited for messing this up? My husband and I accidentally both contributed to dependent care FSAs at different jobs last year (about $4000 each) and I'm freaking out now reading this thread.

I'm a tax preparer and see this mistake ALL the time! Just to reinforce what others have said - the $5,000 dependent care FSA limit is definitely per household when you're married filing jointly, not per person. What I tell my clients is to think of it this way: the IRS doesn't care which spouse's employer plan you use or how you split it between accounts. They only care about the total household contribution not exceeding $5,000. One practical tip: if you do split contributions between both spouses' FSA accounts, make sure you coordinate your reimbursement claims carefully. You don't want to accidentally submit the same daycare receipt to both accounts for reimbursement - that would be claiming the same expense twice, which is definitely not allowed. Also, keep excellent records of all your childcare expenses throughout the year. You'll need them not just for FSA reimbursements, but also to properly calculate any additional tax credit you might be eligible for on the amounts above your FSA contributions.

Did you get an acceptance confirmation email from your state? Sometimes TurboTax says its transmitted but it actually failed

Had the exact same issue last month! Turns out my state return was never actually e-filed even though TurboTax showed it as complete. Had to manually check my state's tax website and refile directly through them. The state processing is completely separate from federal - SBTPG only handles federal refunds. Check your state tax agency's website directly and look for any error messages or missing submissions. You might need to refile your state return separately.

Have you tried just using the free fillable forms directly from the IRS? I spent hours comparing different calculators last year only to find they were all slightly off. When I just filled out the actual forms myself, I understood exactly where every number came from. Takes more time but gave me peace of mind that I wasn't missing anything the calculators might overlook.

As a tax preparer who's worked with both platforms extensively, I can tell you the discrepancy often comes down to how each system handles the ordering of deductions and credits. TurboTax tends to optimize the sequence of calculations to maximize refunds (applying certain deductions before others), while H&R Block follows a more linear approach that mirrors the actual IRS form sequence. For your specific situation with $19,200 SE income and 3 dependents, pay close attention to how each platform calculates your AGI before applying the Child Tax Credit. The SE tax deduction under IRC §164(f) should reduce your AGI by half of your SE tax ($1,356.50), which then affects your CTC eligibility. Small differences in how this flows through the calculation can create the variance you're seeing. I'd recommend printing the tax summary from both platforms and comparing line-by-line on Forms 1040, Schedule C, and Schedule SE to identify exactly where the numbers diverge.