Has anyone actually had success DISPUTING one of these letters? I got something similar last year claiming I owed like $2800 but I was pretty sure they were wrong. I ended up just paying it because I was too scared to fight it.

I went through almost the exact same thing last year! Got a CP2000 notice that made my stomach drop, but it turned out to be much less scary than I thought. In my case, my part-time employer had issued a corrected W-2 after I'd already filed, and I never received the corrected version. Here's what worked for me: First, gather ALL your 2023 tax documents (every W-2, 1099, etc.) and compare them line by line with what you actually reported on your return. Look specifically at the wages and income sections. The CP2000 should tell you exactly what income they think is missing - it'll usually show "IRS records" vs "Your return" in a table format. If you find the discrepancy, you have three options: agree and pay, partially agree, or disagree completely. Each option has different forms to fill out that come with the notice. Don't rush - you have 30 days, so take time to really understand what they're claiming. One thing that helped me was calling the number on the notice during off-peak hours (early morning or late afternoon). I actually got through to someone who walked me through the whole thing. Turned out I just needed to send in a copy of the corrected W-2 I never received, and they dropped the whole assessment. You've got this! These notices look terrifying but they're usually just clerical mismatches that can be resolved pretty easily.

Did you actually receive an advance on your refund, or did you just pay for the option? It's like buying insurance for your luggage at the airport - sounds good until you realize what's actually covered. What specific TurboTax product did you purchase? Some of their offerings are better values than others.

I possibly made the same mistake last year. Paid about $40 for what I thought would speed up my refund, but it was essentially just a loan against my expected refund amount. What's worse is that my return ended up getting flagged for review anyway, so the "advance" was the only money I saw for nearly 8 weeks. The IRS processes everything at their own pace, regardless of what TurboTax promises. Now I just file using the free fillable forms directly on the IRS website and save all those extra fees.

This happened to me last month! Got my DDD exactly 9 days after the 571 showed up. ur almost there!

Same thing happened to me back in January! The 570/571 combo usually means they just needed to verify something automatically and then cleared it. Mine took about 10 days after the 571 to get my DDD. The waiting is the worst part but you're definitely on the right track! 🙏

Has anyone noticed that different brokerages have different standards for what they send tax forms for? My Fidelity account sent me a 1099 for $3.12 in dividends (with that annoying watermark), but my Schwab account didn't send anything for $4.25. I'm so confused about what actually needs to be reported!!

I've been dealing with this exact same situation! Had a watermarked 1099-DIV for $1.83 from my Robinhood account and was totally confused about whether it was "real" or not. What I learned is that the watermark usually means it's a courtesy copy - the brokerage is giving you the info but didn't actually file it with the IRS because it's under their $10 reporting threshold. The form itself is legitimate, it's just that they're not required to send it to the government. I ended up including it on my return anyway since I was using TurboTax and it literally took 30 seconds to enter. My thinking was better safe than sorry, especially since such a small amount wouldn't affect my tax liability anyway. If you're doing paper filing though, honestly I'd probably skip it - the hassle isn't worth it for under $3. The key thing is that watermark is actually helpful info - it's telling you this is below the official reporting threshold, so you're probably in the clear either way you decide to handle it.

15 Here's a trick that might work: Try a different tax software! Each free file provider has different AGI limits. TaxAct's might be $79k but TaxSlayer has a limit of $81k this year I think, and some others go up to $85k or $90k depending on your filing status.

This is such a common misconception! I see this question a lot during tax season. The key thing to remember is that your AGI is calculated BEFORE most of the deductions people think about. Your W-2 Box 1 already reflects pre-tax deductions like health insurance premiums, FSA/HSA contributions, and 401k contributions - so those are already reducing your AGI. But things like the standard deduction ($14,600 for single filers in 2024) or itemized deductions happen AFTER your AGI is set. If you're close to the $79,000 threshold, look for "above-the-line" deductions you might have missed: traditional IRA contributions (up to $7,000 if under 50), student loan interest deduction, educator expenses if you're a teacher, or HSA contributions if you have a high-deductible health plan and haven't maxed it out yet. You can also double-check by looking at last year's Form 1040 - Line 11 shows your AGI and you can trace back through the form to see exactly what reduced it from your gross income.