This is a really concerning situation, and I'm glad you're questioning it now. As others have mentioned, while legitimate depreciation add-backs are a real thing in mortgage underwriting, what your loan officer suggested crosses into fraud territory. The key issue is that you can ONLY claim business mileage for miles you actually drove for legitimate business purposes. If you amended your return to include fictional miles just to boost your mortgage-qualifying income, that's tax fraud regardless of how mortgage lenders might treat the depreciation component. I'd strongly recommend: 1. Consult with a CPA immediately about your amended return 2. If you claimed miles you didn't actually drive, file another amendment to correct it 3. Consider finding a new mortgage lender - one that doesn't suggest illegal tactics There are legitimate ways to present self-employment income favorably to lenders without breaking tax laws. A good mortgage broker should know the difference between proper income analysis and fraud. Your current loan officer has put both of you at risk with this advice. Better to delay your home purchase than face potential IRS penalties, mortgage fraud charges, or having to explain falsified tax documents later. The housing market will still be there when you get your finances properly sorted.

As someone who went through the self-employment mortgage process recently, I want to echo what others have said - this is definitely concerning territory. The legitimate practice of adding back depreciation exists, but your loan officer crossed a major line by telling you to amend your taxes with potentially fictitious business miles. Here's what I learned during my own process: legitimate lenders who work with self-employed borrowers will add back non-cash expenses like depreciation, but they do this based on what's ALREADY on your tax returns. They don't ask you to modify your returns to create these deductions. A few suggestions from my experience: 1. Find a mortgage broker who specializes in self-employed borrowers and ask them upfront about their income calculation methods 2. Get a consultation with a tax professional about your amended return situation 3. Look into asset-based lending or bank statement loan programs if your tax returns don't show enough income The red flags to watch for: any loan officer who suggests modifying tax documents, making deposits to inflate bank statements, or claiming expenses you didn't actually incur. Good mortgage professionals work with what you legitimately have, not what you can manufacture. It might delay your home purchase, but fixing this properly now will save you from much bigger problems down the road. The IRS doesn't mess around with amended returns that can't be substantiated.

The EXACT same thing happened to me!! I was so angry I took screenshots of everything. My payment was "pending" for $1,243 but my account showed $0 paid! I was panicking thinking I'd get hit with late payment penalties or something. But it did finally update on the exact day they said it would. The whole time I was thinking "how can a company that literally specializes in FINANCIAL SOFTWARE have such a terrible payment tracking system??" 🤬 So frustrating but at least you know you're not alone in this mess!

I'm going through this exact same situation right now! My payment shows as pending with TurboTax support but my account dashboard still shows $0 paid. It's so stressful when you're dealing with tax payments and the system seems broken. Reading everyone's experiences here is really reassuring though - sounds like this is unfortunately just how their system works. The trace number definitely seems to be the key proof that everything is actually fine. Thanks for posting this Dylan, it's helping a lot of us who are in the same boat! I'll definitely be saving that trace number and waiting for my pending date.

Theyre not gonna call u back in 30 days lol. But the good news is that usually means theyre about to release it anyway

Had the exact same thing happen to me last month! My 810 got removed and they gave me the whole "higher ups will call in 30 days" speech. Didn't get a call but my refund hit my account on day 18. Just keep checking your transcript for movement - once that 810 is gone you're basically in the clear. Hang in there!

I'm experiencing the exact same issue! Been trying to access my transcript since about 6:45 AM and getting that same "Transcripts are unavailable" error. This is my first time dealing with an IRS system outage and I was starting to panic thinking something was wrong with my return filing. Really appreciate everyone confirming this is system-wide - makes me feel much better knowing it's not an issue with my account specifically. I'm also checking daily for refund updates and this outage couldn't have come at a worse time since I'm expecting movement on my return status. Has anyone noticed if there's a pattern to when these outages typically get resolved? I'm wondering if I should just wait until this evening to try again or if it's worth checking periodically throughout the day. Thanks for posting about this - it's reassuring to know I'm not alone in dealing with this frustration!

I'm dealing with the exact same issue! Started trying to access my transcript around 7:00 AM and keep getting that "Transcripts are unavailable" message. Really frustrating because I filed my 2024 return last week and was hoping to see if there were any processing updates. It's reassuring to see that this is affecting multiple people across different locations and devices. I tried both the IRS2Go mobile app and the website directly, but both are showing the same unavailable message. Even tried switching between wifi and cellular data thinking it might be a connectivity issue on my end. This seems to be happening more frequently during tax season - probably because so many people are checking their refund status daily like we are. Really wish the IRS would invest in better server infrastructure to handle the increased traffic during filing season. A simple status page showing current system availability would be helpful too instead of leaving us guessing whether it's a widespread outage or an individual account issue. Hopefully it's resolved soon! Thanks for posting this - at least now I know I'm not going crazy trying to troubleshoot something that's out of my control. 🤞

Have you considered having your father-in-law claim HOH instead? If he provided more than half the cost of the home and had your husband's daughter living there, he might actually qualify. Might be worth looking into as an option if your husband has to amend his return anyway.

I've been through an IRS audit before and want to offer some perspective on what you can expect. First, don't panic - the IRS is generally reasonable when dealing with honest mistakes, especially when tax software like TurboTax guided you incorrectly. For your situation, you'll likely need to file an amended return changing from Head of Household to Single status. This will increase your tax liability, but you'll probably still be able to claim your daughter as a dependent and get the Child Tax Credit if you meet the other requirements. The key is responding promptly and honestly to the audit notice. Include a letter explaining that this was an unintentional error based on tax software guidance, and that you're willing to correct it. The IRS appreciates taxpayers who are cooperative and straightforward. As for penalties, if this is clearly an honest mistake with no intent to defraud, you'll likely just owe the additional tax plus interest. The IRS has "reasonable cause" exceptions for penalties when taxpayers can show they made a good faith effort to comply. One last tip: keep detailed records of everything you send to the IRS and consider sending responses via certified mail so you have proof of delivery. This whole process might take a few months, but being proactive and honest usually leads to the best outcome.