Whatever you do, don't ignore this! My friend ignored a weird IRS letter thinking it was a mistake and ended up with a much bigger headache months later. At minimum, call them to find out what's going on so there's a record that you followed up on this.

This is definitely something to take seriously! I work in financial aid and we do sometimes request tax transcripts for verification, but we ALWAYS notify students first and get their permission. The fact that you never filed taxes actually makes this more suspicious, not less - it suggests someone was fishing to see what tax information exists under your SSN. A few things to check immediately: 1. Look at the SSN on the form - make sure it's actually yours 2. Call your school's financial aid office to confirm they didn't request this 3. If neither of those explain it, definitely contact the IRS identity theft hotline Also, since you're 19 and in college, make sure to freeze your credit reports with all three bureaus (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion) as a precaution. It's free and will prevent anyone from opening accounts in your name while you sort this out. Don't wait on this - identity theft targeting young adults is unfortunately very common because many don't monitor their credit yet.

Weirdly, my tax software (TurboTax) asked me if I knew the basis amount even though box 2a was blank on my 1099-R. Anyone else have this happen? Not sure if I should override what's on the form.

I went through this exact same situation last year! The blank box 2a on your 1099-R for a Roth IRA withdrawal is actually pretty common and usually means your financial institution doesn't have enough information to determine what portion is taxable. Here's what I learned: You'll need to calculate this yourself using Form 8606. The key is figuring out your "basis" - basically all the contributions you've made to your Roth IRA over the years (not including any earnings/growth). If your $2,700 withdrawal is less than your total lifetime contributions, then it's likely completely non-taxable and you'd enter $0 for the taxable amount. But if you've withdrawn more than you've contributed, then part of it could be taxable earnings subject to penalties. I'd strongly recommend contacting your IRA custodian to get a statement of your contribution history before filing. They should be able to tell you exactly how much you've contributed versus earnings. Don't guess on this - the IRS can be pretty strict about retirement account distributions!

Just download it and take screenshots of the codes section. That way you can reference it easier when people try to help explain things to you

I totally get your confusion! CP74 notices can be really overwhelming when you're not familiar with them. Based on what you described, it sounds like you previously had your Child Tax Credit denied (probably flagged for potential fraud or errors), and you successfully completed Form 8862 to recertify for those credits. The good news is that the notice is saying you're all set - your credits have been restored and you should get your refund within 6 weeks! The best part is you won't have to deal with Form 8862 again for these credits in the future. Just keep an eye on your bank account and maybe check your transcript in a few weeks to see if there's a refund date posted. You're basically in the home stretch now! 🎉

This is incredibly frustrating and unfortunately all too common with TurboTax. I had a similar experience two years ago where my entire filing history just vanished from my account. After weeks of back-and-forth with their support team (who kept asking me to verify information I'd already provided multiple times), I finally got it resolved, but it was a nightmare. A few things that might help: First, if you have your AGI (Adjusted Gross Income) from your 2023 return, you can use that to request transcripts directly from the IRS at irs.gov/get-transcript. Second, check if you saved any screenshots or took photos of your completed return before submitting - sometimes people do this without thinking about it. Third, look through your email for ANY communication from TurboTax around your filing date, even marketing emails, as these sometimes contain account references that can help their tech team locate your missing data. The social media approach mentioned by others really does work - their Twitter support team seems to have more authority than phone reps. Just be persistent and document everything. Don't let them wear you down with their incompetence.

I feel your pain! I went through almost the exact same thing with TurboTax two years ago. What finally worked for me was filing a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). You can do this online at consumerfinance.gov - it's free and takes about 10 minutes. Companies are required to respond to CFPB complaints within 15 days, and I got a call from TurboTax's executive customer service team within 3 days of filing. They were able to locate my missing returns and fix the account linking issue. Turns out there was a database migration problem that affected thousands of accounts, but regular customer service wasn't authorized to access the old database. The CFPB complaint route seems to bypass all the regular support nonsense and gets you to people who actually have the authority and technical access to fix these problems. Worth trying alongside the Twitter approach others mentioned.

Has anyone used QuickBooks Self-Employed for tracking expenses? My accountant recommended it, but wondering if it's worth the monthly fee.

Great question about personal assistant deductions! I've been doing bookkeeping for several independent contractors in real estate, and there are a few additional deductions you might be missing. Since you mentioned driving to properties and running errands, make sure you're tracking ALL business miles - not just client meetings but trips to the post office, bank deposits, picking up supplies, etc. Many people only track the obvious trips. For your phone, if you have one line used for both business and personal, you can deduct the business percentage. But if you can get a separate business line, that's 100% deductible and often worth it for the clean record-keeping. One thing people often overlook: professional development expenses. Any courses, certifications, or training related to real estate or admin work are fully deductible. Same with professional memberships or subscriptions to industry publications. Also consider equipment depreciation if you bought a computer, printer, or other office equipment primarily for work. You can either deduct the full cost in the first year (Section 179) or depreciate it over several years. Keep tracking everything in a dedicated business account if possible - makes record-keeping so much cleaner come tax time!