I'm a tax preparer and saw this exact scenario last month. Client came in panicking because another preparer had filed her as Single instead of HOH. The difference was $4,250 in her refund! We amended immediately. The mistake also affected her Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Credit calculations. If you have dependents, the impact is even bigger. Do you have dependents on your return? That's the biggest factor in how much this will affect you.

This happened to my sister two years ago! Her preparer made the same mistake and she almost lost out on about $3,800. Here's what worked for her: 1. **Calculate the exact difference first** - Use tax software or the IRS withholding calculator to see what you should have gotten with HOH status 2. **File Form 1040-X immediately** - Don't wait for the original return to finish processing completely. You can file the amendment once it's accepted 3. **Keep detailed records** - Save copies of everything and document the preparer error 4. **Consider asking your preparer to cover amendment fees** - If they made the error, they should help fix it at no cost to you The processing time for amendments is brutal right now (4-5 months), but you'll get the full difference plus interest. Just make sure you qualify for HOH - you need to have paid more than half the household expenses and have a qualifying dependent who lived with you for more than half the year. Hope this helps and sorry you're dealing with this stress!

I'm dealing with the exact same situation right now! International student from Germany, got my first 1042-S this year from a research assistantship, and now the IRS is asking for forms 8805 and 8288-A. This thread has been incredibly helpful - I had no idea this was such a common issue with their automated systems. Based on what everyone's shared, it sounds like the key steps are: 1. Write a clear explanation letter stating you're an international student with no partnership income or real estate transactions 2. Include copies of all relevant documents (W-2, 1042-S, visa documentation, I-20) 3. Clearly mark everything as "INTERNATIONAL STUDENT - 1042-S ISSUE" 4. Send via certified mail with tracking I'm going to try the taxr.ai suggestion first to get help with the explanation letter, and if I can't get through to the IRS by phone myself, I might try Claimyr as a backup. The deadline stress is real when you're dealing with immigration status on top of tax confusion! Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - this community is a lifesaver for international students navigating the US tax system.

This is such a frustrating but unfortunately common issue for international students! I went through something very similar last year as a PhD student from Canada. The IRS automated system seems to flag any 1042-S and automatically request these forms without considering the context. A few additional tips that helped me beyond what others have mentioned: 1. If you have access to your university's tax preparation software (like TurboTax through the school), print out the tax summary page that shows your income sources. This helps demonstrate that your fellowship/stipend income is properly categorized as scholarship income, not partnership distributions. 2. When you write your explanation letter, explicitly state "I have never been a partner in any partnership" and "I have never owned or sold US real property." The IRS agents processing these letters look for these specific statements. 3. Since you're currently in Brazil, consider having a trusted friend or family member in the US send the documents on your behalf if the deadline is approaching. Just make sure they include a note explaining they're sending on your behalf due to your family emergency. The international student office at MSU should really have standard guidance for this - it's disappointing they're not responding. You might try reaching out to the graduate school directly as they often deal with fellowship tax issues. Don't stress too much - this gets resolved once you send the proper explanation. The IRS just needs clarification that their computer made an error in your case.

ppl telling u its normal are right but also ur basically giving the govt free money if u overwithhold. i always claim the max allowances possible so i get more $$ in each check, then i just save a bit each month for tax time. end up ahead since that money can work for me all year instead of sitting with the irs lol

Hey Freya! Congrats on the new job! What you're seeing is totally normal and honestly, you made a smart choice for your first time dealing with withholding. When you marked single with 0 allowances (or left everything blank on the new W-4), you chose the most conservative approach - which is perfect when you're unsure. That ~$100 is likely covering federal income tax, Social Security (6.2%), Medicare (1.45%), and possibly state taxes. The good news is that since you just started working partway through the year, you'll probably get a nice refund next April because the withholding calculations assume you'll earn that salary for the full year. My advice? Keep it exactly as is for your first year. You'll sleep better knowing you won't owe anything, and any refund you get is just a bonus. Once you file your first tax return and see how it all works out, then you can decide if you want to adjust your withholding for the following year. You're doing great!

I've been lurking here for a while and finally decided to create an account after reading all these helpful tips! I'm dealing with a really frustrating situation where the IRS says I didn't file my 2023 return, but I definitely did (electronically through TurboTax and have the confirmation). I've been trying to reach someone for weeks to get this sorted out before they start charging penalties. Based on what I'm reading here, it sounds like I should try the menu navigation trick that Omar mentioned rather than just hitting "0" repeatedly like I've been doing. Has anyone else dealt with this specific issue where the IRS claims they never received your electronically filed return? I'm worried this might be a bigger problem that needs the Taxpayer Advocate Service, but I want to try the regular channels first. Also really appreciate everyone sharing these alternative methods - I had no idea about services like Claimyr or taxr.ai existing. The IRS phone system is seriously broken if people need to find workarounds like this just to speak to a human!

Welcome to the community, Dylan! I've dealt with this exact same issue before - the IRS claimed they never received my 2022 return even though I had electronic filing confirmation from FreeTaxUSA. It's incredibly stressful when you know you did everything right but their system shows otherwise. Here's what worked for me: When you call using Omar's menu navigation method, specifically ask to speak with someone in the "Electronic Filing department" or mention that you need to trace an electronically filed return. Have your AGI (Adjusted Gross Income) from your prior year return ready too - they often use that to verify your identity along with the confirmation number. In my case, it turned out there was a processing backlog that caused returns to not show up in their main system for weeks, even though they were received. The agent was able to locate my return in a separate processing queue and confirm it was filed on time. If you continue having trouble after trying the phone methods, don't hesitate to contact your congressman's office like others mentioned. Missing electronic returns that could result in penalties are exactly the type of issue their constituent services help with, and it really does get results fast!

8 Microsoft has a free online version of Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) that you can use through a web browser at office.com. It's not as full-featured as the desktop version but might be enough for basic work tasks without having to pay for a subscription.

Another alternative worth considering is LibreOffice, which is completely free and open-source. It's compatible with Microsoft Office file formats and includes Writer (Word equivalent), Calc (Excel equivalent), and Impress (PowerPoint equivalent). While it may have a slightly different interface, it handles most business tasks well and could be a good temporary solution while you work on getting your employer to provide or reimburse the Microsoft Office subscription. I've used it for basic document editing and spreadsheet work and found it quite capable for most standard office tasks.