One thing no one has mentioned yet - did you check if your broker has any residual cash from the company's wind-down? Sometimes when companies fold, there's a small liquidation distribution that gets sent to your brokerage account. You'll want to account for that as it reduces your loss slightly. Also, check if your shares were held in a custodial account somewhere. Even though the company is gone, the shares might still be reflected in some brokerage account, which would make documentation easier.

Has anyone considered the impact of the ESPP discount on your cost basis? When you participate in an ESPP, you often get shares at a discount to market value. That discount is generally considered compensation income. For example, if the fair market value was $100 per share but you paid $85 through the ESPP (15% discount), that $15 discount should have been reported as income on your W-2 in the year of purchase. Your actual cost basis would then be $100 ($85 paid plus $15 reported as income). This could affect how much loss you can claim now that the shares are worthless.

The IRS operates on a weekly processing schedule with different cycle codes. Each cycle code corresponds to a specific processing day. Transcripts update overnight between Wednesday and Thursday for cycle 04. However, the Where's My Refund tool typically updates the following business day. I'd recommend using taxr.ai to get a detailed analysis of your transcript - it'll show you exactly what's happening with your return and when to expect movement. It's been a game changer for understanding these delays.

I'm cycle 04 too and have been waiting forever! One thing that helped me was checking my transcript around 6am EST on Thursdays - that's when I've noticed updates actually appear. Also, don't stress too much about daily checking - the IRS processes returns in batches and sometimes there are just quiet weeks with no movement. Your refund will come!

One option nobody's mentioned: if your son has legal visitation rights, he could potentially take the mother back to family court to update the custody agreement to reflect the actual living situation. If he can get the court to recognize him as the primary custodial parent (since the child actually lives with him), that would give him the clear right to claim the child on taxes, which he could then potentially transfer to you through Form 8332. It would take time and possibly legal fees, but might be worth it in the long run, especially if this has been going on for years. Just a thought based on what a friend of mine had to do in a similar situation.

I went through something very similar with my nephew a few years back. The key thing to understand is that there are actually two different tests for claiming a dependent: "qualifying child" and "qualifying relative." Since you're the grandparent and there's a custody agreement naming the mother as primary custodian, your granddaughter likely won't qualify as your "qualifying child." However, she might qualify as your "qualifying relative" if you can prove you provided more than half of her support during the year. Start documenting EVERYTHING now - grocery receipts, clothing purchases, school supplies, medical copays, activity fees, etc. Calculate the total amount you spent on her care versus what the mother contributed. If you provided more than 50% of her total support AND she lived with you for the full year, you have a strong case. The tricky part is that both you and the mother filing claims for the same child will trigger an IRS review. Be prepared for that process - it can take several months, but if you have solid documentation showing you provided the majority of support, you should prevail. Keep everything organized and consider consulting a tax professional before filing to make sure you're taking the right approach.

Has anyone looked at whether the $1900 statement value might include earnings/growth? My retirement statements always show contributions + earnings for the period, and that threw me off big time last year.

This is exactly the kind of confusion that trips up so many people! As others have mentioned, Box 12 code AA only shows YOUR elective deferrals (the money deducted from your paycheck), not employer contributions or any investment gains. To help you verify everything matches up correctly, here's what I'd recommend checking: 1. Look at your final 2023 paystub - your year-to-date 401k deduction should match the $1100 in Box 12 code AA 2. Check if your retirement statement breaks down employee vs employer contributions separately 3. See if you were contributing to both traditional AND Roth 401k accounts (Roth would show up differently on your W-2) 4. Look for any investment gains/losses on your statement that might be inflating the total The $800 difference you're seeing is most likely a combination of employer matching and possibly some account growth during 2023. This is totally normal and doesn't indicate any error on your W-2. Your tax filing should be based on the W-2 amounts, not your retirement account statement totals.

Has anyone tried using both TurboTax Self-Employed AND having a cpa review it afterwards? Im thinking about entering everything in TurboTax myself then paying a CPA for just an hour of their time to check it over. Would that be cheaper than full service prep?

As someone who's been self-employed for 3 years, I'd say go with a CPA for your first year, especially since your expense tracking has been messy. Here's why: At $42k income, you're looking at about $6,400 in self-employment taxes alone (15.3% on net earnings). A good CPA will likely save you more than their $350-500 fee through deductions you'd miss. They can also help you: 1. Set up proper bookkeeping systems for next year 2. Calculate and set up quarterly estimated payments to avoid penalties 3. Advise on legitimate home office deductions (which are totally fine if done correctly) 4. Help with equipment depreciation vs immediate expensing decisions Once you have a solid foundation and better organized records, you could potentially switch to TurboTax Self-Employed in future years. But for your first year with messy records, the peace of mind and expertise are worth the investment. Pro tip: Ask the CPA to explain their work so you learn for next time. Many are happy to educate clients about proper record-keeping and common deductions.