I'm working on a similar problem for my small business. Looking at these numbers: If gross assets went from $9.8M to $13.5M (+$3.7M) but accumulated depreciation decreased by $2.55M, doesn't that suggest they got rid of old assets and bought way more new ones?

This is a great discussion! I've been wrestling with similar Schedule L calculations for my consulting practice. One thing I'd add is that when you see that dramatic decrease in accumulated depreciation ($8.75M to $6.2M), it's almost certainly indicating major asset disposals. For a more complete capex calculation, you might want to try working backwards: 1) Start with the $3.7M increase in gross PPE (new acquisitions minus disposals at cost) 2) Estimate the original cost of disposed assets by looking at the accumulated depreciation reduction 3) Add back the estimated disposal amount to get total new purchases In your case, if they disposed of assets with $2.55M in accumulated depreciation, those assets likely had a much higher original cost. Without more details from other forms, it's hard to pin down the exact capex amount, but it's definitely more than the $3.7M net increase in gross assets. Have you checked if there's a Form 4797 (Sales of Business Property) that might give you more clarity on the disposals?

Has anyone mentioned the education credits yet? One big reason parents fight over claiming college students is because of the American Opportunity Credit or Lifetime Learning Credit. These can be worth up to $2,500 in tax benefits. If you're not claimed as a dependent, YOU can claim these credits for the tuition YOU paid. But if someone else paid your tuition (like your mom), they generally get to claim the credit even if you're not their dependent. This might be a compromise - if your mom wants the education credit for the tuition she paid, she can still get that without claiming you as a dependent. Then you can claim yourself, get your standard deduction, and potentially other credits you qualify for.

Actually, I need to clarify something about the education credits - there's some confusion in the thread. The education credits (American Opportunity Credit and Lifetime Learning Credit) can only be claimed by the person who claims the student as a dependent OR by the student themselves if they're not claimed as a dependent by anyone else. If your mom pays your tuition but you're not claimed as her dependent (because you provide more than half your own support), then YOU would be eligible to claim the education credits on your own return, not your mom. The IRS doesn't care who actually paid the tuition - they only care about the dependency status when determining who can claim the credits. This is actually another reason why it's important to get your dependency status correct. If you truly provide more than half your own support, you should claim yourself AND you'll be eligible for the education credits worth up to $2,500. That's a significant tax benefit that you'd lose if your parents incorrectly claim you as a dependent. I'd recommend looking at IRS Publication 970 for the specific rules on education credits, in addition to Publication 501 for dependency tests that others have mentioned.

Has anyone tried using the HMRC app to check tax code changes? I found it's much easier than the website and usually explains the reasons for changes.

I've been through this exact situation! When my tax code changed unexpectedly, I found that HMRC sometimes makes adjustments based on information they receive from third parties - like banks reporting interest, employers reporting benefits, or even estimates based on previous year's self-employment income. Since you mentioned you're on £32,000 and haven't had major life changes, the most likely culprits are: untaxed interest from savings accounts that exceeded the personal savings allowance, any small employment benefits you might have forgotten about (even things like employer-paid subscriptions), or if you've done any freelance/gig work that HMRC has become aware of. The good news is that if it's an error, HMRC will backdate any refund once you get it sorted. I'd definitely recommend checking your Personal Tax Account first as others have suggested - it usually shows the breakdown of how they calculated your new code. If that doesn't give you clarity, calling them is worth it even if the wait times are frustrating.

Pro tip: take screenshots of your transcript and document everything. The IRS website is always down when you actually need it 🙄

Hey Keisha! I see you're dealing with a "Return Not Present" message - this is actually pretty common early in the filing season. It basically means the IRS hasn't fully processed your return yet, even though you filed it. The blank fields for AGI, taxable income, etc. will populate once they finish processing. The 570 code you mentioned usually appears as a temporary hold while they review something (could be identity verification, income matching, or just routine processing). Since you filed jointly and everything shows zero balances with no actual transaction codes listed, I'd give it another week or two before worrying. The IRS is still catching up from the filing season rush. Keep checking your transcript every few days - once processing completes, you'll see all your return info populate and hopefully a 846 refund code! 🤞

thats actually not bad that they took care of the old debt and ur still getting something back. i got completely wiped out by my offset 😭

Looks like you're actually in pretty good shape! The code 846 with date 04-19-2023 means your refund of $3,770.73 was definitely issued. If you haven't received it yet, you should check with your bank first to see if there were any deposit issues. You can also use the "Where's My Refund" tool on IRS.gov or call the refund hotline at 1-800-829-1954 to track it. The code 826 transfer to "1040 202012" means they applied $9,462.27 to cover a balance you owed from your 2020 tax return (that's what the 202012 refers to). So basically out of your total withholdings of $15,593, they used $2,360 for your 2022 taxes, $9,462.27 for the 2020 debt, and sent you the remaining $3,770.73 as a refund. Your transcript is actually showing everything processed correctly with a zero balance, which is good news!