I'm confused about something - do I need to set up a separate user account on my laptop for business vs personal use to prove the percentage? Or is that overkill?

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is that you should also keep receipts and documentation for the actual purchase of your laptop and monitor. The IRS will want to see proof of the cost basis for your deduction calculations. Also, since you're transitioning from using a work laptop to purchasing your own, make sure you can clearly show when you started using your personal equipment for business purposes. This becomes important for the depreciation timeline if you go that route instead of Section 179. I'd recommend taking photos of your setup and keeping a simple log of when you first started using it for your 1099 work. Having that paper trail makes everything much smoother if you ever get audited.

Here's what different "Where's My Refund" statuses actually mean: - Return Received: IRS has your return but hasn't started processing - Return Processing: They're checking your info (this is when you see Tax Topic 152) - Refund Approved: Processing complete, money is coming - Refund Sent: Money has been sent to your bank/mail Tax Topic 152 is normal during the "Return Processing" phase. If you're still in that phase after 21 days, then you might want to worry a little.

For the 2025 filing season, if anyone wants to avoid these issues in the future, file as early as possible! I filed the first week returns were accepted and had my refund in 8 days without ever seeing any weird codes. The longer you wait, the more backlogged the IRS gets, and the more likely you are to see delays even without any problems on your return.

Dont forget about ur W-2! Box 15-17 should show the state you worked in, taxes withheld etc. If u have a W-2 showing u paid taxes to the new state that's pretty strong evidence! Also did u file a part-year resident return in ur old state? That can help show u knew u were changing residency.

As someone who's dealt with state tax residency issues, I'd strongly recommend NOT amending your returns to show you remained a resident of your original state if you genuinely established residency elsewhere. That's basically giving up money you don't owe. The documentation you provided (lease, utility bills, tax returns) is actually pretty solid evidence. States often push back initially hoping people will just give up and pay. Here are a few additional steps to consider: 1. Look into your state's specific residency rules - many states have a "183-day rule" where physical presence for more than half the year establishes residency regardless of your driver's license status. 2. Create a detailed timeline showing your physical presence in each state throughout the year. Include work schedules, travel receipts, anything that shows where you actually were. 3. Consider getting a tax attorney who specializes in multi-state residency issues. The consultation fee might be worth it to avoid paying taxes you don't owe. 4. If your new state has no income tax or lower rates, you have even more reason to fight this - the savings could be substantial. Don't let them bully you into paying if you legitimately changed your residency. The driver's license issue is inconvenient but not necessarily fatal to your case.

Just as a data point, I did a return of excess for 2023 in March 2024 because my income ended up too high. My 1099-R had code 8 (excess contributions) plus code J (distribution exception applies). One weird thing - even though I did the return of excess in March 2024, my financial institution didn't send the 1099-R until January 2025. So definitely expect a lag before getting the official form. If your earnings were only $250, your total tax bill might be $50-80 depending on your bracket. Since that's a relatively small amount, there's probably no harm in waiting for the official 1099-R before amending. If it were thousands in earnings, there might be underpayment penalty concerns.

I went through this exact situation two years ago - excess Roth contribution due to unexpected income bump, corrected before the deadline. Here's what I learned: You're absolutely right to wait for the official 1099-R. The timing mismatch with withholding is confusing but not uncommon. The earnings get taxed in 2024 (year of contribution), but your withholding credit applies to 2025 (year withheld). It's awkward but legal. When you do get the 1099-R, it will likely have code P (for the principal/contribution amount) and either J or 8J in Box 7. The "8" indicates excess contribution return, and "J" indicates early distribution exception applies (no 10% penalty). For Form 5329, you'll need Part I to claim the exception for the early distribution penalty (code 21), but you won't need Part IV since you corrected the excess before the deadline. This is important - many people think they don't need 5329 at all, but you do need it to avoid the 10% penalty on earnings. My advice: wait for the 1099-R, then amend with Form 1040X including the 1099-R and Form 5329. The small tax amount ($60-75 probably) isn't worth the hassle of estimating forms now. Your tax preparer will appreciate having the official documents to work with. The withholding timing is just one of those quirky tax situations - you'll essentially get a small refund in 2025 from the "overpayment" of withholding relative to the actual 2025 tax you owe.

Quiet disclosures are risky. My accountant told me the IRS has algorithms that flag sudden new international form filings and compares them with prior years. If you're not in Streamlined program but suddenly show foreign accounts that have existed for years, they might look closer at your past returns.

I was in a very similar situation about two years ago - had foreign accounts for several years, reported all the income properly, but completely missed the Form 8938 requirement. The stress was unreal once I realized my mistake. After consulting with a tax attorney, I decided to go through the Streamlined Domestic Offshore Procedures rather than just start filing going forward. The key factor for me was that I could honestly certify my non-compliance was "non-willful" - I genuinely didn't know about the Form 8938 requirement since I was already reporting the income. The Streamlined process required filing amended returns for the last three years with the missing 8938 forms, plus a detailed statement explaining why I hadn't filed them before. The 5% penalty on the highest account balance was much better than potentially facing the $10-50k penalties per form if they discovered it later through an audit. One thing that helped my case was keeping good documentation showing I'd always reported the income accurately - bank statements, tax returns, etc. This demonstrated I wasn't trying to hide anything, just didn't understand the separate reporting requirement. Would definitely recommend talking to a tax professional about your specific situation, especially with $175k across multiple countries. The peace of mind from getting compliant through an official program was worth it for me.