called MI treasury today and they said theyre aware of the issue but no eta on a fix. atleast their being honest ig

This is exactly what happened to me! Filed with H&R Block on Jan 28th and have been waiting forever for my Michigan refund. Finally called the state last week and they told me a paper check was mailed instead of direct deposit. So frustrating that H&R Block didn't even notify customers about this glitch. Thanks for the heads up OP!

Be careful about state taxes too! Even though you're working abroad, some states might still consider you a resident for tax purposes if you maintain ties there (driver's license, voter registration, bank accounts, etc). If you haven't formally changed your domicile, you might need to report those dividends on a state return too.

Great question! I dealt with something very similar last year with my Schwab account. Even without a 1099-DIV, you absolutely need to report those dividends. In TurboTax, when you get to the investment income section, look for "I'll enter investment income that doesn't appear on any tax forms" or similar wording. You'll enter your $7.85 as dividend income - make sure to check your Fidelity account statements to see if any portion was classified as "qualified dividends" vs "ordinary dividends" since they're taxed differently. Since you're already dealing with international tax complexities with Form 2555, you might want to consider upgrading to TurboTax Premier or consulting with a tax professional who handles expat situations. The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion doesn't apply to investment income, so those dividends will be subject to regular US tax rates regardless of where you're living. One more tip: keep detailed records of your account statements showing the dividend amounts and dates, especially since you don't have an official 1099. The IRS may ask for documentation if they have questions later.

Be careful about assuming this means your refund is coming soon. According to the National Taxpayer Advocate's 2023 report (available at taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov), approximately 8% of offset cases experience additional delays due to systemic errors. In these cases, the debt disappears but the refund gets stuck in a secondary review process. If you don't see your refund within 21 days of the debt disappearing, you should contact the IRS directly to ensure there isn't an additional hold on your account that needs to be addressed.

This is exactly what happened to me last year! My $2,100 tax debt vanished from my account on a Thursday, and I was panicking thinking there was some kind of error. But then exactly 10 days later, my remaining refund of $890 hit my bank account. The whole process felt like watching a magician - first the debt disappears, then there's this suspenseful waiting period, and finally the refund appears! One thing I learned is that during those waiting days, it's totally normal for the Where's My Refund tool to still show "processing" even though the offset has already been applied behind the scenes. The system updates different parts at different times. I'd recommend checking your account every few days but try not to obsess over it (easier said than done, I know!). Also, keep an eye on your mail for any offset notices - they usually send confirmation that they applied your refund to your previous balance. Good luck, and congratulations on getting that debt cleared!

For form 8843 question 12, make sure ur counting CALENDAR years not academic years!!! I messed this up before. If u were here even for like 2 weeks in December 2020 and then Jan-May 2021, that counts as 2 calendar years already even tho it's just one academic year.

This is such a helpful thread! I'm in a similar situation but with a twist - I've been here 3 years on F-1, but I also had a brief research exchange program in my home country that was sponsored by a US university. Does that count toward my US presence even though I was physically outside the US? Also, for anyone still confused about the calendar year vs academic year thing - I learned the hard way that even if you leave the US for winter break, as long as you were present for ANY part of December and then came back in January, that's still 2 separate calendar years for Form 8843 purposes. The IRS instructions are pretty clear that it's about physical presence, not continuous residence. One more tip: keep really good records of ALL your entry/exit dates. I use a simple spreadsheet with arrival and departure stamps from my passport. It's saved me so much time when filling out these forms each year.

Has anyone mentioned the property tax implications? In some states, a transfer between parents and children keeps the property tax assessment the same, but in others, it can trigger a reassessment to current market value, which could mean much higher property taxes for you going forward. Also check if your state has a real estate transfer tax that might apply even to gifts. In my state, we had to pay 1% of the property value as a transfer tax even though it was a gift between family members.

One thing to also consider is the timing of when your parents actually transfer the property. If they're doing this for estate planning purposes, they might want to consider the current economic climate and property values. Real estate values have been quite high recently, so gifting now while values are elevated could actually be beneficial from a gift tax perspective - they're using up their lifetime exemption based on today's high valuation, but if property values decline in the future, they've effectively "locked in" the gift at the higher value. Also, make sure you understand what happens with things like homeowners insurance during the transfer process. Some policies need to be updated or changed when ownership transfers, even between family members. You'll want to coordinate with your insurance agent to ensure there's no gap in coverage during the deed transfer process. The combination of gift tax implications, capital gains basis issues, property tax reassessment risks, and insurance considerations makes this a complex transaction that really benefits from professional guidance. Good call on setting up those CPA meetings!