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I went through this exact same situation last year and can definitely put your mind at ease! You should absolutely still receive your full $1,300 refund. The CP23 notice is completely separate from your current tax return refund. Think of it this way - the CP23 was addressing a debt from your previous tax period (the underpaid estimated taxes from your DoorDash work), while your refund is money the government owes YOU from your current tax return. Since you already paid the $780 from the CP23, that matter is completely resolved. The IRS won't reduce your current refund to pay a debt that's already been paid. These are processed as entirely separate transactions in their system. The only thing you might experience is a slight delay (maybe 1-2 extra weeks) in receiving your refund while they update your account records to show the CP23 payment has been processed. I was in your exact shoes last year - got a CP23 for some freelance income I messed up on, paid it immediately, then spent weeks worrying about my refund. Got every penny of my refund about 3 weeks later. You should be all set!
This is so reassuring to read! I'm actually dealing with a CP23 notice right now too (got it last week) and have been losing sleep over whether it would affect my refund. Mine was also from gig work - I did some TaskRabbit jobs last year and totally messed up the estimated tax payments. I paid the amount they requested immediately but have been checking "Where's My Refund" obsessively every day since then. It's still showing "being processed" but based on your experience and others here, it sounds like I just need to be patient and give it the extra time to work through their system. Thanks for sharing your experience - it really helps to hear from someone who went through the exact same thing and came out fine on the other end!
I just went through this exact situation a few months ago! Got a CP23 notice for underpaid estimated taxes from some freelance work I did, and I was absolutely panicking about how it would affect my refund. Here's what happened in my case: I paid the CP23 amount immediately (just like you did), and I still received my full refund exactly as calculated on my return. The two are completely separate - the CP23 addresses a previous tax period's underpayment, while your refund is from your current filing year. The only thing I noticed was that my refund took about 2-3 weeks longer than normal to process. The IRS had to update my account to reflect the CP23 payment before releasing my refund, but once that was done, I got every penny I was expecting. Keep checking the "Where's My Refund" tool - if it shows "being processed" for longer than usual, that's totally normal in this situation. Since you already cleared the $780 debt, there's no reason they would reduce your $1,300 refund. You should be getting the full amount soon!
This happened to me twice last year! Both times it was a processing error at their mail facility. I called the Michigan Treasury Department directly (since this was from them, not the IRS) and they were actually pretty helpful. They resent the document within a week. Don't panic - it's usually just a clerical error, but definitely follow up to make sure you don't miss any important deadlines!
Thank you so much for sharing your experience! This is really reassuring to hear. I was getting really anxious about what could have been in that envelope. Did you have to provide any specific information when you called the Michigan Treasury Department, or did they just look you up by your address/SSN?
@Natalie Chen When I called, they just needed my SSN and address to verify my identity. They were able to see in their system that the document hadn t'been properly inserted into the envelope during their mailing process. The whole call took maybe 10 minutes and they immediately flagged my account for a reprint. Much easier than I expected!
Just wanted to add another perspective since I went through this last year. If your LLC didn't make any money, you should consider whether it's actually a hobby and not a business. The IRS looks at your "profit motive" and if you're not trying to make money, those expenses might not be deductible. I tried to deduct losses for my "craft business" LLC for 3 years and got audited. They disallowed everything because I couldn't prove I was really trying to make a profit vs just doing it for fun. Just something to consider!
Thanks for bringing this up - it's definitely something I'm concerned about. How exactly did you try to prove you had a profit motive during your audit? I've been keeping records of all my marketing efforts, business plans, etc., but wondering if there's anything specific I should be documenting.
During the audit, they wanted to see evidence of active marketing efforts, business planning documents, changes to my approach after losses, and detailed records separating business from personal expenses. They also looked at whether I had expertise in the field or consulted with experts. My big mistake was I didn't adjust my business model after continued losses - I just kept doing the same thing expecting different results. You should document how you're changing your approach to become profitable, show records of advertising/marketing, maintain a separate business bank account, and maybe even take some business courses to show you're serious. Basically, you need to prove you're running this like a business, not a hobby.
DEFINITELY file a Schedule C!! I made this mistake a few years ago thinking I didn't need to because my LLC had almost no income, and I missed out on thousands in potential deductions. The expenses from your LLC can offset income from other sources (W2 jobs, investments, etc). One thing - make sure you keep your business and personal expenses 100% separate. The IRS scrutinizes single-member LLCs because people often try to write off personal stuff as business expenses.
What about if the LLC made literally $0? Not even a single dollar of income. Can you still deduct expenses or does the IRS have some rule about businesses needing to have at least some income?
Yes, you can absolutely deduct expenses even with $0 income! The IRS doesn't require any minimum income threshold to claim legitimate business expenses. As long as you can prove you had a genuine profit motive and the expenses were ordinary and necessary for your business, you can report them on Schedule C. The key is documentation - keep all receipts, maintain a separate business bank account, and document your business activities showing you're actively trying to generate income. Even with zero revenue, if you're marketing your services, networking, or taking steps to build your business, that demonstrates profit motive. The business loss will offset your other income sources, which is actually a tax advantage in your startup phase.
Has anyone considered that this might actually be treated as part of the property's basis adjustment? When you inherit property, you generally get a stepped-up basis to fair market value at date of death. But inheriting property with a reverse mortgage is complicated. You might want to argue that part of what you paid was actually acquiring the property (increasing your basis) rather than deductible interest. This might not save you on current taxes but could reduce capital gains if you ever sell.
That's actually really smart. Treating part of the payment as basis adjustment makes sense conceptually - you're paying to acquire full ownership, not just paying interest. Would need a tax pro to figure out how to document that though.
I went through something very similar when I inherited my grandmother's home with a HECM reverse mortgage. The IRS initially disallowed most of my interest deduction, but I was able to get it partially resolved. The key issue is that with reverse mortgages, the "interest" on your 1098 includes both actual interest charges AND the mortgage insurance premiums that accumulated over the life of the loan. The IRS will generally allow you to deduct the actual interest portion that accrued after you became the legal owner, but not the accumulated MIP or interest that built up before inheritance. You'll need to request a detailed payoff statement from the servicer that breaks down exactly what portion was principal, accrued interest, and MIP. In my case, about 60% of what showed on the 1098 was actually deductible once we separated out the components properly. Also, since you established it as your primary residence before paying off the loan, you have a much stronger argument for the acquisition indeductedness treatment that others mentioned. Document everything - when probate closed, when you moved in, utility transfers, voter registration changes, etc. This timeline is crucial for your case. The $32K they're claiming seems excessive unless there are penalties involved. You might want to request penalty abatement if your tax preparer gave you reasonable advice about the deduction.
This is incredibly helpful! I never realized that the 1098 might include both interest and MIP - that could explain why the numbers seemed so high. The servicer just sent me a basic payoff statement, but I'll definitely request the detailed breakdown you mentioned. Your point about documenting the timeline is spot on. I have most of that documentation already since I had to change everything over after moving in. The utility transfers and voter registration changes should be easy to pull together. Do you remember roughly how long it took to resolve your case once you provided the detailed breakdown? And did you end up needing an attorney, or were you able to work directly with the IRS examiner? Also, you're right about the penalties - that $32K does include substantial penalty and interest charges on top of the additional tax. I hadn't thought about requesting penalty abatement based on reasonable reliance on professional advice. That alone could save me thousands.
Yara Nassar
PSA: These codes can change during processing! Don't panic if yours switches - totally normal in 2025 with the new AI processing system they implemented
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Keisha Williams
β’wish theyd use that AI to actually process returns faster instead of just updating codes smh π€‘
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Dylan Fisher
This is super helpful! I've been checking my WMR obsessively and my cycle code is 20250302 - so if I'm reading this right, I'm on daily updates? Still waiting for my 846 code to show up but at least now I know what to expect. Thanks for breaking this down in simple terms! π
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Riya Sharma
β’Yeah you got it right! 20250302 means you're on daily updates since it ends in 02. That's actually good news - daily updaters usually see changes faster than weekly folks. Keep checking your transcripts every morning around 6am, that's when they typically refresh. Your 846 code will show up soon! π€
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Freya Larsen
β’Daily updaters are definitely the way to go! I had a similar cycle code last year and got my refund way faster than my friends who were stuck on weekly. Pro tip: if you want to save yourself the stress of checking every morning, try using one of those transcript analyzer tools like taxr.ai - it'll tell you exactly when to expect your 846 code based on your processing pattern. Worth it for the peace of mind alone! π―
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