Did you receive any CP01 notices? Those indicate identity verification issues. Have you checked your transcript for TC 570 codes? What about your account transcript - sometimes that updates before your return transcript.

I've seen this pattern before - when multiple tax years are being held simultaneously along with missing CTC payments, it often indicates a systemic account flag rather than just a processing delay. The fact that your return isn't even showing in the system after this long suggests it may be stuck in the Taxpayer Protection Program queue. Have you tried requesting your Account Transcript (not just Return Transcript) through IRS.gov? Sometimes the account transcript will show transaction codes even when the return transcript is blank. Also, if you haven't received any correspondence from the IRS at all, I'd recommend updating your address on file - sometimes verification letters get sent to old addresses and the lack of response keeps the account frozen.

One thing no one mentioned - if your teens are saving for college, having a summer job can be GREAT for Roth IRA contributions! They can contribute up to 100% of their earned income (max $6,500 in 2023) even if they don't owe taxes. My son puts half his summer job money into a Roth IRA, and it'll grow tax-free for decades. Since they're under the standard deduction, they're in a 0% tax bracket - literally the perfect time to make Roth contributions!

Great question! As someone who went through this same confusion when my kids started working, I can confirm what others have said - your teens' summer jobs won't prevent you from claiming them as dependents as long as you still provide more than half their support. One additional tip: make sure your teens understand the difference between federal and state filing requirements. Some states have lower income thresholds than federal, so they might need to file a state return even if they don't need to file federal. Also, even if they don't owe taxes, filing can be beneficial because many states offer refundable credits for low-income workers. Since you mentioned you're still learning the US tax system, I'd recommend having your teens use the IRS Free File program when they do file - it's completely free for people under certain income thresholds and walks them through the process step by step. It's a great way for them to learn while ensuring everything is done correctly. The transition from "kids" to "working young adults" in the tax system can feel overwhelming, but you're asking the right questions early. Planning ahead will make next year's tax season much smoother!

Did you use the same tax software to calculate all three scenarios? Different software can give different results. I'd run all three options (you claiming kids, spouse claiming kids, filing jointly) through the same program to make sure you're getting consistent calculations. Also, check if you qualify for Head of Household status when filing separately - that could make a big difference but you have to meet specific requirements.

The marriage penalty is definitely frustrating, but there are a few things you should double-check before concluding that filing separately is better: 1. Make sure you're comparing apples to apples - look at your actual tax LIABILITY (line 16 on Form 1040), not just the refund amounts. Different withholding patterns throughout the year can make refunds misleading. 2. With your combined income of ~$170k, you're likely hitting the child tax credit phase-out when filing jointly (starts at $150k for joint filers). But filing separately means you lose access to several valuable credits entirely - like the Child and Dependent Care Credit, education credits, and student loan interest deduction if you have any student loans. 3. Consider maxing out pre-tax contributions (401k, HSA, etc.) to reduce your AGI below phase-out thresholds. Even small reductions in AGI can have big impacts when you're right at the edge of these cliffs. 4. Run the calculations one more time using the same software for all scenarios to make sure there aren't any inconsistencies in how deductions/credits are being calculated. The "marriage penalty" is real, but often the lost credits from filing separately end up making joint filing the better choice overall, even if the immediate refund looks smaller.

Check your tax transcript for code 570! If you see that, it means there's a hold on your account. Mine was delayed for similar reasons and that's what was happening. You might also see code 971 which means they sent a notice (that you may not have received).

I went through something very similar last year - 8 month delay on what should have been a straightforward refund. The combination of approaches mentioned here is your best bet. Start with requesting your tax transcript online immediately. This will show you if there are any specific codes indicating why it's being held. If you see codes like 570, 971, or 424, at least you'll know there's an active review happening rather than your return just sitting in a pile somewhere. Then I'd recommend a two-pronged approach: contact both the Taxpayer Advocate Service AND your congressional representative's office. The TAS is great for systemic issues and they have more time to work on your case, while congressional offices have those direct IRS lines that can get faster answers. If those don't work within 2-3 weeks, the Claimyr service really does work for actually getting through to the IRS phone system. I was skeptical too but after months of busy signals, being able to talk to an actual agent made all the difference. Don't wait any longer - 9 months is well beyond any reasonable processing time and you have multiple legitimate avenues to escalate this. The key is being persistent and using multiple approaches simultaneously rather than trying one thing at a time.

You might want to check if you qualified for any partial Roth contribution during those years instead of assuming you couldn't contribute anything. The income limits have a phaseout range where you can make reduced contributions. For 2017, the phaseout for single filers was between $118,000-$133,000. Unless you were completely above the upper threshold, you might have been eligible to contribute something.

This is a really helpful thread! I'm dealing with a similar situation but from 2020-2022. One thing I learned from my tax preparer is that you should also check if your employer offers a 401(k) - if you have workplace retirement coverage, it can affect your ability to deduct Traditional IRA contributions, which impacts the backdoor Roth strategy that people mentioned. Also, make sure to keep detailed records of everything when you're going through the correction process. The IRS may ask for documentation years later, and having your Form 5329s, withdrawal confirmations from Vanguard, and calculation worksheets all organized will save you major headaches if they ever audit this. One last tip - if you end up owing multiple years of the 6% excise tax, you can sometimes set up a payment plan with the IRS rather than paying it all at once. Just call them (or use that Claimyr service others mentioned) to discuss options.