Has anyone looked into earning the Enrolled Agent (EA) certification? I've heard it might help bridge the gap for auditors wanting to transition to tax, but not sure if it's worth the investment of time and money.

I made a similar transition from audit to tax prep about 18 months ago, and I can tell you that your CPA license is already a huge advantage that many career changers don't have. Here's what worked for me: Start networking NOW through your local CPA society chapter. Many chapters have tax committees or special interest groups where you can meet tax professionals and learn about opportunities. I attended a few tax update seminars and made connections that led directly to interviews. Also consider reaching out to your current firm's tax department if they have one - internal transfers are often easier than external job searches, and they already know your work quality. Even if your firm doesn't do tax prep, partners often have connections at other firms. For the experience gap, emphasize transferable skills in your interviews: analytical thinking, client service (if you had any client interaction in audit), attention to detail, and understanding of accounting principles. These matter more than you think, especially to smaller firms that can train the technical tax stuff. One last tip - don't overlook payroll companies or bookkeeping firms that also do tax prep. They're often more flexible about hiring people without direct tax experience and can be a great stepping stone.

Has anyone actually tried getting their transcripts directly from the IRS website recently? I keep reading horror stories about identity verification problems.

I went through this exact same situation about 6 months ago when I was refinancing my home! Here's what worked for me: First, definitely try logging into your TurboTax account - they keep copies of your returns for several years and you can download them immediately as PDFs. Since you used them for the last 3 years, this should cover your 2022 and 2023 returns that your lender specifically requested. For the older H&R Block returns, if you filed at a physical location, definitely call them first before going the IRS route. When I called my local H&R Block office, they were able to email me copies of my 2019 and 2020 returns the same day for $25 each. If those options don't work out, the IRS transcript route that others mentioned is solid. I had to do this for one year where my tax preparer had gone out of business. The online system worked fine for me, but if you run into ID verification issues, you can always request by mail using Form 4506-T - it's free and took about 2 weeks when I did it. Pro tip: Call your mortgage lender and explain the situation. Many will accept tax transcripts instead of full returns, and some will even give you a short extension on document deadlines if you can show you've already requested the transcripts. Good luck with your closing!

Has anyone actually calculated what this refund would be? I'm in a similar boat.

This is really helpful info! I was in a similar situation last year and want to add a few things based on my experience. First, make sure all 3 of your kids will qualify as "qualifying children" for the Child Tax Credit - they need to be under 17 at the end of the tax year and meet the relationship/support tests. Sounds like yours will qualify no problem. One thing to watch out for - the American Opportunity Credit has income limits too. For married filing jointly, it starts phasing out around $160,000, so you should get the full benefit at $65k income. Also, don't stress too much about the calculator differences. I found that some online calculators don't account for all the interactions between different credits, or they use different assumptions about your filing status or deduction amounts. The rough calculation that Natalie provided above looks pretty reasonable to me. With no withholding, you're essentially getting an interest-free loan from the government through these refundable credits. Just make sure you file on time to get your refund processed quickly!

Can I just point out that all this complicated gifting strategy might not even be necessary depending on how much stock we're talking about? The $19k limit is PER RECIPIENT, PER YEAR. So if you're gifting to both your mom and dad, you could actually gift up to $38k total ($19k to each) without any reporting requirements. And if you're married, both you and your spouse can each give $19k to each parent, meaning up to $76k total ($19k × 2 givers × 2 recipients) without triggering gift tax reporting.

Just want to add a timing consideration that might help with your volatile stock situation. Since you need to use the fair market value on the actual date of transfer to determine if you're under the $19k limit, you might want to monitor the stock price and choose a day when it's trading lower if possible. For example, if your stock is currently worth $25k but you only want to gift $18k worth, you'd need to transfer fewer shares on a high-price day versus a low-price day. This gives you some flexibility to maximize the number of shares you can gift while staying under the annual exclusion limit. Also, make sure you document everything clearly - the exact number of shares transferred, the closing price on the transfer date, and your original purchase information. Your parents will need all this information when they eventually sell, and having it organized from the start will save everyone headaches later.

This has been such an incredibly helpful discussion! I'm dealing with a similar situation - about $13,000 in loss carryovers from 2023, and I've been absolutely puzzled by how TurboTax was handling them this year. Like so many others here, I was completely wrong about thinking the $3,000 limit applied to ALL capital loss usage. I had no idea that losses can offset capital gains dollar-for-dollar with no annual limit, and that the $3,000 restriction only applies to losses used against ordinary income like wages. What really drives this home for me is that I've actually been making some decent gains this year - probably around $7,000 in capital gains from stocks that have recovered. Instead of being worried about TurboTax "using up" my loss carryover too quickly, I should be celebrating that it's working exactly as intended! My losses are first wiping out those $7,000 in gains completely, and then I still get to use $3,000 more against my regular income. This means I'll use $10,000 of my $13,000 carryover in just one year, which is actually fantastic for my tax situation. I was dreading having to carry these losses forward for 4+ years, but now I realize that having investment gains actually helps me use them up more efficiently. Thank you everyone for making this so clear with real examples and patient explanations. This thread should be required reading for anyone dealing with capital loss carryovers!

This thread has been absolutely incredible! As someone who's been lurking in this community for a while but never posted, I finally had to jump in because this exact situation has been driving me crazy for months. I have about $19,000 in capital loss carryovers from some really poor investment decisions in 2022-2023, and I've been so confused watching TurboTax apply way more than $3,000 of them this year. Like literally everyone else here, I was convinced there was some kind of software error because I "knew" you could only use $3,000 per year, period. Reading through all these explanations - especially the clear breakdown that losses first offset capital gains with NO LIMIT, and only then does the $3,000 cap apply to ordinary income - this has completely blown my mind. I actually have about $8,000 in capital gains this year from some recovery in my tech stocks, so TurboTax was correctly using $8,000 of my carryover losses against those gains, plus allowing another $3,000 against my regular income. What really gets me is that I've been beating myself up thinking I was somehow "wasting" my loss carryovers by having gains this year. Turns out having those gains is actually helping me use up the carryovers more efficiently! Instead of taking 6+ years to exhaust them at $3,000 annually, I'm using $11,000 in just one year. This community is amazing for helping people understand these complex rules through real examples and shared experiences. Thank you all for such patient and thorough explanations - you've saved me from making some seriously bad investment decisions based on my misunderstanding!