Has anyone tried using TurboTax for calculating their home office deduction? I'm self-employed and work out of my garage (converted it to an office) and I'm trying to decide if I need special software or if the mainstream tax programs handle this ok?

I've been using TurboTax Self-Employed for my home office deduction for the past two years and it's been really straightforward. The software walks you through everything step-by-step, including helping you measure your space and calculate the percentage of your home used for business. One thing I really appreciated is that it automatically calculates both the simplified method ($5 per square foot) and the regular method (percentage of actual home expenses) and shows you which one gives you the bigger deduction. For my 150 square foot home office, the simplified method actually worked out better. The software also has a good section on documentation - it reminds you to keep receipts for things like office supplies, equipment, and your portion of utilities. Just make sure you have all your home expenses handy (mortgage interest, property taxes, utilities, etc.) before you start if you want to compare both methods.

One important thing nobody has mentioned yet - if PayPal is asking for W-8BEN-E specifically, check if perhaps you initially set up your account as a business account rather than a personal one? That would explain why they're requesting the entity form instead of the individual one. I made this exact mistake when setting up my freelance PayPal account years ago. I thought "business account" made sense for freelance work, not realizing it would categorize me as an actual business entity for tax purposes.

Just a practical tip from someone who had to deal with this exact situation - if you end up having to fill out the W-8BEN-E as an individual (which is not ideal but sometimes unavoidable with PayPal), here's what worked for me: Part I: Fill out your personal information, using your name as the "organization" name Line 3: Check box for "Individual" Part III: Only complete if your country has a tax treaty with the US Parts IV-XXVIII: Leave completely blank Part XXX: Sign and date as an individual PayPal accepted this even though it's technically the wrong form. Their system is notoriously inflexible about these things.

Has anyone used TurboTax to file with Form 8233 and treaty benefits? I'm about to file for last year and I had treaty benefits from an internship, but I'm not sure if the basic TurboTax can handle this or if I need some premium version.

Great point about using the right tax software! I made this mistake my first year and it was a nightmare to fix. Lucy is absolutely right - TurboTax will mess up your tax situation as a nonresident alien. I used Sprintax last year and it handled my Form 8233 treaty benefits perfectly. It walks you through all the nonresident alien forms (1040NR, 8843, etc.) and has specific sections for treaty benefits from different countries. Most universities have discount codes or sometimes even free access to Sprintax - check with your international student office first. Also, keep in mind that if you used Form 8233 during the year, you'll need to report those treaty benefits on your tax return even though taxes weren't withheld on that income. The software should guide you through this, but it's important to be consistent between what you claimed on Form 8233 and what you report on your 1040NR.

2 Have your partner look into filing as HoH if they're claiming your child. That would give them a better tax break than filing as single. Also check if either of you qualify for Earned Income Credit depending on your income - that could make a big difference!

You're absolutely correct that you cannot file as Head of Household in this situation. Since your boyfriend claims your son as a dependent, you don't have a qualifying person to meet the HoH requirements, even though you may be paying a significant portion of household expenses. Your boyfriend, however, likely qualifies for HoH filing status since he claims your child as a dependent and presumably pays more than half the cost of maintaining the household (this would need to include his portion of mortgage, utilities, plus the health insurance and other expenses he covers). For next year, you might want to consider whether it makes financial sense to alternate who claims your son, but you'd need to run the numbers carefully. The person claiming the child must be providing more than half of the child's support, so you'd need to track all expenses related to your son specifically (not just household expenses) to see if this arrangement would work and benefit your family overall. Also worth noting - make sure your boyfriend is indeed filing as HoH if he qualifies, as it provides better tax rates and a higher standard deduction compared to Single filing status.

I've been dealing with the exact same issues! Filed in late November and have been getting locked out constantly when trying to check my transcript. It's so frustrating because you just want to know what's happening with your money. I noticed the lockouts seem to happen more frequently during business hours - I've had better luck checking very early morning or late at night like someone else mentioned. One thing that's helped me is setting up text alerts through my bank so I'll know immediately if a deposit comes through, rather than obsessively checking the IRS site. Also made sure to screenshot all my banking info from my IRS account before I got locked out again, just in case there are any issues with direct deposit like others have mentioned. The security concerns people are raising are really alarming though - definitely going to enable 2FA and change my passwords after reading these comments. Thanks for the heads up about checking account details, that could have saved me a major headache!

This is exactly what happened to me! Filed in early November and have been getting random 24-hour lockouts for the past two weeks. What's really frustrating is that the IRS phone reps give different explanations every time - one said it was "system maintenance," another blamed "suspicious activity detection," and the third claimed it was just high traffic volume. I'm definitely going to check my direct deposit info ASAP after reading about people's banking details getting changed without notice. That's terrifying - imagine waiting months for a refund only to have it stolen at the last minute! For anyone still trying to get through on the phone, I've found calling right at 7am when the lines open gives you the best chance. Still takes forever but at least you're not competing with as many people. The "Where's My Refund" tool has been more reliable than the transcript access, though it gives way less detail about what's actually happening with your return. Stay vigilant everyone - sounds like this tax season is going to be a nightmare between the technical issues and security breaches. Make sure you're monitoring your accounts closely!