Thought I'd chime in - I bought a new car last year too and tried to claim it on my taxes. H&R Block software actually walked me through the whole process for my Kia EV6. Needed the VIN, purchase date, and sale documents showing the purchase price. The most important document was the manufacturer's certification stating the battery capacity, which determines the credit amount. The dealer should have given you this, but if not, call them and ask specifically for the "EV tax credit certification" for your Prius Prime.

Just want to add another perspective here - I work in tax preparation and see a lot of confusion about vehicle tax benefits. The key thing to understand is that there's a big difference between a tax deduction (which reduces your taxable income) and a tax credit (which directly reduces the tax you owe). For personal vehicle purchases like yours, you're not getting a deduction - you're potentially eligible for a credit if it's an electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle. The Clean Vehicle Credit can be worth up to $7,500, but for plug-in hybrids like the Prius Prime, it's typically less based on battery capacity. Also worth noting - if you bought the car from a dealer in 2024, you might have had the option to transfer the credit to the dealer at the point of sale for an immediate discount instead of waiting to claim it on your tax return. Check your purchase paperwork to see if this happened, because if the dealer already claimed it, you can't claim it again on your return. The documents you'll need are your purchase agreement with VIN, and make sure your specific model is on the IRS qualified vehicle list. The rules have changed several times recently, so definitely verify current eligibility before filing.

The community consensus on late W-2s is pretty clear: always amend, but don't stress too much about it. Most people see their amendments processed within 4-5 months, and the IRS generally doesn't apply penalties when you voluntarily correct your return. Just make sure you're using the latest Form 1040-X (the form was updated in January 2024), and if you e-file the amendment, you can track its status through the Where's My Amended Return tool after about 3 weeks.

I went through this exact situation two years ago with a late W-2 from my graduate assistantship that showed up in May. Here's what I learned: definitely file the amendment, but check if there was any federal tax withheld on that W-2 first. In my case, the university had withheld $340 in federal taxes that I hadn't claimed on my original return, so even though I owed an additional $180 in taxes from the income, I actually got a net refund of $160 from the amendment. The whole process took about 18 weeks from filing to receiving my amended refund check. Also, make sure to keep detailed records of when you received the W-2 versus when you filed originally - this documentation helped when the IRS asked about the timeline during processing.

Just to add some info - the filing requirement with a 1095-A is specifically because of the Premium Tax Credit (PTC). If you received advance payments of the PTC (which appears on your 1095-A), you MUST file Form 8962 with your tax return to reconcile those advance payments, regardless of your income level. Without filing, you risk losing eligibility for the credit in future years.

Something nobody's mentioned - even if you're not required to file, sometimes it's smart to file anyway. It starts the statute of limitations clock running (generally 3 years), after which the IRS can't come back and audit you for that year. Without filing, that clock never starts!

If you're looking for the absolute simplest option and your income isn't super high, don't overlook a traditional IRA. Sure, the contribution limit is lower, but the paperwork is minimal compared to a Solo 401k. I spent 15 minutes opening an IRA online versus the 3 weeks it took to properly set up my Solo 401k with all the required documentation. When I started out with 1099 income around $40k, the IRA was actually enough to make a meaningful tax difference. As my income grew, I eventually switched to the Solo 401k for the higher limits.

Great breakdown everyone! As someone who also went through this decision process recently, I'd add one more consideration: make sure you factor in your state tax situation too. Some states don't tax retirement contributions the same way the feds do. Also, @Emma Morales, with your $85k income level, you'll likely benefit most from the Solo 401k. Quick math: you could potentially contribute the full $23k employee contribution plus around 20% of your net self-employment income as the employer contribution (after accounting for self-employment taxes). That could easily be $35k+ in total tax-deferred savings. One tip that saved me time - many brokerages now have streamlined Solo 401k applications that walk you through everything step-by-step. Fidelity and Schwab both made the process much easier than I expected. The key is just getting started before December 31st if you want to make contributions for the current tax year.

Anyone else worried about amendments increasing audit risk? I've always heard changing your return is like waving a red flag to the IRS.

Based on the amounts you mentioned ($4,800 in charitable donations + $2,300 in work expenses), you're definitely looking at a worthwhile refund if you were already itemizing in 2022. That's over $7,000 in additional deductions you left on the table. I'd recommend gathering all your documentation first - donation receipts, bank statements showing the charitable contributions, and any records of your work-from-home expenses. For home office deductions, you'll need to be able to demonstrate the space was used regularly and exclusively for work. The 1040-X isn't too intimidating once you get started. Since you used TurboTax originally, you might want to use their amendment feature to keep everything consistent. Just be prepared for the wait time - amended returns are definitely taking longer to process than regular returns right now, but the interest they pay on delayed refunds helps offset some of that inconvenience. Given the potential refund amount, I'd say it's absolutely worth your time to file the amendment!