Has anyone actually calculated what this refund would be? I'm in a similar boat.

This is really helpful info! I was in a similar situation last year and want to add a few things based on my experience. First, make sure all 3 of your kids will qualify as "qualifying children" for the Child Tax Credit - they need to be under 17 at the end of the tax year and meet the relationship/support tests. Sounds like yours will qualify no problem. One thing to watch out for - the American Opportunity Credit has income limits too. For married filing jointly, it starts phasing out around $160,000, so you should get the full benefit at $65k income. Also, don't stress too much about the calculator differences. I found that some online calculators don't account for all the interactions between different credits, or they use different assumptions about your filing status or deduction amounts. The rough calculation that Natalie provided above looks pretty reasonable to me. With no withholding, you're essentially getting an interest-free loan from the government through these refundable credits. Just make sure you file on time to get your refund processed quickly!

Can I just point out that all this complicated gifting strategy might not even be necessary depending on how much stock we're talking about? The $19k limit is PER RECIPIENT, PER YEAR. So if you're gifting to both your mom and dad, you could actually gift up to $38k total ($19k to each) without any reporting requirements. And if you're married, both you and your spouse can each give $19k to each parent, meaning up to $76k total ($19k × 2 givers × 2 recipients) without triggering gift tax reporting.

Just want to add a timing consideration that might help with your volatile stock situation. Since you need to use the fair market value on the actual date of transfer to determine if you're under the $19k limit, you might want to monitor the stock price and choose a day when it's trading lower if possible. For example, if your stock is currently worth $25k but you only want to gift $18k worth, you'd need to transfer fewer shares on a high-price day versus a low-price day. This gives you some flexibility to maximize the number of shares you can gift while staying under the annual exclusion limit. Also, make sure you document everything clearly - the exact number of shares transferred, the closing price on the transfer date, and your original purchase information. Your parents will need all this information when they eventually sell, and having it organized from the start will save everyone headaches later.

This has been such an incredibly helpful discussion! I'm dealing with a similar situation - about $13,000 in loss carryovers from 2023, and I've been absolutely puzzled by how TurboTax was handling them this year. Like so many others here, I was completely wrong about thinking the $3,000 limit applied to ALL capital loss usage. I had no idea that losses can offset capital gains dollar-for-dollar with no annual limit, and that the $3,000 restriction only applies to losses used against ordinary income like wages. What really drives this home for me is that I've actually been making some decent gains this year - probably around $7,000 in capital gains from stocks that have recovered. Instead of being worried about TurboTax "using up" my loss carryover too quickly, I should be celebrating that it's working exactly as intended! My losses are first wiping out those $7,000 in gains completely, and then I still get to use $3,000 more against my regular income. This means I'll use $10,000 of my $13,000 carryover in just one year, which is actually fantastic for my tax situation. I was dreading having to carry these losses forward for 4+ years, but now I realize that having investment gains actually helps me use them up more efficiently. Thank you everyone for making this so clear with real examples and patient explanations. This thread should be required reading for anyone dealing with capital loss carryovers!

This thread has been absolutely incredible! As someone who's been lurking in this community for a while but never posted, I finally had to jump in because this exact situation has been driving me crazy for months. I have about $19,000 in capital loss carryovers from some really poor investment decisions in 2022-2023, and I've been so confused watching TurboTax apply way more than $3,000 of them this year. Like literally everyone else here, I was convinced there was some kind of software error because I "knew" you could only use $3,000 per year, period. Reading through all these explanations - especially the clear breakdown that losses first offset capital gains with NO LIMIT, and only then does the $3,000 cap apply to ordinary income - this has completely blown my mind. I actually have about $8,000 in capital gains this year from some recovery in my tech stocks, so TurboTax was correctly using $8,000 of my carryover losses against those gains, plus allowing another $3,000 against my regular income. What really gets me is that I've been beating myself up thinking I was somehow "wasting" my loss carryovers by having gains this year. Turns out having those gains is actually helping me use up the carryovers more efficiently! Instead of taking 6+ years to exhaust them at $3,000 annually, I'm using $11,000 in just one year. This community is amazing for helping people understand these complex rules through real examples and shared experiences. Thank you all for such patient and thorough explanations - you've saved me from making some seriously bad investment decisions based on my misunderstanding!

I've been through a very similar situation with DraftKings and can offer some additional perspective on the sessions method. After working with a tax attorney who specializes in gambling cases, I learned that the sessions method isn't just about convenience - it's actually the most legally defensible approach for frequent online gamblers. The key insight my attorney shared is that the sessions method better reflects the "economic substance" of your gambling activity. When you're betting continuously throughout a day on the same platform, treating each individual wager as separate creates an artificial inflation of both wins and losses that doesn't match the economic reality of your gambling behavior. For your specific situation with $815k in winning sessions and $246k in losing sessions, you're absolutely correct to use these figures. The $3.1m in total transaction losses becomes irrelevant once you've chosen the sessions method - mixing methodologies is exactly what gets people in trouble with audits. One thing I'd add that others haven't mentioned: consider the timing of when you actually received payouts versus when sessions closed. Some gamblers get tripped up by cash-out timing, especially with promotional bonuses or delayed settlements. Make sure your session calculations align with when you actually had access to winnings, not just when bets were placed or resolved. Also, document any promotional credits or bonuses separately - the IRS sometimes scrutinizes how these are handled in session calculations.

This is an incredibly helpful thread - I've been struggling with the exact same situation with my BetMGM gambling records. After reading through all these responses, I finally understand why my tax preparer kept asking me to "be consistent" with my methodology. One thing I wanted to add from my research: make sure you understand how your state handles gambling income if you're using the sessions method. Some states don't recognize the sessions method at all and require you to report the full W-2G amounts as income, even if you're using sessions for federal purposes. This can create a significant difference between your federal and state tax calculations. In my case, I live in a state that doesn't allow gambling loss deductions, so even though I'm using the sessions method federally to report $650k instead of $1.8m in W-2Gs, I still have to report the full $1.8m on my state return with no offsetting deductions. It's brutal, but at least the federal savings help offset the state tax hit. Also, for anyone considering the professional gambler route mentioned earlier - be extremely careful. I consulted with a tax attorney about this, and they warned that the IRS has been aggressively auditing professional gambler claims, especially for sports betting. Unless you truly treat gambling as a full-time business with systematic approaches, detailed business records, and can demonstrate consistent profit-seeking behavior over multiple years, stick with the sessions method as a recreational gambler. The documentation standards everyone mentioned are spot-on. I created a comprehensive audit file with my session calculations, methodology explanation, and supporting case law. Better to over-document than wish you had more records later.

I'm in almost the exact same boat as you - hit the SS cap at my previous job in late October and just started a new position this week. This whole thread has been incredibly educational! One thing I wanted to add from my research is that if you're dealing with this situation, it's worth double-checking whether your previous employer correctly calculated your SS wages throughout the year. I discovered that some pre-tax deductions (like 401k contributions) reduce your SS taxable wages, so the actual income threshold where you hit the cap might be higher than the $160,200 base limit. For example, if you contributed $20,000 to your 401k, you'd actually hit the SS cap when your gross wages reach $180,200, not $160,200. This affected my calculations for how much I was being overwitheld at the new job. I'm planning to use the IRS withholding estimator that everyone has recommended, but I wanted to make sure I had the right numbers going in. It's worth pulling your final paystub from your previous employer and double-checking the YTD SS wages line to confirm you actually exceeded the cap. Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences - having this roadmap makes what initially seemed like a really complex situation much more manageable!

I'm currently facing this exact situation and this thread has been incredibly comprehensive! Just wanted to add one more practical tip that saved me some headaches. When I hit the SS cap at my previous job in September and started my new position in October, I initially tried to handle all the calculations myself. What I found helpful was creating a simple month-by-month projection showing exactly when I'd hit the cap, how much would be overwitheld each remaining paycheck, and what my total refund would be. But here's the key thing I learned: don't forget about year-end bonuses or other irregular compensation at your NEW employer. I almost got my withholding adjustment perfect, but then my new company announced an unexpected year-end bonus that threw off all my calculations. The bonus pushed my overwithholding higher than I had planned for. If you're starting a new job late in the year, try to get clarity from HR about any potential year-end compensation beyond your regular salary. This will help you be more precise with your IRS withholding estimator inputs and W-4 adjustments. Also, I second everyone's advice about being proactive with HR. Most companies appreciate when new employees come prepared with documentation and clear explanations rather than just complaining about "wrong" deductions. Having your final paystub showing you hit the SS cap makes the conversation much smoother.