Great breakdown on the technical side! As someone who's been through multiple filing seasons, I can confirm the WMR interface really doesn't correlate with actual processing speed. I've noticed that people with similar situations (same credits, filing status, etc.) can have completely different WMR experiences even when filed on the same day. The backend processing seems to depend more on which batch your return gets assigned to rather than anything you can control. It's frustrating that the IRS doesn't provide more granular status information, but understanding that it's essentially a "black box" until completion helps manage expectations. Thanks for bringing some actual analysis to this topic instead of the usual speculation!

This is incredibly helpful! I'm a newcomer here and filed my return 3 weeks ago with Schedule C income (freelance graphic design work). My WMR has been stuck on one bar the entire time and I was starting to panic reading all the conflicting advice online. Your explanation about the RTF updating independently from WMR makes perfect sense - it's like the difference between what's actually happening in the kitchen versus what the order tracking app shows you. Really appreciate you sharing actual technical knowledge instead of just anecdotal experiences. Do you know if there's any pattern to how gig worker returns get batched? I'm wondering if the additional verification you mentioned for Schedule C filers happens at a specific stage in the process.

Just to clarify something I'm seeing in some of the responses - the key date is December 31st of the tax year. If your son turned 18 in December 2023, that means he was 17 at the beginning of 2023 and turned 18 during the year. For Child Tax Credit purposes, he needed to be under 17 at the end of the year (December 31, 2023) to qualify. I had a similar situation when my daughter turned 17 in November a couple years back. I remember being disappointed to lose that credit, but was still able to claim her as a dependent for other purposes. Double-check your son's birthdate against these requirements just to be certain.

I went through this exact situation two years ago when my son turned 18 in November. The age cutoff rules can be really frustrating, especially when you're used to getting certain credits year after year. Just want to add one thing that helped me - make sure you keep detailed records of his college expenses if he's starting school. Even though you lose the Child Tax Credit, education credits like the American Opportunity Tax Credit can actually be more valuable (up to $2,500 vs the $2,000 CTC). You'll want to save all tuition statements, book receipts, and required fee documentation. Also, if your son has any part-time job income, make sure he understands whether he needs to file his own return. The IRS gets copies of his W-2s regardless, so coordination between your returns is important to avoid any complications with dependent claims. The silver lining is that this is typically a one-time adjustment year. Once you navigate it this time, you'll know exactly what to expect going forward!

Something important that hasn't been mentioned yet - check your sale agreement carefully. Often there are tax provisions specifically addressing this situation. In my case, we had a "tax true-up" clause that required the company to make a distribution to departing shareholders specifically to cover tax liabilities attributable to undistributed profits. If your agreement has language about tax distributions, tax true-ups, or tax withholding related to shareholder exits, you may have contractual recourse against your former partners.

The timing of your sale creates a unique issue. If you sold mid-year 2024 but the transaction completed in 2025, there's a possibility that your income allocation on the K1 isn't properly pro-rated for the period you actually owned shares. S Corps are required to allocate income based on per-share, per-day calculations when ownership changes mid-year. Did your K1 reflect owning shares for the entire year or just the portion you were an actual owner?

Based on everyone's advice here, I'd add that if you're dealing with a verification letter and have limited time, prioritize getting the RIGHT documents together over choosing the perfect response method. I made the mistake last year of spending too much time researching the best way to respond while scrambling to gather my paperwork at the last minute. The IRS is surprisingly flexible about response methods if you have the correct documentation, but they're not forgiving about incomplete or incorrect information regardless of how you send it. Make sure you have everything they're asking for first, then worry about whether to mail, call, or submit online. Also, if your letter mentions specific forms or schedules from your return, pull up your actual tax return and review those sections before responding - sometimes the "missing" information is actually there and you just need to highlight or explain it better.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is timing - if you received this letter yesterday, you're actually in a good position time-wise. Most IRS verification letters give you 30 days to respond, so you have room to breathe and choose the right approach. I'd recommend starting with the simplest step: look up your specific notice number on IRS.gov/notices to see exactly what response options are available for your particular situation. This will tell you definitively whether online submission is possible for your notice type. If online isn't an option and you're worried about phone wait times, remember that mailing your response (with tracking) is still perfectly valid and often less stressful than dealing with phone systems during tax season. The key is responding completely and on time - the IRS cares much more about getting the right information by the deadline than they do about which method you use to send it.

turbotax has been sus lately ngl. might switch to hr block next year

Same boat here! Filed 8 days ago through TurboTax and still showing pending. Called their support and they said it's just heavy volume this season. The waiting is killing me though - really need that refund for some bills coming up. Fingers crossed we both see movement soon! 🤞