Friendly reminder to everyone discussing RSUs: there are actually TWO tax events to worry about! 1. When RSUs vest: This is treated as ordinary income (what everyone's discussing in this thread) 2. When you sell the shares: Any gain or loss after vesting is capital gain/loss For example, if RSUs vest at $100/share and you sell later at $150, you'll pay: - Ordinary income tax on the $100 at vesting - Capital gains tax on the $50 appreciation when you sell I see a lot of people getting confused because they only think about one of these tax events. Both need to be reported properly!

Yes, you should definitely consider filing amended returns if you've been using the wrong cost basis! The cost basis for RSUs is always the fair market value on the vesting date (not the grant date), since that's when you already paid ordinary income tax on that amount. Using the grant date price as your cost basis means you've been paying capital gains tax on appreciation that was already taxed as ordinary income at vesting - essentially double taxation. If you've held and sold RSU shares over multiple years, this could add up to significant overpayment. You can file Form 1040X (Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return) for up to 3 years from the original filing date. You'll need your brokerage statements showing actual sale prices and your RSU vesting records showing the fair market value on each vesting date. The IRS will refund any overpaid taxes with interest. Given the complexity of equity compensation, this might be worth consulting with a tax professional who specializes in stock compensation to make sure you're calculating everything correctly before filing amendments.

Just to offer another perspective - I'm a freelance writer and my accountant has approved deducting my Spotify premium as a business expense for years. I write articles about music and culture, so it's clearly connected to my income. For your graphic design business, I'd say it's in a gray area but defensible if you're really using it as you describe. The IRS isn't going to come after you for a $120/year deduction if you have a reasonable business purpose. Just make sure you can demonstrate how it connects to your income (maybe keep a spreadsheet showing which songs inspired which paid projects).

As someone who's dealt with similar creative business deductions, I think you have a solid case for deducting your Spotify subscription. The connection between music inspiration and your graphic design income seems genuine and well-documented. A few practical suggestions to strengthen your position: 1. **Create a dedicated business playlist structure** - Keep playlists organized by client projects or design themes. This shows intentional business use rather than casual listening. 2. **Log inspiration connections** - Even a simple note in your project files mentioning "inspired by [song name] for emotional tone" creates a paper trail linking the subscription to billable work. 3. **Consider the 80/20 split you mentioned** - That seems reasonable, but tracking usage for a month could give you a more defensible percentage if questioned. 4. **Document client playlist sharing** - Since you mentioned sharing curated playlists with clients, keep records of these interactions as they directly support business relationship building. The "ordinary and necessary" test really comes down to whether other graphic designers commonly use music for inspiration (they do) and whether it's necessary for your specific business model (sounds like it is). A $10-12/month deduction with proper documentation is unlikely to raise red flags, especially given how integral music is to creative work. Just make sure you're consistent with your documentation approach across all similar subscription deductions.

Another tip - if you had any kind of medical condition that prevented you from handling your financial affairs during the relevant period, you might qualify for the "financial disability" exception under Section 6511(h). This is an exception to the 3-year statute of limitations for refund claims. To qualify, you need to show that you had a physical or mental impairment that was either: 1) Fatal, or 2) Expected to last for at least 12 months And the impairment must have prevented you from managing your financial affairs. You'll need documentation from a physician to support this claim.

I'm really sorry to hear about your situation, Alice. This is such a frustrating aspect of tax law that catches many people off guard. The distinction between filing deadlines and refund statute expiration dates is definitely confusing. Based on what others have shared here, it sounds like you have several potential avenues to explore: 1. **Disaster relief extensions** - Since you're in Arizona and there were federal disaster declarations in 2023, definitely check if your county qualified for extended deadlines that specifically mention refund claims. 2. **Financial disability exception** - If you had any medical conditions during the relevant period that prevented you from managing your finances, this could be worth exploring with proper medical documentation. 3. **Appeal process** - Even though your initial appeal was denied, don't give up. Make sure you're presenting all possible exceptions and citing the correct tax code sections. The fact that you have certified mail proof showing you mailed it by the deadline demonstrates good faith effort on your part. While the receipt vs. postmark rule is unfortunately clear for refund claims, there might be other exceptions that apply to your specific circumstances. $3,200 is definitely worth fighting for! I'd recommend gathering all your documentation and exploring these exceptions systematically. Good luck with your case!

Has anyone had the experience where TurboTax actually does let you e-file with Form 7202? My husband could swear he e-filed with it last year. Feel like some of this info might be outdated.

I went through this exact same situation earlier this year! After reading through all the responses here, I ended up using taxr.ai like Sophie and Connor mentioned, and it was honestly a game-changer for my Form 7202 amendment. The key thing that helped me was realizing that no matter which route you go - TurboTax's delayed 1040X feature, switching to new software, or using an AI service - you're still going to have to print and mail the forms. The IRS just doesn't accept e-filed amendments with Form 7202 attached, period. What made taxr.ai worth it for me was the time savings. As a self-employed person with multiple income streams like you, re-entering everything from scratch would have been a nightmare. The PDF upload feature worked perfectly and caught all my Schedule C details accurately. My advice: don't wait for TurboTax's 1040X feature if you want your refund sooner. Use one of the automated services to prepare your amendment, send it certified mail like Kelsey suggested, and then use Claimyr if you need to follow up with the IRS later. The whole process will still take months, but at least you'll get it started quickly!

I work for a tax preparation service and see this issue frequently with VA state refunds, especially during peak filing season. What many people don't realize is that Virginia uses a third-party vendor for printing and mailing refund checks, which can add additional delays beyond the "issued" date shown in their system. The 6+ week timeline you're experiencing is unfortunately becoming more common this year - we've had at least a dozen clients report similar delays. Here's what I recommend: 1) Call VA Tax at 804-367-8031 first thing Monday morning (they're less busy early in the week), 2) Have your SSN and exact refund amount ready, 3) Ask specifically about "delivery confirmation" status, not just issuance status, and 4) Request they initiate both a payment trace AND a stop payment on the original check simultaneously. Don't let them tell you to wait longer - 6+ weeks is well beyond reasonable delivery timeframes. Also, consider requesting the replacement be sent via certified mail for an additional $3.50 fee - it's worth it for the tracking and security.

I had the exact same issue with my VA state refund last year! Check was "issued" on February 3rd, and I didn't receive it until April 8th - that's over 9 weeks. Turns out it was a combination of issues: the original check got lost in the mail (likely stolen from my apartment complex's mailbox area), and then VA's replacement process took forever because they had to verify the original wasn't cashed. What finally worked for me was being persistent with their phone line and documenting everything. I called every few days after the 6-week mark and kept detailed notes of who I spoke with and what they told me. Eventually got connected with a supervisor who expedited the replacement check process. One thing that might help - if you have any neighbors who received VA refunds around the same timeframe, ask them about their experience. In my case, two other people in my building also had VA checks go missing around the same time, which helped establish a pattern of mail theft that made VA more willing to fast-track the replacement. Don't give up! It's frustrating but you will eventually get your money. The squeaky wheel gets the grease with these situations.