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anyone know if they still doing the amazon gift card bonus this year?
ya its still there but only if u file early
I'm also waiting for TurboTax to announce their 2025 refund advance! From what I've seen, they usually launch it around this time but with all the IRS delays this season I wonder if they're being more cautious. Might be worth calling their customer service line to see if they have any insider info on when it'll drop.
Good idea about calling customer service! I tried that last year and they actually gave me a heads up a few days before it went live on the website. Worth a shot if you're really eager to get started early 📞
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Has anyone considered that OP might be confused about what "unearned income" means? Scholarships used for qualified expenses aren't taxable income at all. Only scholarships that exceed your education expenses or are used for room and board are taxable. It sounds like your scholarship was less than your tuition, so none of it should count as taxable unearned income. I think you're getting tripped up by the tax software.
This! The kiddie tax (Form 8615) applies to investment income, not scholarships used for tuition. OP probably just needs to correctly categorize the scholarship in their tax software. Most have a specific question about whether the scholarship was used for qualified education expenses.
I'm sorry you're dealing with this stressful situation, especially with the family complications involved. Based on what you've described, it sounds like you shouldn't need to file Form 8615 at all. You mentioned you're 20, worked full-time, and provided more than half of your own support. This is key - the "kiddie tax" that Form 8615 addresses doesn't apply to students who are financially independent. The fact that you paid your own rent, groceries, and utilities while working full-time clearly demonstrates you're supporting yourself. Additionally, since your $3,000 scholarship went entirely toward your $8,500 tuition (qualified education expenses), none of that scholarship money counts as taxable unearned income. The software is likely flagging this incorrectly. For your tax software issue, try these steps: 1. Double-check that you marked "Yes" when asked if you provided more than half of your own support 2. In the scholarship/education section, make sure you indicated the full $3,000 was used for qualified education expenses 3. Look for an override option - many tax programs have a way to skip forms that don't apply If the software still won't cooperate, you might need to contact their support or consider switching to a different tax program. You definitely shouldn't need your mother's SSN for this situation, and I'm sorry you're having to navigate tax issues while dealing with family estrangement.
This is such a comprehensive and helpful response! I really appreciate you breaking down both the legal requirements and the practical steps for dealing with the software issues. The part about being financially independent is especially reassuring - I was starting to worry that I was missing something important, but you're right that working full-time and covering all my own living expenses should clearly demonstrate independence. I'm going to go back through the software tonight and double-check those specific areas you mentioned. It's frustrating when the technology is supposed to make taxes easier but ends up creating more confusion instead. Thanks for taking the time to explain this so clearly!
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Has anyone experienced filing without an IP PIN even when one was issued? My accountant said we could file Form 14039 (Identity Theft Affidavit) along with paper returns for the years I'm missing PINs. Wondering if this approach works or if I'm still going to face rejections.
That approach might cause problems. If the IRS has already assigned you an IP PIN, you MUST use it when filing. Filing Form 14039 is for reporting identity theft initially, not for bypassing an already established IP PIN requirement. Paper filing without your PIN will likely result in processing delays and possible rejection.
I went through a very similar situation last year! The key thing to understand is that once you're in the IP PIN system, you absolutely need the correct PIN for each tax year you're filing. For your 2022 PIN specifically, try logging into your IRS online account first - sometimes the system will show multiple years of PINs if they were issued. If that doesn't work, I'd honestly recommend calling the IP PIN helpline at 800-908-4490 early in the morning (like 7-8 AM) when wait times are typically shorter. One important thing to keep in mind: if you never successfully filed your 2022 return, you might also need to deal with potential penalties and interest when you do get it submitted. The IRS generally expects returns to be filed by the original deadline even if you had PIN issues. Also, make sure to set up your IRS online account to receive electronic notices going forward - this way you'll get your annual CP01A notice with your new PIN digitally and won't have to worry about lost mail. Good luck getting this sorted out!
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Just want to add one important thing about the Head of Household requirements that hasn't been mentioned clearly. For divorced parents with 50/50 custody, the IRS actually has a tiebreaker for determining where a child lived "more" nights when it's very close: If your child spends exactly the same number of nights with each parent (like in a perfect 50/50 split with no extra days), the IRS considers the parent with the higher Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) as the custodial parent for determining where the child lived. So if you and your ex have exactly 182/183 nights each, and your AGI is higher, you'd be considered the custodial parent for HoH purposes - even if your agreement says your ex claims the dependent exemption. Some tax software doesn't explain this nuance well, so it's worth knowing!
Thanks for clarifying this! This is exactly what I was wondering about with the AGI tiebreaker. So if we have a perfect 50/50 split (which rarely happens due to holidays and such), then whoever has the higher income would be considered the custodial parent for determining Head of Household status?
Exactly! In a perfect 50/50 split situation where each parent has the child for exactly the same number of nights, the IRS uses the higher AGI as the tiebreaker to determine who's considered the custodial parent for Head of Household purposes. But you're right that perfect 50/50 splits rarely happen in practice. If your daughter stays with you even one more night than with your ex during the tax year, you'd be considered the custodial parent regardless of income levels. This is why keeping a calendar or documentation of overnight stays can be really important in your situation.
Don't forget about the other requirements for Head of Household! Besides having a qualifying person who lives with you more than half the year, you also need to pay more than half the cost of keeping up your home for the year. This includes rent/mortgage, property taxes, utilities, repairs, food eaten in the home, and other household expenses. You don't count clothing, education, medical expenses, or things like that. I got audited last year because I filed HoH but couldn't prove I paid more than half of these costs. Make sure you keep good records of what you spend on housing expenses!
Is there a specific form or worksheet for calculating if you paid more than half the cost of keeping up the home? I'm also divorced and wondering how exactly to figure this out.
The IRS doesn't have a specific form for this calculation, but they do provide a worksheet in Publication 501 that helps you figure out if you paid more than half the cost of keeping up your home. You'll want to add up things like rent/mortgage payments, property taxes, mortgage interest, utilities, repairs and maintenance, property insurance, and food consumed in the home. Then compare that total to what others in your household contributed toward these same expenses. Since you're divorced and living alone except when your child is with you, this should be pretty straightforward - you're likely paying 100% of these costs yourself. Just keep receipts and records of your major housing expenses in case you need to prove it later.
Zainab Ibrahim
I've been tracking TPG outages for the past three tax seasons using downdetector.com and their reddit community. This appears to be their third major outage this season, with previous ones on February 2-3 and February 28-March 1. According to several online resources, they're experiencing higher than normal volume this year due to increased e-filing rates. In my experience, their system usually updates overnight between 12am-4am EST. I've had success accessing the portal around 5:30am when most users aren't active. If you're using TurboTax, you can also check your order details page which sometimes shows refund status independent of the TPG system.
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Connor O'Neill
•This is accurate. Per IRS Publication 1345 (Rev. 1-2023), third-party processors like TPG must update their systems within 24 hours of receiving IRS deposit information, but there's no regulation requiring their portals to be continuously available. I've found that the SBTPG phone system (their automated line) often works even when their website is down. You can reach it at their customer service number and use the automated options to check refund status using your SSN and expected refund amount.
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Jasmine Hancock
I'm dealing with the exact same issue! Been trying to access TPG since yesterday morning and getting nothing but loading screens. What's really frustrating is that my refund was supposed to be deposited this week according to the timeline my tax preparer gave me. I ended up calling my tax prep office and they said they're getting calls about this all day. Apparently TPG is having widespread system issues but hasn't posted any official notice about it. They suggested checking the IRS "Where's My Refund" tool instead, which is working fine and shows my refund is still being processed. For what it's worth, my neighbor had the same TPG outage issue two weeks ago and her money still came on the expected date even though she couldn't track it online. Seems like their tracking system goes down but the actual payment processing keeps working behind the scenes.
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Keisha Johnson
•That's really reassuring to hear about your neighbor still getting her refund on time despite the portal being down! I was starting to worry that the system issues might delay the actual payments too. It sounds like TPG's backend payment processing is separate from their customer-facing portal, which makes sense from a technical standpoint. I'll definitely check the IRS "Where's My Refund" tool like you suggested - at least that gives us some visibility while we wait for TPG to get their act together. Thanks for sharing what your tax prep office told you!
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