For your IRA question - I work in retirement planning. The withholding decision depends on a few things: 1. Is this a traditional IRA or Roth IRA? Traditional will be taxed as regular income, Roth withdrawals are generally tax-free if you meet certain requirements. 2. How old are you? If under 59½, you'll typically face a 10% early withdrawal penalty unless you qualify for an exception (like first-time home purchase, certain medical expenses, etc). 3. How much are you withdrawing? Large withdrawals could push you into a higher tax bracket. Safe bet is to withhold at least 20% federal plus state tax if applicable, maybe more if it's a large amount. Better to get a refund than owe penalties.

@Dylan Campbell - I'd also suggest checking if any of the early withdrawal penalty exceptions apply to your situation before you pull the trigger on that $8,000 withdrawal. The IRS allows penalty-free withdrawals for things like unreimbursed medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income, qualified higher education expenses, or if you're unemployed and using it for health insurance premiums. Also, another option to consider - instead of a lump sum withdrawal, you might want to look into substantially equal periodic payments (SEPP) under IRS Rule 72(t). This lets you take regular distributions from your IRA before age 59½ without the 10% penalty, though you have to commit to taking payments for at least 5 years or until you reach 59½, whichever is longer. Given that this is for unexpected expenses, a one-time withdrawal probably makes more sense, but it's worth knowing all your options. The 25-30% withholding recommendation from others here is solid advice - better to overwithhold and get money back than face penalties next April.

i waited 9 weeks but finally got mine yesterday!!

I'm in the exact same situation! Faxed my 1099 three weeks ago and was told the same 6-8 week timeline. It's so frustrating having to wait this long when you need your refund. At least we're not alone in this mess. Fingers crossed it comes through sooner than expected 🤞

The IRS really needs to make these more user friendly... its 2025 for crying out loud!

I feel your pain! IRS transcripts are definitely confusing at first. Here are the key codes to look for: 150 means your return was processed, 570 means there's a hold on your refund (usually for review), 971 means they sent you a notice, and 846 is the big one - that's when your refund is actually issued with a date. The cycle code (first 4 digits of the date) can also give you hints about processing timing. If you can share what codes you're seeing, we can help decode what's happening with your specific situation!

I dealt with TPG on February 15th this year when they received my refund from the IRS. By February 18th, they had processed it and sent it to my bank. Then my bank held it until February 21st before it was available. So that's a total of 6 days from when the IRS issued my refund until I could actually use the money. They did take their $39.95 fee, which was mentioned in my TurboTax agreement on page 3 of the terms. I've been using them for years and the timeline is pretty consistent - usually 5-7 days total from IRS issuance to money in my account.

I've been through this exact situation with TPG twice now. Here's what I learned: they're legally required to disclose all fees, but it's often buried in the fine print. Check your tax prep agreement carefully - the fees should be listed there. In my experience, they typically take 3-5 business days to process after receiving your refund from the IRS, plus their standard fee (usually around $35-40). If you're concerned about unauthorized charges, you can request a detailed breakdown of all deductions by calling their customer service line. For future reference, I'd recommend paying your tax prep fees upfront to avoid this middleman entirely - it's faster and usually cheaper in the long run.

Has anyone successfully had their employer change a W-2 after receiving it? My company is saying they "can't modify tax forms once they've been issued" which sounds like BS to me.

This is a really frustrating situation that more people face than you'd think. The statutory employee classification is one of the most misunderstood areas of tax law, and employers often get it wrong. From your description, you're absolutely right to question this. IT support staff who work on company schedules with company equipment typically don't qualify as statutory employees. The IRS has very specific criteria for this classification, and it's mainly for certain types of salespeople, delivery drivers, and home workers under specific contracts. A few important points to consider: 1. Even if your employer refuses to correct the W-2, you can still file correctly by treating yourself as a regular employee and including a statement with your return explaining the misclassification. 2. Don't wait too long to address this - if you file incorrectly now, you might face complications later when the IRS eventually catches the error. 3. Keep detailed records of your work arrangement (emails about scheduling, photos of company equipment, training materials) as evidence of your true employment status. 4. Consider requesting a determination from the IRS using Form SS-8 to get an official ruling on your classification, which can help prevent this issue in future years. The good news is that this is fixable, whether through getting a corrected W-2 or filing with proper documentation about the error. Don't let your employer's mistake cause you to pay incorrect taxes!