Quick tip from someone who works in benefits admin - check if either of your plans allows mid-year changes to FSA/HSA elections based on a "change in benefit eligibility." If her FSA is making your HSA contributions problematic, some plans allow you to adjust mid-year when you discover this kind of conflict.

I went through this exact same situation last year and here's what I learned: The key issue isn't whether you're on separate health plans, but whether her FSA can be used for your family's medical expenses when you file jointly. Since you mentioned she uses her FSA for prescriptions and doctor visits, it sounds like a general medical FSA. Even though you have separate insurance, the IRS considers her FSA as available to cover your medical expenses because you file taxes together. This technically disqualifies you from HSA contributions. However, I'd strongly recommend getting the actual plan documents from her HR department - not just asking them verbally. Look specifically for language about who can use the FSA funds. Some plans restrict usage to the employee only, which could change everything. If it turns out her FSA does disqualify your HSA, ask her benefits team about switching to a limited-purpose FSA during the next enrollment period. Many employers now offer this option specifically for situations like yours. You'd lose some FSA flexibility but gain HSA eligibility, which is often worth it given the triple tax advantage of HSAs.

I'm new to this community but experiencing the exact same issue! My refund dropped from about $3,100 last year to $2,200 this year, and I was convinced I'd made some mistake on my taxes. After reading through all these responses, I finally understand what's happening. I went back and compared my pay stubs like several people suggested, and sure enough - I was taking home roughly $80 more per paycheck this year. Over 12 months, that's nearly $1,000 that I had access to throughout the year instead of waiting for it as a refund. It's definitely a mental adjustment though! I had already mentally "spent" that expected refund on a vacation fund. Now I'm thinking about setting up an automatic transfer of that extra monthly take-home into a separate savings account so I can still have that lump sum feeling, but at least it'll be earning interest for me instead of the government. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - this thread probably saved me hours of confusion and worry about whether I'd filed something incorrectly!

As someone new to this community, I'm so relieved to find this discussion! I've been dealing with the exact same issue - my refund went from around $2,800 last year to just $1,950 this year, and I was absolutely convinced I had made some major error on my tax return. After reading through everyone's experiences and explanations about the withholding table changes, I finally understand what happened. I dug out my old pay stubs and compared them, and it turns out I was bringing home about $70 more per paycheck this year without even realizing it. That adds up to roughly $840 over the year, which explains a big chunk of why my refund was smaller. It's such a relief to know this is happening to so many people and that it's actually the IRS trying to make withholding more accurate rather than some mistake on my part. The "interest-free loan to the government" concept really clicked for me - I never thought about refunds that way before, but it makes total sense. I think I'm going to take the advice from some of the comments here and set up an automatic transfer for that extra monthly income into a separate savings account. That way I can still get the satisfaction of having a lump sum for spring planning, but at least it'll be earning interest for me instead of sitting with the government all year! Thanks to everyone who shared their stories - this community is incredibly helpful for newcomers like me who are just trying to figure out why their taxes seem "weird" this year.

I'm really glad I stumbled across this thread! I've been working as a tax advisor for about 8 years, and I see clients panic about Form 13873-E notices all the time. It's completely understandable - these forms look intimidating and the language is pretty technical. What you're experiencing is absolutely normal and legitimate. The Form 13873-E is the IRS's way of saying "we got your transcript request, but something wasn't filled out correctly." It's actually a good thing that the IRS has this system in place - it prevents unauthorized access to your tax information by requiring everything to be completed properly. Your HELOC timeline is a dead giveaway that this is exactly what happened. Lenders almost always request tax transcripts as part of their income verification process, and clerical errors on these forms are incredibly common. I'd estimate that about 15-20% of my clients who apply for mortgages or major loans end up getting one of these notices. The silver lining is that once your lender resubmits the corrected 4506-C, the process usually moves very quickly. In my experience, clients typically get their loan processes back on track within 3-5 business days after the correction is submitted. Don't let this stress you out over the weekend - it's really just routine paperwork cleanup that your loan officer deals with regularly!

Just wanted to add my experience as someone who works in mortgage processing. I see Form 13873-E notices daily, and your situation is textbook - HELOC application 3 weeks ago, now getting this notice. It's almost certainly just a minor error on the 4506-C form your lender submitted. The most common mistakes I see are: - Wrong date format (MM/DD/YYYY vs DD/MM/YYYY) - Missing middle initial when it's on your tax return - Checking the wrong boxes for tax year or form type - Signature issues (especially with joint filers) Your loan officer will know exactly what to do with this. They'll compare the rejection notice against their original submission, fix the error, and resubmit. Usually takes 2-3 business days to get the transcripts back once corrected. Pro tip: When you call Monday, have the 13873-E form in front of you. The error codes on it will tell your loan officer exactly what went wrong, making the fix much faster. This definitely won't delay your HELOC closing - we build buffer time into our timelines specifically for these kinds of routine corrections.

Great thread! I'm actually going through the EFIN application process right now for my own side practice. One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet - make sure you understand the bonding requirements for your personal EFIN. The IRS requires a surety bond (usually $5,000 minimum) which can add to your startup costs. Also, if you're planning to offer direct deposit or refund transfer services to clients through your personal EFIN, there are additional requirements and fees with the bank partners. For software recommendations, I've been looking at TaxSlayer Pro - they have a pay-per-return option that might work better than the flat annual fee if you're uncertain about volume in your first year. Has anyone tried their platform for smaller practices?

Just wanted to add my experience as someone who's been operating with dual EFINs for over 5 years. Everything mentioned here is spot-on, but I'd emphasize one additional point that saved me a lot of headaches: set up completely separate QuickBooks accounts (or whatever accounting software you use) for tracking the income and expenses from each EFIN. This becomes crucial during tax season when you're preparing your own Schedule C - having clean separation makes it much easier to pull reports and ensures you don't accidentally mix business expenses. I learned this the hard way my first year when I tried to track everything in one system with different classes/categories. Also, don't forget about quarterly estimated taxes on your Schedule C income! The self-employment tax can catch you off guard if you're not setting aside money throughout the year. I typically set aside about 30% of my side practice income to cover both income tax and SE tax. One last tip: consider getting a separate business phone line or Google Voice number for your personal EFIN clients. Helps maintain that professional separation and makes it easier to track business vs personal calls for expense purposes.

Just a quick tip - make sure you keep EVERY document related to this transaction. The county's initial offer letter, any negotiation correspondence, closing documents, receipts for any expenses related to the transaction, and especially documentation showing the original purchase price of your property. I went through this last year and created a complete file with all these documents which saved me when the IRS questioned my capital gains calculation. Also take photos documenting exactly what portion of your property is being taken before any work begins!

As someone who recently went through a partial property taking for a utility easement, I want to emphasize the importance of understanding the timing rules for capital gains. Since this is an involuntary conversion due to eminent domain, you actually have some special options that might help reduce your tax burden. Under IRC Section 1033, you may be able to defer the capital gains by reinvesting the proceeds into "like-kind" property within a specific timeframe (usually 2-3 years from the end of the tax year you received the compensation). This could be particularly beneficial given that your gain ($66,300 as calculated above) would likely exceed the prorated Section 121 exclusion. Also, don't forget that you can add any legal fees, appraisal costs, and other expenses related to fighting or negotiating the taking to your cost basis, which would reduce your taxable gain. I ended up saving about $3,000 in taxes by properly documenting these additional costs. Given the complexity and the significant dollar amount involved, I'd strongly recommend consulting with a tax professional who has experience with eminent domain cases before filing. The potential tax savings from getting this right could easily justify the consultation fee.