Don't make the same mistake I did! If you DO end up needing to file the 1041, make sure you use the estate's EIN on the form, NOT your mom's social security number. I mixed them up and it caused a huge headache with notices from the IRS about mismatched taxpayer IDs. Also, the filing deadline for 1041 is different than regular tax returns - it's the 15th day of the 4th month after the end of the estate's tax year.

You're absolutely right about the tax year choice! When you establish an estate, you can choose any 12-month period ending on the last day of any month as the estate's tax year. So if your mom passed away in February, you could choose a tax year ending February 28th, March 31st, December 31st, etc. This can be helpful for tax planning purposes. The key is that you make this election on the first Form 1041 you file. If you don't file a 1041 at all (because you're under the $600 threshold), then it doesn't matter. But if you do need to file, choosing the right tax year ending date can sometimes help with timing of income and deductions. For @Fiona Sand's situation with just the small bank account, she probably won't need to worry about this since it's unlikely to generate $600 in interest. But it's good information to know just in case!

I'm experiencing the exact same frustrating situation! Filed our first joint return on February 12th after getting married in November, and just received my second 60-day letter yesterday. Like everyone else here, I can access all our transcripts and everything appears completely normal - all W-2s, 1099s, and withholdings are showing up correctly. What's particularly annoying is that the second letter uses almost identical language to the first one about "waiting for tax information to be available in our system." If the information is already available (which it clearly is since we can all see it), why does it take them 4+ months to verify what should be a straightforward process? I'm starting to think there's a specific verification queue for newly married couples filing jointly, and they're just massively backlogged. The timing patterns everyone is describing are too consistent to be random - first letter around 3 weeks, second letter around 8-9 weeks later. Has anyone tried contacting their Congressional representative's office? I've heard they sometimes have dedicated liaisons who can expedite IRS issues, especially when taxpayers are experiencing unreasonable delays without clear explanations.

I'm in exactly the same boat as many of you here! Filed jointly for the first time after getting married in October, submitted our return on February 5th, and just got my second 60-day letter this week. The timing is almost spooky how similar it is to everyone else's experiences. What really caught my attention reading through all these comments is how we're ALL newly married couples filing jointly for the first time, and we're ALL getting the same vague "waiting for tax information" language despite being able to see everything perfectly fine on our transcripts. This can't be a coincidence. I think there's definitely a systematic issue with how the IRS processes first-time joint returns from previously separate filers. It's like their verification system flags the change in filing status and then gets stuck in some kind of bureaucratic loop. The Congressional representative suggestion from @Cedric Chung is really smart - I'm going to try that next week. At this point, we've all been patient enough with their internal processes. When multiple taxpayers are experiencing identical delays with identical explanations (or lack thereof), it starts to look like a systematic failure that needs external pressure to resolve. Has anyone tried reaching out to local tax preparation services to see if they're hearing similar complaints from other clients? It might help us understand just how widespread this issue really is.

I'm dealing with this exact same issue right now! Filed on January 22nd but my transcript shows March 5th. I was panicking thinking something went wrong with my return. Reading through all these responses is such a relief - I had no idea there was a difference between when we submit and when the IRS actually processes it in their system. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences. It's so frustrating that the IRS doesn't explain this anywhere obvious on their website. You'd think they'd mention that the "filing date" on transcripts isn't actually when you filed!

This is such a widespread issue that causes unnecessary stress every tax season! I filed on January 30th and my transcript shows March 8th - almost 6 weeks later. What's really frustrating is that I called the IRS helpline and even the first agent I spoke with seemed confused about the difference between submission and processing dates. It wasn't until I was transferred to someone in the taxpayer advocate office that I got a clear explanation. They confirmed that the transcript date is purely internal processing and has zero impact on refund timing or filing compliance. I wish the IRS would just add a simple disclaimer on the transcript that says "Filing date shown reflects internal processing date, not submission date" - would save so many people from this confusion!

Make sure you're aware of the wash sale rule too! If you sell stocks at a loss and buy the same or "substantially identical" securities within 30 days before or after the sale, you can't claim the loss immediately. This tripped me up big time last year when I thought I was being clever by tax-loss harvesting but kept jumping back into the same stocks when they dipped further.

One thing nobody's mentioning is that your capital losses can only offset $3,000 of ordinary income per year after offsetting capital gains. So if you had $550k in gains in year 1, then $550k in losses in year 2, you'd still owe taxes on the full $550k gain in year 1. Then in year 2, you could only use $3,000 of that loss against your regular income, and would have to carry forward the remaining $547,000 in losses for future years. At $3,000 per year against your ordinary income, that would take you 182 years to fully utilize those losses! This is why tax planning and realizing gains/losses in the same tax year is super important.

This is a standard verification review that the IRS does to confirm the accuracy of your return. It's frustrating but very common, especially if you claimed credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit or Child Tax Credit. The key things to know: 1) You don't need to do anything right now unless they contact you directly, 2) The 60-day timeframe is pretty firm - calling before then usually won't speed things up, 3) Make sure you have copies of all your supporting documents just in case they request them later. I went through this last year and it was nerve-wracking, but my refund eventually came through without any issues. Hang in there!

I went through this exact same thing last year and it's definitely nerve-wracking! The IRS has been doing a lot more verification reviews lately, especially on returns with certain tax credits. From my experience, the 60-day timeline they give you is pretty accurate - mine took about 55 days total. The hardest part is just waiting it out since calling them before the 60 days usually doesn't give you any new information. Make sure you keep all your tax documents handy (W-2s, 1099s, receipts for credits you claimed) just in case they do reach out for additional documentation. In most cases though, if everything on your return is accurate, you'll just get your refund after the review period without them needing anything else from you. Stay patient - I know it's easier said than done when you're waiting for your money!