Has anyone taken the exams recently? I'm trying to decide whether to use Surgent or Fast Forward Academy. Also wondering about the best order to take the parts - I've heard mixed advice about starting with Part 1 vs. Part 3.

I just passed all three parts of the SEE exam in December and wanted to share my experience as someone who also came from a non-tax background. The key is definitely having a structured study plan and not trying to rush through the material. I used a combination of Gleim for the comprehensive coverage and supplemented with YouTube channels like "The Tax Geek" for visual explanations of complex concepts. What really helped me was creating my own summary notes for each major topic - the act of writing things down in my own words helped me retain the information better. One thing I wish I'd known earlier: don't skip the ethics and representation material in Part 3. It's easy to think it's just common sense, but there are very specific rules about client confidentiality, conflicts of interest, and IRS procedures that you need to memorize exactly as written in Circular 230. Also, schedule your exams strategically - I took Part 1 in August, Part 2 in October, and Part 3 in December. This gave me time to really absorb each section without feeling overwhelmed. Good luck with your career change - it's totally doable with the right preparation!

2 Has anyone ever had an employer just totally mess up their W-2? Last year I had to request a corrected W-2 because they put my bonus in Box 14 instead of including it in Box 1 wages. Took them forever to fix it and delayed my filing.

I see a lot of helpful advice here, but I want to add something that might save you headaches down the road. Make sure you keep copies of all your W-2s and any documentation about pre-tax deductions from each of your 5 employers. Since you mentioned this is the first time you've seen a W-2 formatted this way, it's worth noting that different payroll companies (ADP, Paychex, etc.) can make W-2s look quite different even though they contain the same IRS-required information. The key is always to focus on the actual box numbers rather than how the form is laid out. Also, with multiple part-time jobs, double-check that your total Social Security and Medicare taxes withheld across all W-2s don't exceed the annual limits. If they do, you can claim a credit for the excess when you file. This happens more often than you'd think with multiple employers.

You're absolutely doing the right thing by maintaining your boundaries. As someone who's dealt with similar accounting disasters, I can tell you that a $340k retained earnings discrepancy with phantom assets and missing liabilities is not a part-time bookkeeping project - it's a full-scale forensic accounting engagement. The fact that the previous admin was making changes to closed years is particularly alarming from a compliance perspective. This suggests potential issues with previously filed returns that could trigger audit exposure. Here's my suggested approach: Create a detailed findings memo that includes (1) specific examples of the major discrepancies you've found, (2) an honest assessment that this requires 200-300+ hours of specialized work, and (3) a strong recommendation to engage a CPA firm experienced in multi-year accounting reconstructions. Don't feel guilty about saying no. You were hired for current operations, not to fix years of accumulated errors at below-market rates while managing health challenges. Your responsibility is to identify problems and recommend appropriate solutions - which you've done. The owner needs to understand this isn't about unwillingness to help, it's about ensuring the work gets done properly by someone with the right expertise, capacity, and professional insurance to handle this level of complexity. A botched reconstruction attempt could make things worse, not better. Document everything, make your recommendations clear, and help them find qualified professionals. That's the most responsible path forward for everyone involved.

You're in an absolutely impossible situation, and I completely understand the guilt you're feeling. But you need to remember - you didn't create this mess, and you're not responsible for fixing 6 years of accumulated errors, especially given your health limitations and part-time status. A $340k retained earnings discrepancy is not a "cleanup" - it's a full forensic reconstruction project. When you have phantom assets, missing liabilities, and evidence that someone was making changes to closed years, you're looking at potential tax compliance violations that could have serious consequences. Here's what I'd do: Create a comprehensive written report documenting every major issue you've identified. Include specific examples (like that $80k double-counted expense), categorize the types of errors, and provide a realistic scope estimate. Then recommend they engage a CPA firm that specializes in business tax reconstruction - not general bookkeeping, but specifically multi-year tax compliance cleanup. Make it crystal clear that this is a separate professional engagement requiring specialized expertise, appropriate insurance coverage, and significantly more hours than your part-time schedule allows. You were hired to handle current operations, not to perform forensic accounting on years of accumulated mistakes. Your job is to identify problems and recommend solutions - which you've done perfectly. The owner's job is to invest in proper professional remediation. Don't let guilt push you into taking on work that could compromise your health or professional standing.

I'm an accountant and see this issue constantly. Here's what's happening: 1) The $650 was probably her final paycheck from 2017 work, but it was issued in 2018, making it 2018 income for tax purposes. 2) The specific date they're claiming she worked in January is likely just their payroll system requiring an "event date" to process a payment, and someone just picked that date. 3) The 1095-C for two months is standard - companies typically extend COBRA eligibility for a period after termination. My advice: Just report the W2 as is on your 2018 taxes. The amount is small enough that trying to get a corrected W2 will be more hassle than it's worth. If you're really concerned about the January date showing work she didn't do, request your wife's complete time records from 2017-2018 to see what's actually recorded.

I had a very similar situation a few years back! My wife worked at a hotel through December 2016, but they held her final check until January 2017 for "processing." We were confused when we got the W2 showing 2017 income for work she did in 2016. After talking to a tax preparer, we learned this is actually normal and legal. The IRS follows the "cash basis" rule - income is taxed in the year you actually receive it, not when you earn it. So even though your wife worked those shifts in November 2017, if the payment came in 2018, it's 2018 income. The suspicious part is that January 4th date they're claiming she worked. I'd definitely ask for her detailed timecard records from that period. If someone was clocking in under her employee number after she left, that's wage theft and needs to be reported. But if it's just how they coded her final payment in their system, then you're probably fine reporting it as is. For $650, fighting with corporate HR might not be worth the headache, but getting those records would give you peace of mind about whether anything shady happened.

Has anyone tried both TurboTax and H&R Block online to compare the results? Sometimes I get different amounts from different software.

I'd definitely recommend trying both the taxr.ai suggestion from @Connor Murphy and comparing results across multiple tax software platforms before you finalize anything. A swing from getting $2,800 back to owing federal taxes is a huge red flag that something's not right with your current filing. Also, make sure you're entering ALL your tax documents correctly - sometimes people forget about interest statements from banks, unemployment compensation from earlier in the year, or even small 1099s from freelance work. Even a small missed document can throw off your entire calculation. Before paying any service fees, try the IRS Free File program (https://www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free) which gives you access to brand-name software for free if you qualify. At minimum, it'll give you another data point to compare against your current results.