Quick tax tip from a bookkeeper studying for the CPA too: track your study hours! If you can show you spent X hours studying specific topics directly related to your bookkeeping services vs Y hours studying audit/topics not related, you might be able to deduct a proportional amount of the expenses. Better than nothing if the IRS questions the full deduction!

Great advice from everyone here! I'm actually dealing with a similar situation with my tax prep business. One thing I'd add - make sure you're keeping detailed records of exactly what topics your CPA courses cover and how they relate to your current bookkeeping work. I created a simple spreadsheet tracking each course module and noting which ones directly applied to services I already offer clients (like tax prep, financial statement preparation, etc.) versus completely new areas. This documentation really helped when my CPA reviewed my deductions. Also, since you mentioned you're in startup phase - consider whether some of these expenses might qualify as startup costs under Section 195 rather than regular business expenses. Sometimes the startup cost treatment can be more favorable, especially if you're not generating much income yet to offset the deductions against. The international contractor payment is definitely deductible as others mentioned - just keep good records of the work performed and invoices received. No 1099 needed for foreign contractors working outside the US.

I'm in a similar situation - just completed my ID.me verification a few days ago and got the same "up to 9 weeks" message. Reading through everyone's experiences here, it sounds like the timeline really varies depending on your specific case. From what I'm gathering, if it was just a random identity verification (which sounds like it might be your case since they didn't specify why), you're probably looking at 3-6 weeks rather than the full 9. The people mentioning longer waits seem to have had additional complications like fraud flags or manual reviews. I'm definitely going to follow the advice about checking transcripts instead of relying on Where's My Refund - seems like that's where the real information is. And I'll probably set up that IP PIN they mentioned just for future protection, even though it won't speed up this current return. Thanks for posting this - it's helpful to see I'm not alone in this waiting game! Fingers crossed we both get our refunds sooner rather than later.

I just went through the ID.me verification process last month and wanted to share my timeline to give you hope! I completed verification on September 15th and got my refund deposited on October 8th - so about 3.5 weeks total. Like others have mentioned, the transcript is definitely your friend during this waiting period. I saw movement on my transcript about 10 days after verification with some processing codes, and then the 846 refund code appeared about a week before I actually got the deposit. One thing I noticed is that the IRS seems to process verified returns in batches, so timing can depend on when your return hits their queue. Since you filed in April originally, your return is probably already in their system and just needs to go through the post-verification processing steps. The IP PIN is definitely worth getting - it's free and will save you potential headaches next year. I set mine up right after I got my refund and it was super easy. Hang in there! The 9 week timeline is their conservative estimate, but most people I know who had straightforward verification situations got their refunds in 3-6 weeks.

Just want to add - if you're worried about identity theft or someone requesting this without your permission, you can always call that 800-829-1040 number to verify. They can tell you who made the request and when. Better safe than sorry, especially with all the tax scams going around these days. But sounds like you needed it for FAFSA anyway so you're all set! 👍

Hey Andre! Just to add some context - that Memphis TN office is legit, it's one of the IRS's major processing centers. The timing makes sense if you or someone (like your school's financial aid office) requested this for FAFSA purposes around mid-February. One thing to note: this letter is specifically saying they have NO record of a processed return for the tax period, which is exactly what you'd want for financial aid verification if you weren't required to file or haven't filed yet. If you're still unsure who requested it, definitely call that 800 number - they can tell you the source of the request. But honestly, sounds like everything is in order for your FAFSA needs! Just keep that tracking ID handy in case you need to reference this letter later.

Did you claim any pandemic credits? Those are taking forever to process rn

The 846 code dated 03-13-2024 means your refund was officially issued on that date, but it can take 5-10 business days to actually hit your account depending on your bank. The 766/768 credits dated 04-15 are just IRS accounting entries - they don't affect when you get your money. Since it's been a while since 03-13, I'd definitely call your bank first to see if they received and processed a deposit from "IRS TREAS". Sometimes banks hold IRS deposits for verification or there could have been an issue with your account info. If your bank says no deposit was attempted, then call the IRS refund hotline at 1-800-829-1954. Your transcript looks normal otherwise - the processing date of 03-25 and all the codes check out for a standard EIC refund. Hang in there! 🤞

Make sure you also consider depreciation recapture down the road! When you're deducting depreciation on the rental portion of your house (which you should definitely do), remember that when you eventually sell the house, you'll face depreciation recapture taxes on the portion you depreciated. For example, if you depreciate 30% of your house for rental use over several years, when you sell, you'll need to recapture that depreciation at a 25% tax rate, even if you qualify for the primary residence capital gains exclusion on the rest of the profit.

Great question! I've been dealing with this exact situation for the past few years. One thing I'd add to the excellent advice already given is to be really careful about how you calculate your allocation percentage. The IRS prefers methods that reflect actual usage rather than just simple room counts. I learned this the hard way during an audit. Initially, I was using 2/3 (like you mentioned) since I rented 2 out of 3 bedrooms. But the IRS agent pointed out that this didn't account for shared spaces properly. We ended up using square footage of rented bedrooms plus a proportional share of common areas (kitchen, living room, bathrooms) based on occupancy. Also, keep detailed records of everything - not just the big expenses like mortgage interest, but smaller items too. I track cleaning supplies for common areas, repairs that benefit the rental portions, even a portion of my internet bill since my tenants use the WiFi. These smaller deductions really add up over the year. One last tip: consider getting a separate business checking account for rental-related expenses. It makes tracking so much easier come tax time, and the IRS loves clear separation between personal and business expenses.