check your mail carefully! sometimes they send letters requesting more info but they look like junk mail ngl

Non-filing letter status usually means your return hasn't been fully processed in their system yet. Since you filed in February, definitely call the IRS taxpayer assistance line at 1-800-829-1040. Have your SSN, filing status, and exact refund amount ready. The hold times are brutal but you need to find out if there's an issue with your return or if it's just stuck in their processing backlog.

Check the master list of transcript codes on the IRS website. They explain what each one means

That "verification of non-filing" notice is actually pretty common when there's a processing delay or system glitch. It doesn't necessarily mean your return is lost - sometimes it just means it hasn't been fully processed into their system yet. The January 2022 date suggests this might be related to the massive backlog they had that year. I'd definitely try calling that number even though it's a pain, or you could try the online "Get My Payment" tool to see if there's any update on your refund status. Don't panic yet - this happens more often than you'd think!

One thing that really helped me understand AGI was realizing that it's basically your "adjusted" income that the IRS uses as a baseline for everything else. Once you have your AGI, that's when you can take either the standard deduction ($13,850 for single filers in 2024) or itemized deductions to get to your taxable income. So in your example with $235k gross income, let's say you have $15k in traditional 401k contributions and $3k in HSA contributions. Your AGI would be $235k - $15k - $3k = $217k. Then you'd subtract either the standard deduction or itemized deductions from that $217k to get your actual taxable income. The taxes withheld from your paycheck ($80k in your case) don't affect AGI at all - those are just prepayments that get compared to your final tax liability to determine if you owe more or get a refund.

Another common source of confusion I see is with educator expenses and moving expenses. If you're a teacher, you can deduct up to $300 in classroom supplies as an above-the-line deduction that reduces your AGI. But moving expenses are tricky - they only qualify as AGI adjustments if you're active duty military. Also worth noting that if you have student loan interest, you can deduct up to $2,500 per year as an AGI adjustment, but this phases out at higher income levels. For 2024, it starts phasing out at $75,000 AGI for single filers and completely phases out at $90,000. One last tip: if you're self-employed or have 1099 income, you can deduct half of your self-employment tax as an adjustment to income. This often gets overlooked but can be a significant AGI reduction for freelancers and contractors.

Something to consider - you don't HAVE to cash them all out at once! You could spread the redemption over multiple tax years to potentially reduce the tax impact. Maybe cash half this year and half next year?

Just wanted to add another perspective based on my experience with my son's bonds last year. The key thing that helped me was getting copies of all the original paperwork from when the bonds were first purchased or exchanged. If your parents originally bought Series E or EE bonds and then exchanged them for the HH bonds, there should be documentation showing the deferred interest amount from the original bonds. This is crucial because that deferred interest becomes taxable when you redeem the HH bonds, even though you never received it as cash. I found old records in my parents' files that showed exactly how much deferred interest was involved. Without those records, I would have had no idea there was additional taxable income beyond just the regular HH bond interest payments we'd been receiving. Treasury Direct might have some of this information on file if you can't locate the original paperwork, but having the physical documentation made the whole process much clearer when filing taxes.

I'm a tax attorney who's handled numerous S-Corp audits, and I want to reinforce what others have said here - your accountant's suggestion is a red flag that could lead to serious consequences. The IRS has become increasingly aggressive about S-Corp shareholder compensation issues, particularly after the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. They've developed sophisticated data analytics to identify S-Corps with unusual 1099 patterns, and shareholder-employees receiving 1099s from their own corporations is one of their primary targets. Here's what many people don't realize: when the IRS reclassifies 1099 income as wages (which they will in your situation), you're not just paying the additional payroll taxes. You're also facing accuracy-related penalties of 20% of the additional tax owed, plus interest compounded daily. I've seen cases where the total cost was 40-50% more than if they had just structured it properly as W-2 compensation from the beginning. The "outside normal duties" argument your accountant mentioned has been consistently rejected by tax courts. In Watson v. Commissioner and several other cases, courts have held that shareholder-employees are performing services in their capacity as employees regardless of how those services are characterized. My strong recommendation: restructure this as performance-based W-2 compensation immediately. Document the business rationale thoroughly, process everything through payroll with proper withholdings, and ensure your total compensation (including these bonuses) meets reasonable compensation standards for your industry and role. The extra payroll taxes are a small price to pay for compliance and peace of mind.

As someone who's been through a similar situation with my own S-Corp, I want to add one more important consideration that hasn't been fully addressed - the potential impact on your business relationships and reputation. Beyond all the tax compliance issues everyone has correctly identified, consider what happens if the IRS does audit you and reclassifies these payments. You'll likely need to file amended returns, and depending on your business structure, this could affect other shareholders, create complications with business loans or credit facilities, and potentially require disclosure to clients or partners. I learned this the hard way when we had to unwind a similar arrangement after getting professional advice that contradicted our original accountant. The administrative burden of correcting everything - amended payroll reports, revised K-1s, notifications to our bank about changes in our financial statements - was substantial and created unnecessary complications with stakeholders who had relied on our original filings. The peace of mind of doing things right from the start really can't be overstated. Structure your performance incentives through proper W-2 compensation, document everything thoroughly, and work with a CPA who specializes in S-Corp compliance rather than someone who suggests arrangements that clearly contradict established IRS positions. Your future self will thank you for taking the conservative, compliant approach rather than trying to save a few dollars on payroll taxes only to face much larger costs and headaches later.