I got audited on charitable contributions 2 years ago and learned the hard way. For donations under $250 you need either a receipt from the org OR bank records + some evidence of donation. For donations over $250, you MUST have written acknowledgment from the charity - no exceptions. Pictures help but aren't sufficient by themselves. Your best move is getting that acknowledgment letter now and keeping whatever receipts you have. For items without receipts, you can estimate fair market value but be reasonable - the IRS has seen every trick in the book.

Great advice from everyone here! As someone who's dealt with similar documentation issues, I'd add that when you contact the shelter for that acknowledgment letter, offer to draft it yourself with all the details and just ask them to review and sign it. This makes their job easier and ensures you get exactly what you need for IRS purposes. Also, for future donations like this, consider taking a quick video as you're packing everything - it can serve as great documentation of both the items and your charitable intent. And definitely get that receipt at drop-off time! One more tip: if you do get questioned later, having photos of the assembled packages plus the shelter's social media posts showing your donation creates a nice paper trail that supports your story. The IRS appreciates when donations have logical documentation that tells a coherent story.

Think of tax season like a highway during rush hour - everyone's trying to get to the same destination at once. I filed Feb 17th and just got my DD date yesterday. The IRS processing system is like a funnel - wide at the top, narrow at the bottom. Simple returns zip through like motorcycles between cars, but returns with investments, credits, or deductions are like semi-trucks that take longer to process. Your timeline is actually pretty good considering this year's traffic jam.

Congrats on finally getting your direct deposit date! I'm still waiting on mine - filed Feb 18th and accepted the same day. It's reassuring to hear that the longer processing times are normal this year. I've been checking WMR religiously and starting to worry something was wrong with my return. Did you notice any pattern with the updates, like do they typically refresh the system at certain times of day? Also curious if you had any credits or deductions that might have contributed to the delay. Thanks for sharing your timeline - gives the rest of us hope!

Everyone's talking about the tax benefits, but don't forget about stimulus checks or recovery rebates! If there's another round of those in 2025 for the 2024 tax year (you never know!), having extra dependents could mean more stimulus money. During the last rounds, it was an extra $1400-$1600 per dependent. This is separate from the regular tax benefits and something to consider if you legitimately qualify to claim them. Just make sure you're eligible first - as others said, the living situation makes this complicated.

The key thing everyone's missing here is that your mom not filing taxes doesn't automatically make you eligible to claim your brothers. The IRS looks at who actually has the right to claim them based on the dependency tests, not who chooses to file. Since your brothers don't live with you, you'd need to meet the "qualifying relative" test, which means providing more than 50% of their total support AND they can't be claimed by anyone else who has a stronger claim (like your mom). Even if your mom doesn't file, she still technically has the stronger claim as their parent and primary caregiver. Your $800-1000 monthly support might be substantial, but you'd need to prove it covers more than half of ALL their expenses - housing, food, medical, clothing, education, etc. The IRS will want detailed records showing exactly what your money paid for. My advice: before doing anything, calculate the total cost of supporting your brothers for the year (including the value of housing your mom provides) and see if your contributions truly exceed 50%. If not, you don't qualify regardless of whether your mom files. If yes, get Form 8332 signed by your mom and keep meticulous records of every expense your money covers. Given the audit risk mentioned by others, this might be a situation where paying a tax professional for guidance upfront is worth it to avoid potential penalties later.

Check your transcripts instead! WMR isn't reliable at all

This is totally normal! The PATH Act delay is exactly what's happening here. Since you claimed EITC and ACTC, the IRS is required by law to hold your entire refund until mid-February, even the parts not related to those credits. The status change from "accepted" to "still processing" is just their system updating to reflect that your return is in the PATH Act holding period. You'll probably see it stay this way until around February 15th when they start releasing these refunds. Nothing to worry about - just have to wait it out unfortunately! 🙄

Has anyone tried calling the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service? My refund was stuck for 6 weeks last year and they were able to help when regular IRS phone lines couldn't.

I'm in the exact same situation! Filed through TurboTax about 3 weeks ago, got the acceptance confirmation immediately, but "Where's My Refund" has been stuck on "Return Received" ever since. This is so frustrating because I also need the money for urgent expenses (in my case, medical bills that are past due). Thanks to everyone who shared the tips about tax transcripts and those services - I'm definitely going to try requesting a transcript first to see if there are any codes that explain the delay. It's reassuring to know I'm not the only one dealing with this, but also concerning that the IRS seems to be so backed up this year. Has anyone heard if there's been any official statement from the IRS about longer processing times this filing season?