I'm wondering if the simplified option for home office deduction would be better in your case? You get $5 per square foot up to 300 square feet (max $1,500). Less paperwork and no need to track all those actual expenses. Might be worth calculating both ways to see which gives you the better deduction.

As a partner with K-1 income, you're definitely eligible for the home office deduction since you're treated as self-employed for tax purposes. Your situation sounds like a clear case for claiming it - working 40+ hours weekly from home with only occasional visits to the firm office establishes your home as your principal place of business. One key point to emphasize: make sure your home office space is used EXCLUSIVELY for business. The IRS is strict about this requirement. If you use that space for any personal activities (watching TV, personal computer use, etc.), it could disqualify the entire deduction. For calculation, you have two options: the simplified method ($5 per square foot, max $1,500) or actual expense method (percentage of home expenses). Given that you're working full-time from home, the actual expense method will likely give you a much larger deduction. Keep detailed records of your office square footage, total home square footage, and all qualifying expenses (utilities, mortgage interest/rent, property taxes, repairs, insurance). You'll report this on Schedule C since your K-1 income is considered self-employment income. The fact that your firm maintains a separate office doesn't disqualify you as long as your home is where you conduct the substantial portion of your business activities.

I'm sorry to hear you're dealing with this! As someone who works in financial services, I can tell you that TurboTax and other tax prep companies have definitely tightened their advance criteria this year due to regulatory changes and risk management concerns. The fact that you got it before but not now doesn't reflect anything negative about your financial situation - they're just being more conservative across the board. Since you've already filed and been accepted, I'd honestly recommend just waiting for your actual refund rather than trying to start over with another service. The IRS has been processing returns much faster this season - most people are seeing their refunds within 10-14 business days for direct deposit. Given that you filed on Jan 24th, you should hopefully see movement soon on the "Where's My Refund" tool. If you're in a real bind financially, definitely avoid those predatory "refund loan" services that others have warned about. Your bank or credit union would be a much safer option for a small short-term loan if absolutely necessary. Best of luck with everything, and congrats on graduating! 🎓

Hey! I'm actually a tax preparer and can shed some light on this. TurboTax made some significant changes to their advance program this year - they're now using a more restrictive algorithm that considers factors like your filing history, refund amount, and even seasonal demand. The Credit Karma integration you mentioned has also affected some users' eligibility since they merged the platforms. Since you already filed and got accepted, your options are pretty limited at this point. Most other services require you to file through them initially to qualify for advances. However, the good news is that the IRS has been processing refunds much faster this season - many people are getting theirs within 7-10 business days for direct deposit. Given that you filed on Jan 24th, I'd honestly just wait for your actual refund rather than paying fees to restart with another service. Keep checking "Where's My Refund" - you should see movement soon. And congrats on graduating! The financial stress after college is real, but your refund should hopefully come through quickly. 🎓

16 I'm in the exact same situation and my accountant advised something different than what others are saying here. He told me that since I own more than 2% of the S-Corp, health insurance has to be handled as additional compensation on my W-2, then I deduct it as self-employed health insurance on my personal taxes. He said S-Corps can't use QSEHRA for owners with >2% ownership. Is this right??

As someone who's been through this exact scenario, I can confirm what others have mentioned about the >2% shareholder rules. The key thing to remember is that even though the reimbursements have to go through your W-2 as taxable wages, you still get the tax benefit through the self-employed health insurance deduction on Line 16 of Schedule 1. One thing I'd add that hasn't been mentioned - make sure you keep detailed records of the actual premium amounts your spouse's employer deducts from their paychecks. The IRS may want to see that the reimbursements from your S-Corp don't exceed the actual premiums paid. Also, the reimbursement timing matters - you generally need to reimburse in the same tax year the premiums were paid. The formal plan documentation is absolutely critical. I learned this when helping a friend who got audited - the IRS disallowed all their health insurance deductions because they couldn't produce the required corporate resolutions and plan documents, even though they had been reporting everything correctly on their tax returns.

Don't forget the income requirements too. If you made substantially more in 2025 than previous years, you might have phased out of the credit. This happened to me when I got a big promotion and couldn't figure out why my credit disappeared.

I'm a tax preparer and see this issue frequently. Based on your income level ($75K), you're definitely eligible for the full Child Tax Credit. The most likely culprit is indeed those advance CTC payments you received throughout 2024. Here's what probably happened: If you received the maximum advance payments ($250/month per child under 6, $300/month per child 6-17), you would have gotten $3,600 for your 4-year-old and $3,000 for your 7-year-old over the year. When you file your return, TurboTax calculates your total eligible credit, then subtracts what you already received in advance payments. Look for IRS Letter 6419 which shows your total advance payments, or check your IRS online account. The "remaining" credit showing as $0 just means you already received your full credit amount throughout the year - you're not losing anything! This is actually the system working as designed. Many taxpayers are confused by this because they're used to getting the credit as a lump sum at tax time.

Great detective work everyone! This is exactly the kind of real-world payroll scenario that trips people up. Dylan's case is a perfect example of why it's so important to look at ALL compensation, not just your regular salary. For anyone else dealing with confusing YTD calculations, here are the key things to check: 1. **All forms of compensation** - bonuses, commissions, overtime, reimbursements that might be taxable 2. **Gross-ups** - when companies pay extra to cover the tax burden on bonuses or benefits 3. **Pay period vs. pay date** - YTD is typically based on when money was earned, not when the check was cut 4. **Mid-year benefit changes** - 401k enrollments, insurance changes, etc. can affect different YTD categories differently 5. **System errors** - unfortunately, payroll software glitches do happen The fact that Dylan's numbers worked out to exactly 5 paycheck equivalents was the smoking gun that there was additional compensation beyond the 4 regular paychecks. Always look for that kind of mathematical precision when troubleshooting YTD discrepancies!

This is such a helpful thread! I work in HR and see this confusion about YTD calculations all the time. Dylan's situation is actually really common - the gross-up on sign-on bonuses catches a lot of people off guard because they don't realize the company is essentially paying extra to cover the tax impact. One thing I'd add to the great advice here: if you're ever unsure about your YTD calculations, don't hesitate to reach out to your HR or payroll department early in the year. It's much easier to catch and correct discrepancies when there are fewer pay periods to review rather than waiting until you're halfway through the year. Also, keep all your paystubs! Even in this digital age, I recommend downloading PDFs or keeping physical copies. You'd be surprised how often employees need to reference old paystubs for things like loan applications, tax preparation, or resolving payroll discrepancies months later. Great job everyone helping Dylan solve this puzzle - this is exactly the kind of collaborative problem-solving that makes these forums so valuable!