Call the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service. They can sometimes help when refunds are stuck like this. Number is 877-777-4778. Better than the regular IRS number.

I had this exact same issue with Capital One earlier this year! My transcript showed 846 with a DD date but nothing appeared for almost a week. Turns out Capital One has been processing tax refunds slower than usual this season - something about additional fraud verification checks they're doing on government deposits. Mine finally showed up 6 business days after the IRS date. The frustrating part is their customer service can't see anything until it actually hits your account, so they'll keep saying "no pending deposits" right up until it appears. Since you're only at 3 business days, I'd give it until early next week before worrying. The 846 code means the IRS definitely sent it!

Is this a refund advance or did you get your refund through a tax preparer? SBTPG usually only gets involved when there's a third-party preparer who offered you a refund transfer product. Did your tax advocate mention anything about potential fees being taken out? Have you checked if the amount showing in SBTPG matches what you were expecting from your hardship release?

Congratulations on getting through the hardship process! That's often the most stressful part. Based on what you're seeing, you're in the final stretch. SBTPG typically processes funds within 1-2 business days of the date shown, so with 03/03/2025 being Monday, you should see the money in your account by Tuesday or Wednesday. Keep in mind that if you used a tax preparer who offered a refund transfer, there may be fees deducted from the total amount. I'd recommend checking your account first thing Tuesday morning, and if nothing shows by Wednesday afternoon, definitely call SBTPG directly. The waiting is nerve-wracking, but you're almost there!

As someone who just went through this exact process last month, I can confirm you still have time! Here's what worked for me: The ID.me setup is actually pretty straightforward - it just requires identity verification (driver's license photo, selfie, etc.). The whole process took me about 15 minutes. Once that's done, you can access the IR Application for TCC portal immediately. For the TCC application itself, have these ready: - Your company's EIN - Business address and contact info - Estimate of how many forms you'll file (be realistic - they may ask for justification if the number seems high) - Your role/authority to file on behalf of the business I submitted my application on December 8th and got approval on December 28th, so about 20 days. They seem to be processing faster than the stated 45 days, possibly because of the January deadline crunch. One tip: when you get your TCC, immediately test a small batch in the FIRE system's test environment before submitting your actual returns. The error messages in testing are much more helpful than production rejections! The whole process is definitely doable if you start this week. Good luck!

Just wanted to add another perspective as someone who's been handling information returns for our mid-size company for the past 3 years. The FIRE system setup is definitely worth doing if you plan to file information returns regularly - it becomes much more cost-effective than outsourcing once you have the process down. A few things I wish I'd known when starting: 1. **Keep detailed records of your TCC application** - if you need to make changes later or have issues, having all your original application details handy saves time. 2. **The FIRE system has scheduled maintenance windows** - usually announced on the IRS website. Plan your filing schedule around these to avoid last-minute surprises. 3. **Consider doing a "dry run" with just a few test records** your first year to get familiar with the submission process before uploading hundreds of forms. 4. **Save all your acknowledgment files** from successful submissions - these serve as your proof of filing if the IRS ever questions whether you submitted on time. The learning curve is steep initially, but once you have your TCC and understand the process, it gives you much more control over timing and costs compared to outsourcing. Plus, you can make corrections immediately if issues come up rather than going back and forth with a third party. For this year specifically, if you start the ID.me and TCC process this week, you should be cutting it close but still make the January 31st deadline for 1099-NECs.

One thing nobody has mentioned yet - if your annual sales to a particular state are under their economic nexus threshold, you might not need to worry about sales tax collection there at all! Each state has different thresholds (usually $100k or 200 transactions). I kept a spreadsheet tracking my sales by state and only registered in states where I exceeded the thresholds. Saved me tons of paperwork!

This is such a complex area! I've been wrestling with similar issues for my online business. One thing I learned the hard way is that some states have "use tax" requirements even when you're not collecting sales tax from customers. For example, if you buy inventory without paying sales tax (using a resale certificate) but then use some of that inventory for business purposes rather than resale, you might owe use tax to your home state. It's another layer of complexity on top of the multi-state certificate requirements everyone's discussing. Also, keep detailed records of which certificates you've provided to which suppliers and when. Some states require you to renew your resale certificates periodically, and suppliers may ask for updated versions. I set calendar reminders to check on this annually now after nearly getting caught off guard.

This is such a common issue during year-end giving campaigns! I work with several nonprofits on their donation processing, and we've found that the simplest approach is to clearly communicate the "donor's time zone" rule in all your year-end messaging. One thing that might help for next year - consider adding a countdown timer to your donation page that shows time remaining until midnight in the donor's detected time zone. Many donation platforms can automatically detect the visitor's location and display the appropriate deadline. Also, make sure your email confirmations include the exact timestamp of when the donation was initiated, not just processed. This gives donors clear documentation for their tax records. I've seen too many situations where donors get confused because the receipt shows a processing time that's different from when they actually clicked "submit." For your current situation with the acknowledgment letters, definitely use the donor's time zone for any donations made right at the deadline. Your donors will appreciate the clarity, and it keeps everything compliant with IRS guidelines.

As someone who handles donor relations for a small nonprofit, I really appreciate this detailed discussion! We've been struggling with this exact issue and getting conflicting advice from different sources. One thing I'd add based on our experience - make sure to keep detailed logs of all your year-end donations with timestamps. We had a donor get audited two years ago, and the IRS specifically asked for documentation showing when the donation was initiated versus when it was processed. Having that clear paper trail made all the difference. Also, if you're using a third-party payment processor like PayPal or Stripe, their transaction records can serve as additional documentation. These platforms typically record both the donor's action timestamp and the processing timestamp, which gives you backup evidence if there are ever questions about the donation date. For international donors, we've found it helpful to include a note in our receipts that says something like "Donation date reflects the time zone where the transaction was initiated" - it's saved us several follow-up questions from confused donors trying to figure out which tax year to claim their deduction.