Great question! I was in a very similar situation a couple years ago - worked about 7 months and made around $11,500 before having to leave for personal reasons. I almost didn't file because I thought I didn't make enough, but I'm so glad I did! You should definitely file your return. Even though your $10,000 income is below the $13,850 standard deduction (meaning you won't owe federal income tax), you'll likely get back whatever federal taxes were withheld from your paychecks. In my case, I got back about $950 that had been withheld during those 7 months. The key thing to understand is that your employer's payroll system was probably withholding taxes based on the assumption that you'd work the full year at that pay rate. Since you only worked 6 months, you essentially overpaid through those automatic deductions. Also, make sure to check if you qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit - at 27 years old with $10,000 in earned income, you might be eligible for around $600 additional refund even if you don't owe any taxes. That's free money you'd miss out on by not filing! The process is really straightforward with just one W-2, and you can use the IRS Free File program for completely free preparation since your income qualifies. Don't leave that refund money sitting with the IRS!

I'm really glad to see all the helpful advice in this thread! As someone who's dealt with similar situations, I want to reinforce what everyone is saying - you should absolutely file your return, Lindsey. With $10,000 in income, you're well below the $13,850 standard deduction, so you won't owe any federal income tax. But here's the key point that several people have mentioned: if your employer withheld any federal taxes from your paychecks (which they almost certainly did), that money is just sitting there waiting for you to claim it back. Your employer's payroll system doesn't know you're only working 6 months - it calculates withholding as if you'll earn that rate all year. So you've likely been overpaying taxes with every paycheck. Filing is literally the only way to get that money back. Plus, don't forget about the Earned Income Tax Credit that Rachel mentioned. At 27 with $10,000 in earned income, you should qualify for around $600 in additional refund. That's money you'll only get if you file - the IRS won't just send it to you automatically. The whole process should be pretty simple with just one W-2, and with your income level, you qualify for completely free filing through the IRS Free File program. Don't let a partial work year discourage you from claiming what's rightfully yours!

One thing to keep in mind is the timing of when you lived in different parts of the house. The IRS has specific rules about mixed-use properties where part was your primary residence and part was rental. If you've lived in the main part continuously as your primary residence for at least 2 of the last 5 years before selling, that portion should qualify for the Section 121 exclusion. However, for the rental unit portion, even if it's in the same building, the IRS typically treats it as a separate property for tax purposes. This means you'll definitely owe the 25% recapture tax on all depreciation taken for the rental unit, and that portion won't qualify for the primary residence exclusion. For your home office depreciation, this gets a bit more complex - if the office is within your primary residence area and you stop using it as an office before selling, you might be able to apply the Section 121 exclusion to that portion's gain, but you'll still owe recapture tax on the depreciation taken. I'd strongly recommend getting a tax professional to help you allocate the sale proceeds between the different uses of the property to make sure you're calculating everything correctly.

Great question about allocation methods! The IRS typically allows several approaches for determining the split between personal residence and rental portions, but square footage is the most common and defensible method. For example, if your rental unit is 800 sq ft and your total property is 2,400 sq ft, then 33% would be allocated to the rental portion and 67% to your primary residence. This percentage applies to both your original basis and the sale proceeds. However, you can also use other reasonable methods like: - Number of rooms (if they're similar in size) - Fair rental value comparison - Relative assessed values if your local tax assessor breaks them out separately The key is being consistent - whatever method you used when you first started taking depreciation deductions should generally be the same method you use when calculating the sale allocation. Keep good documentation of your methodology because the IRS may ask you to justify your allocation during an audit. One important note: if you've been using a specific percentage on your Schedule E forms over the years for the rental portion, stick with that same percentage for the sale calculation. Changing it could raise red flags.

Another fascinating case that might work well for your presentation is Estate of Michael Jackson v. Commissioner (2021). The IRS valued Jackson's name and likeness at $434 million for estate tax purposes, but the estate argued it was worth only $2,105. The Tax Court ended up valuing it at $4.15 million - a huge win for the estate. What makes this case so compelling is how the court analyzed the valuation of celebrity image rights and intellectual property after death. They considered factors like negative publicity from the abuse allegations and how that affected the commercial value of his brand. It's a perfect intersection of pop culture and complex tax law that definitely keeps students awake! The case also has great precedential value for estate planning with intellectual property assets, which is increasingly relevant as more wealth is tied up in intangible assets and personal brands.

For similar celebrity valuation cases, you might want to look at Estate of Prince v. Commissioner, which is still ongoing but involves similar issues around valuing music catalogs and image rights posthumously. There's also been some interesting litigation around Elvis Presley's estate from earlier years that helped establish some of the foundational principles. What's really fascinating about the Jackson case is how the court had to essentially create a framework for separating the "person" from the "brand" when that person is deceased and can't generate new content or appearances. They looked at comparable licensing deals, analyzed the impact of negative publicity, and even considered how the estate's own management decisions affected value. The case is also great for demonstrating how expert witness testimony works in complex valuation disputes - both sides brought in entertainment industry experts, financial analysts, and intellectual property specialists who came to wildly different conclusions using different methodologies.

I'm THRILLED with my credit union for tax refunds! They process government deposits immediately without holds. I've gotten my refund as early as 6am on the day the IRS releases it! No fees, no hassle, and I can set up automatic transfers to savings. I've meticulously tracked this for 5 years and direct deposit to a good credit union beats prepaid cards EVERY TIME! 🎉

@Laila Prince - I completely understand your situation with three kids and daycare expenses! I've been in similar tight spots. Based on what everyone's sharing here, it sounds like SimOne might actually slow things down rather than speed them up, plus hit you with those unexpected fees when you can least afford them. Have you considered opening a free checking account at a local credit union specifically for tax purposes? Many credit unions offer instant account opening and genuinely faster government deposit processing without the fees. Edward's experience with getting refunds at 6am sounds amazing! Also, you might want to check the IRS "Where's My Refund" tool first to see if there are any processing issues with your return before switching deposit methods. Sometimes the delay isn't about where the money goes, but about how the return was processed.

Have you checked the WMAR tool instead of just WMR? In my experience from the past three filing seasons, the Where's My Amended Return tool sometimes shows different information even if you didn't file an amended return. Last year my return was delayed with a similar code pattern, and WMAR showed a message about verification that the regular WMR tool didn't display. The 0505 code typically resolves within 21 days of the "as of" date, but I've seen it take up to 30 days in some cases.

Just got my refund yesterday after having the exact same situation! 0505 code with 5/13 date, and I was watching everyone else celebrate their deposits while I refreshed my transcript hourly like it was a social media feed 😂 My 846 code suddenly appeared on Tuesday night's update, and the money hit my account this morning. Hang in there - the system seems completely random sometimes, but it does eventually work.