I'm probably the most impatient person when it comes to waiting for my refund, but I've learned my lesson about Chime's early deposits. Last year I had a 3/15 DD date and was refreshing my Chime app every 10 minutes starting on 3/13. It finally hit at 4:37pm on 3/14. This year, same situation with a 3/12 date, and it came through at 2:18pm on 3/11. I've started setting a calendar reminder for 48 hours before my DD date so I don't drive myself crazy checking constantly before then.

I'm in the same boat with a 3/26 DD date on my transcript! Based on what everyone's shared here, it sounds like we should realistically expect to see it hit our Chime accounts sometime between 3/24-3/25. I've been checking my account obsessively too, but I think I'm going to follow Amun-Ra's advice and just set a reminder for 3/24 morning instead of driving myself crazy refreshing the app. The consistency everyone's reporting with Chime's early deposits is actually pretty reassuring - seems like once you have that 846 code with your DD date, it's just a matter of waiting for the 1-2 day early window. Thanks for all the data points, this community is so helpful for managing expectations during tax season!

I filed on February 3rd and I'm still waiting for any update. My transcript hasn't changed since February 10th when it first showed received. Last year I filed on February 5th and had my refund by February 19th. The year before I filed on January 31st and had my refund by February 14th. This is definitely taking longer than previous years! Has anyone who filed around February 3rd received their refund yet or at least gotten a DDD?

Filed on 2/1 and still waiting here too! Your timeline gives me hope though - 28 days isn't too bad considering what everyone else is reporting. I've been checking WMR obsessively and it's been stuck on "return received" for over 3 weeks now. Did you notice any pattern with when WMR updates, like specific days of the week or times? I'm trying to figure out if there's an optimal time to check or if it's just random. Also wondering if the fact that you filed so early in the season (1/31) might have actually worked against you initially but then cleared through once they caught up with the backlog.

I've used both TurboTax and CPAs over the years and found that knowledge is what matters most. If you understand which business expenses are legitimately deductible for your situation, TurboTax works fine. If you're unsure about tax law, a CPA is better. Compromise option: use TurboTax but pay for one hour of consultation with a CPA (many offer this for $100-150) to review your deductions and answer specific questions before filing. That way you get expert input without the full preparation fee.

As someone who's been through this exact dilemma, I'd recommend starting with TurboTax for your situation. With $14,500 in side business income, you're not in the complexity range where a CPA becomes essential unless you have very specific circumstances. The key is being honest about your comfort level with tax software and the time you're willing to invest. TurboTax's interview process for Schedule C (business income) is quite thorough - it'll ask about common deductions like materials, shipping, home office use, etc. Since you have a spreadsheet of expenses already, you're ahead of many small business owners. That said, consider these red flags that might push you toward a CPA: if your business expenses are over 50% of your income, if you're claiming significant home office deductions, or if you have complex inventory accounting needs. For handmade items sold online, these usually aren't major concerns. One middle-ground approach: do a dry run with TurboTax to see what your refund/payment looks like, then decide if you want professional review before actually filing. The $375 vs $119 difference might be worth it for peace of mind, but it's not necessarily required for accuracy in your situation.

So... if I amended my return am I just screwed? Been waiting 9 months now 😭

Congrats Andre! That's such a relief after waiting so long. I'm still stuck in processing hell myself - filed in January with EITC and CTC and it's been radio silence ever since. The WMR tool just keeps saying "still processing" with no timeline. Quick question - did your WMR ever show any bars or progress before you got the DDD? Mine has been stuck on the first bar forever and I'm wondering if that means anything or if it just randomly updates one day. Also for anyone else still waiting, I've found that checking your transcript on the IRS website sometimes shows more info than WMR, even though the transcript codes are confusing as hell. At least it gives you something more concrete than "still processing" 🤷‍♀️

I switched from a $700 tax preparer to TurboTax last year with a similar situation (self-employed spouse, W2 income for me, 2 kids, mortgage). TurboTax worked fine BUT it took me almost 6 hours to complete everything correctly!!! The software kept asking me the same questions in different ways and got confused about the home office deduction. Not sure my time is worth the $700 savings tbh. This year I'm trying FreeTaxUSA since people say it's more straightforward for self-employment income.

I'm in almost exactly your situation - two W-2s, spouse with home business, young kid, and recent homeowner. I was paying $950 to my CPA until this year when I decided to try the DIY route. What helped me make the decision was realizing that most of the "complexity" in our situation is really just volume, not actual difficulty. Multiple W-2s are straightforward, mortgage interest is automatic, and the child tax credit is built into any decent software. The trickiest part is the self-employment/home office stuff, but if your wife keeps good records, that's manageable too. I ended up using TaxAct (similar to TurboTax but cheaper) and it walked me through everything step by step. Took about 3 hours total and I actually caught a deduction my CPA had been missing for years! Saved over $700 and got a bigger refund. That said, $1,150 does seem really high for your situation. Even if you stick with a professional, I'd shop around - you should be able to find someone competent for $400-600 max. Don't let them scare you into thinking your taxes are more complicated than they actually are.