I think there's confusion happening with your forms. Form 8958 is for community property allocation (splitting income 50/50), while Form 8959 is for Additional Medicare Tax (which only applies if your income is over $200k single or $125k MFS). The reason you're seeing one person owe and one get a refund is probably because of tax credits and stimulus payments going to just one spouse. That's normal even in community property states. Income splitting doesn't mean credit splitting. Does your tax preparer have an EA (Enrolled Agent) or CPA designation? Those credentials mean they've passed rigorous testing and maintain continuing education requirements. A "Tax Return Preparer" might just have minimal training.

I went through a very similar situation last year in Texas (also community property state, MFS filing). The key thing to understand is that Form 8958 is absolutely required for your situation - it allocates community income 50/50 between spouses regardless of who actually earned it. The dramatic difference in your tax outcomes (husband owing $3,200 vs your $4,700 refund) is likely correct because while income gets split 50/50, credits and payments don't. Since you claimed your child, you get the full Child Tax Credit on your return only. Same with the stimulus payments - they go entirely to whoever claims the qualifying dependent. Your extra $25 per paycheck withholding throughout 2023 also only benefits your return, not your husband's. So even though your income was properly split via Form 8958, all the credits and extra withholding are concentrated on your return. The red flag for me is that your preparer initially forgot Form 8958 entirely. This form is mandatory for MFS in community property states - there's no option to skip it. I'd definitely verify their credentials on the IRS directory. For complex situations like yours, you really want a CPA or Enrolled Agent with specific community property experience, not just someone with a basic PTIN. You might want to double-check that Form 8958 properly splits your W-2 income 50/50 between both returns, regardless of who earned what.

Make sure the interest rate isn't too low or the IRS might consider it a gift! There's something called the Applicable Federal Rate (AFR) which is the minimum interest rate that should be charged for family loans. It changes monthly. If the rate is below AFR, the IRS might recharacterize part of the loan as a gift and then your uncle could have gift tax issues.

Just want to add one more consideration that's often overlooked - make sure you and your uncle both understand the payment tracking requirements! Since this will be treated as a legitimate mortgage for tax purposes, you'll need to keep detailed records of all payments made throughout the year. Your uncle should probably issue you a Form 1098 (Mortgage Interest Statement) by January 31st each year showing how much interest you paid, just like a bank would. If he doesn't issue one, you can still deduct the interest, but you'll need to provide his name, address, and SSN on your tax return when you claim the deduction. Also worth noting - if you ever refinance or pay off the family loan early, make sure to handle any prepayment penalties or forgiven debt properly for tax purposes. The IRS scrutinizes family loans more closely than bank loans, so having everything properly documented from day one will save you headaches later!

This HSA reporting issue cost me $900 in excess contribution penalties because my tax software just pulled in the Box 2 amount automatically without any warning! Has anyone found a tax software that handles this correctly? I've been using TurboTax but might switch if there's something better for HSA users.

This is such a crucial topic that more people need to understand! I work as an EA and see this mistake constantly. One thing I always tell my clients is to keep detailed records of when they make HSA contributions and which tax year they designate them for, especially those January-April contributions. I also recommend reconciling your own records with what appears on Form 5498-SA rather than blindly trusting it. HSA providers sometimes make errors in reporting, and I've seen cases where Box 3 was incorrectly calculated or missing entirely. For anyone dealing with this issue, you can also request a corrected 5498-SA from your HSA provider if you notice discrepancies. They're required to issue corrections if the original form contains errors. It's much easier to get this sorted out before filing your return than trying to amend later!

Has anyone here dealt with filing in PA and NJ as a married couple? We're in the same boat and curious if joint or separate is better for these specific states.

Great question! As someone who's been through this exact situation, I'd strongly recommend running both scenarios in TurboTax before deciding. Generally, married filing jointly tends to be better for most couples because you get access to higher standard deductions ($29,200 for 2024), better tax brackets, and credits that aren't available when filing separately. However, your two-state situation does add complexity. Some states handle joint vs. separate filing differently, so what's better federally might not be optimal for your state returns. The good news is TurboTax will let you compare both options and show you the total refund difference (federal + both states combined) before you file. Given that you only worked 6 months last year, your lower income combined with your spouse's income might actually put you in a better position filing jointly this year. The key things to compare are: total tax owed, available credits (like Earned Income Credit if applicable), and any deduction limitations that kick in with separate filing. Definitely take advantage of TurboTax's comparison feature - it's designed exactly for situations like yours!

I'm at week 4 of waiting for my CP09 refund and this thread has been absolutely amazing to find! Got my notice in early April, responded both online and by mail like so many others here, and was starting to get really worried about the complete lack of updates on the IRS website. Reading through everyone's experiences has been incredibly reassuring - I had no idea that 8-12 weeks was the standard processing time or that the online refund tools basically don't work for EITC cases. I was checking daily and seeing the same generic "still processing" message, thinking something must be wrong. The success stories here are really encouraging, especially hearing about people getting substantial amounts like @b83406405c6c with $3,700+ and learning about the interest payments after 45 days. I'm definitely going to look into using Claimyr or taxr.ai based on all the positive feedback - seems much better than my failed attempts to call the IRS directly. Thanks to everyone who's shared their timelines and kept updating us on their progress! This real community support is so much more helpful than anything I could find on the official IRS website. It's such a relief to know I'm not alone in this waiting game and that there's light at the end of the tunnel!

I'm at week 1 of waiting for my CP09 refund and finding this thread has been such a blessing! Just got my notice last week, responded both online and by mail following the advice I've seen here, and was already starting to panic about what to expect. Reading through everyone's experiences has been incredibly eye-opening - I had no idea that 8-12 weeks was completely normal or that the "Where's My Refund" tool basically doesn't work for EITC cases. I was already checking it daily and getting frustrated with the generic messages, but now I know that's just how it works. The success stories are really encouraging, especially hearing about substantial refunds like @b83406405c6c getting $3,700+ and learning about interest payments after 45 days. It's also helpful to see the tools people recommend (Claimyr, taxr.ai) for when I get further along in the process. Thanks to everyone who's been sharing their timelines and updates! As someone just starting this journey, it's so reassuring to know there's a whole community going through the same thing and that patience really does pay off. I'm going to follow the advice about checking the IRS website just once a week instead of obsessing over it daily. Here's to hoping we all get our refunds soon!