Is anyone else having weird TaxAct glitches with itemized deductions specifically? My return keeps getting stuck at exactly the same point as the OP but only when I try to itemize. When I switched to standard deduction it went through fine.

I had a very similar issue with TaxAct freezing during submission, and after trying all the usual troubleshooting steps, I discovered the problem was actually with my bank routing information for direct deposit. Even though TaxAct wasn't giving me any error message about it, I had accidentally entered my old bank's routing number from a closed account. The submission process would get all the way to the end and then just hang indefinitely. Once I updated to my current bank's routing and account numbers, the e-file went through immediately. It's worth double-checking all your banking information even if TaxAct isn't specifically flagging it as an error - sometimes these validation issues happen silently in the background and just cause the whole process to stall out. You might also want to try temporarily selecting "mail my refund" instead of direct deposit just to see if that allows the submission to complete. If it does, then you know the banking info is the culprit.

Ugh, I feel your pain. The IRS is seriously understaffed and overworked. It's not just you - the whole system is broken. Have you considered reaching out to a tax professional? They might have better ways to contact the IRS.

I've been dealing with this exact same issue! What finally worked for me was calling the Practitioner Priority Service line (if you have a tax pro help you) or trying the main number but calling exactly at 7am EST when they open. Also, don't hang up when you get the busy signal - sometimes if you wait a few seconds it'll actually put you in the queue. The key is persistence and timing. I know it's frustrating but keep at it! You might also want to check if your issue can be resolved online through your IRS account first - sometimes that saves you the call entirely. Hang in there! 💪

Anyone recommend a good tax software for self employed people? I've always used FreeFileTaxes but not sure it handles 1099s well...

As someone who's been self-employed for 5 years, I can confirm what others have said - your friend definitely misunderstood the 50% rule! You'll pay income tax on 100% of your net business income (the $42k minus any legitimate business expenses like your laptop and software). For self-employment tax, you pay 15.3% on about 92.35% of your net income (this accounts for the employer portion). Then you get to deduct half of that self-employment tax amount when calculating your income tax - but that's a much smaller benefit than only paying tax on half your income! Your 30% savings rate is probably pretty close to what you'll need. Just make sure you're tracking all your business expenses throughout the year - even small things like a portion of your internet bill if you work from home, office supplies, professional development courses, etc. Those deductions add up and can significantly reduce your tax burden. Good luck with your filing!

its litterally impossible to know for sure without more info. The IRS is so behind this year its not even funny

Looking at your transcript codes, this is actually really promising! The 811 "Removed refund freeze" on 01-09 means your return was indeed held up (probably for routine verification) but that hold has been lifted. The 846 code with date 01-30-2025 for $4,258.37 is the big one - that's your actual refund issued date. The $292.37 interest (code 776) is because of the delay since you filed in February. You should see the money in your account within 1-5 business days after 01-30, so likely by early February. The processing is basically done at this point!

If anyone is still following this thread, I just wanted to add that I had a similar issue with TaxAct (not FreeTaxUSA) and RIC foreign income. The solution for me was to make sure I entered the correct country codes for each foreign tax paid rather than using "various" as the country. Once I did that, e-filing worked fine. Maybe try that approach in FreeTaxUSA too? Sometimes these tax software issues have simple workarounds if you get the right guidance.

I just went through this exact same nightmare with FreeTaxUSA and RIC foreign income from my mutual fund investments. After reading through all these suggestions, I want to share what finally worked for me. The key was getting the Form 1116 allocations exactly right. I had foreign income from three different countries through my Vanguard international fund, and FreeTaxUSA kept rejecting my e-file because I was lumping everything together. Here's what I had to do: 1. Separate each country's foreign taxes paid into individual entries rather than using "Various" or combining them 2. Make sure the passive income category was selected correctly for each foreign source 3. Double-check that the foreign tax credit amounts matched exactly with what was on my 1099-DIV The whole process was incredibly frustrating because FreeTaxUSA's error messages were completely unhelpful - they just said "foreign income not supported for e-filing" without explaining what specifically was wrong. But once I got the allocations right, it went through immediately. For anyone still struggling with this, don't give up on FreeTaxUSA if you've already entered everything. The software CAN handle RIC foreign income for e-filing, it's just very picky about how you enter the information.