Former gambling affiliate here. What you're describing is actually pretty common with offshore gambling sites. In my experience, you want to treat this as two separate transactions: 1) Gambling winnings (which you've already reported) 2) Acquisition of ETH at the market value when you received it The $101 loss is probably from the ETH dropping in value between when you received it and when you sold it (or the current value if you still hold it). One thing to watch out for - make sure the gambling site didn't take a fee when converting to ETH. Some sites take 2-5% when processing crypto withdrawals, which would affect your cost basis.

Not financial advice but i had a similar problem when i was using bovada and withdrawing to btc. i just reported my gambling winnings like normal and then treated the crypto as if i bought it that day at whatever the price was when i received it. seems to match what smarter ppl than me are saying here lol

Just wanted to point out something about the Simplified Method for folks in this situation. If your 1099-R does change to code 7 (from the disability code 3), AND you made contributions to your pension plan with after-tax dollars, THEN you'll need the Simplified Method Worksheet to figure out what portion of your payments is taxable. If you didn't make any after-tax contributions (most people don't), then the full amount is usually taxable no matter what code is on the form. Code 3 vs Code 7 mainly affects WHERE you report the income on your return, not necessarily HOW MUCH is taxable.

This is such a common source of confusion! I went through something similar when I turned 70 and was still receiving disability payments. Here's what I learned after consulting with a tax professional: At 71, you should definitely verify with your plan administrator whether you've reached your plan's minimum retirement age. Many plans set this at 62 or 65, so at 71 you may have already passed that threshold. If so, your 1099-R should show code 7 instead of code 3, and the payments would be reported as pension income rather than disability income. The key question is whether you made any after-tax contributions to your pension plan during your working years. If you did, then yes, you'd need the Simplified Method Worksheet to calculate the non-taxable portion of each payment. If all your contributions were pre-tax (which is most common), then the entire distribution is taxable regardless. I'd recommend calling your plan administrator first to clarify the minimum retirement age and whether your distribution code should have changed by now. That will help determine the correct way to report this on your return.

Pro tip: sign up for informed delivery with USPS so you know when its coming

I went through this exact same situation last year! The IRS rejected my direct deposit due to a closed account and it took about 3 weeks to get the paper check. Just make sure to track it with informed delivery like @Diego mentioned - that really helped ease my anxiety knowing it was on the way. The waiting is the worst part but it will come!

Has anyone considered the Married Filing Separately option? My partner and I did that last year and it worked better than trying to claim HOH or dependent status.

I'm dealing with a similar situation and found all this advice really helpful! Just wanted to add that you might want to consider other filing strategies too. Since you can't claim HOH status, make sure you're at least maximizing your standard deduction as a single filer. Also, if either of you has student loan interest, medical expenses, or other potential itemized deductions, it might be worth running the numbers both ways (standard vs itemized) to see what works best. The fact that you're paying most expenses shows you're being financially responsible, but unfortunately the tax code doesn't always reward that when it comes to unmarried couples. Best of luck with your filing!

I've been through this process multiple times as a non-resident filer. Here's what's actually happening: 1. The IRS assigns your DDD (02/20/2025) 2. The IRS releases funds to SBTPG 1-3 days before DDD 3. SBTPG deducts any filing fees you authorized 4. SBTPG initiates ACH transfer to your bank 5. Your bank processes the incoming ACH The variation you're seeing year-to-year comes from steps 3-4. SBTPG processes in batches, not individually. Some batches go out morning, some evening. There's no guarantee of early processing despite what some experience. Their terms only promise delivery by the DDD, not before.

As someone who's dealt with SBTPG processing delays across multiple tax seasons, I can confirm that their batch processing system has become increasingly unpredictable. The 31 CFR § 210.5 regulation you mentioned primarily governs federal benefit payments, but SBTPG operates under different ACH processing rules as a third-party refund processor. What I've observed is that ITIN filers like yourself often experience longer processing windows compared to SSN filers - this could be due to additional verification protocols they run for international returns. Last year's early deposit (2 days before DDD) was likely an anomaly rather than the standard. My advice: don't panic until after your actual DDD passes. SBTPG's internal processing has shifted from their previous 24-48 hour window to what appears to be a 48-72 hour window in 2025. If you don't see movement by 02/21, then it's worth contacting both SBTPG and checking your transcript for any holds or issues.