Does anyone know if the "reasonable period" for winding up trust affairs is affected by whether the trust is revocable vs. irrevocable? My mother's irrevocable trust was terminated in December but we just found out about some stock that wasn't properly transferred and is still generating dividends.

I went through something very similar with my grandmother's trust last year. The key thing to understand is that the "reasonable period" mentioned in 26 CFR § 1.641(b) is specifically designed for situations like yours where income trickles in after the formal termination date. Your trustee is correct - the trust is still considered to exist for tax purposes during this winding-up period. The $4,600 in dividends should be reported on an amended final Form 1041 for the trust, not on your individual returns. The trustee will then need to issue supplemental K-1s to you and your siblings showing your respective shares of this additional income, which you'll report on your personal returns. The fact that the bank statement arrived months later is actually pretty common - I've seen this happen with everything from dividend payments to final interest statements. As long as the trustee is actively working to wrap up all loose ends (which discovering and reporting this income demonstrates), you're well within the reasonable timeframe. One tip: make sure the amended return clearly indicates it's for post-termination income to avoid any IRS confusion about the filing.

The collective wisdom here is that verification adds 10-21 days to processing, but there are outliers in both directions. 😂 I've seen people get deposits 5 days after verification and others who waited 6+ weeks. The key factors seem to be: 1) Whether you verified online vs. by mail/phone, 2) The specific reason you were flagged for verification, and 3) Whether you have other potential review factors on your return. If you verified online and have a straightforward return, you're likely in the 2-week range.

Just went through this exact situation! I verified my identity on March 2nd and got my refund deposited on March 18th - so 16 days total. Like others mentioned, my WMR bars completely disappeared for about 10 days which had me panicking, but then it suddenly jumped to "approved" with a deposit date. The transcript codes were super helpful to track - I saw the 971 notice code first, then 846 refund issued about 3 days before the actual deposit. Definitely check your transcript if you haven't already, it gives you way more info than WMR. Fingers crossed yours processes soon since you're already a week in! 🤞

OMG I'm freaking out because I NEED my refund by next Friday to cover my property tax payment!! 😫 I've been checking WMR obsessively and now it's down when I need it most! I filed on February 12th and it's been 24 days with no updates. Now I can't even see if there's movement! Has anyone who filed around the same time received their refund yet? I'm so stressed I can barely sleep!

I feel your pain! I've been through this exact same situation before. The WMR outages are incredibly frustrating, especially when you're counting on that refund for important payments. A few things that might help ease your stress: First, the 21-day processing window is just an estimate - many refunds actually take 2-4 weeks, so you're still within normal timeframes. Second, if you claimed EITC or Child Tax Credit, those returns are held until mid-February by law, which can add extra processing time. Third, try checking your bank account directly - sometimes the refund deposits before WMR even updates! If you're really pressed for time, you might want to call the IRS directly (though expect long wait times) to get a real status update. Hang in there - the system being down doesn't mean anything is wrong with your refund!

One specific thing to check in FreeTaxUSA: go to the federal section and look for "Filing Status" or "Personal Information." There should be a citizenship question somewhere. If you can indicate you're not a US citizen, it might then ask about your visa status. For state residency, each state has different rules. California (which you mentioned) considers you a resident if you're in the state for other than a temporary purpose. As a student on F1, you might qualify as a nonresident if you can show your presence is temporary. The key form for federal taxes should be 1040-NR, not the regular 1040 that most tax software defaults to. Without the right form, you could be missing tax treaty benefits and paying too much!

I went through this exact same frustration last year! As an F1 student, you're absolutely right to be confused - FreeTaxUSA really isn't designed for our situation. Here's what I learned after making the same mistakes: You should definitely be filing as a nonresident alien using Form 1040-NR for federal taxes if you've been in the US for less than 5 calendar years on F1 status. The "substantial presence test" doesn't apply to F1 students during this period. For California state taxes, since you've only been here 11 months as a student, you should likely file as a nonresident there too. California generally follows federal residency determination for tax purposes. My suggestion: Don't waste more time fighting with FreeTaxUSA's limitations. Either check if your university has a VITA program for international students (many do and it's free!), or consider using software specifically designed for international students. The tax difference you mentioned ($1,100) is significant enough that it's worth getting this right the first time. If you've already filed incorrectly, you can amend your return, but it's easier to just do it right from the start. Your university's international student office should have resources or recommendations for this exact situation.

I work IT and this is actually embarassing. A government agency in 2025 shouldnt have these basic infrastructure issues. But here we are 🤷‍♂️

Ugh same exact issue here! Been getting that "Refund status unavailable" message since yesterday morning. The worst part is you can't even tell if it's a system problem or if there's actually an issue with your return. At least give us a proper error code or something instead of this generic "try again later" nonsense. Filed in late January and still nothing - this is ridiculous for a government system in 2025.