Next year im going with FreeTaxUSA... turbotax keeps adding random fees and their 'benefits' are useless if you have EIC

Same situation here! I also paid for the early access thinking it would help bypass the PATH Act delays. Turns out I basically paid extra to get my refund 5 days earlier... sometime after mid-February when PATH lifts anyway 🤦‍♀️ Definitely calling TurboTax tomorrow to see if I can get that fee refunded like Amina mentioned. Thanks for posting this - good to know I'm not the only one who got caught up in their misleading marketing!

I'm surprised nobody mentioned that you might be able to access your W-2 electronically before the paper copy arrives! Many employers use payroll systems like ADP, Workday, or Paychex that let you login and download your W-2 in January, sometimes weeks before the paper copy arrives in the mail.

One thing that might help clarify the confusion - think of the W-4 as your "instruction sheet" to your employer about how much tax to take out of each paycheck, and the W-2 as your "year-end report card" showing what actually happened with your earnings and tax withholdings. Since you started that second job late in 2024, you'll want to pay attention to whether enough taxes were withheld from both jobs combined. Sometimes when you have multiple jobs, you might end up owing money at tax time if not enough was withheld overall. When you fill out your tax return with both W-2s, the software will calculate if you owe more or if you're getting a refund. Also, for next year (2025), you might want to update your W-4 forms at both jobs using the IRS's online withholding calculator to make sure the right amount of tax is being taken out when you have multiple income sources.

This is such a frustrating situation, but you have several good options to get unstuck! Based on what others have shared, I'd recommend trying the "direct rollover distribution" method that @Dmitry Popov mentioned. Having the check made out to "Decent Bank FBO Jamal Wilson, Roth IRA" is brilliant because it bypasses the rollover limitations while still letting you physically move the money. Since you now know you have three separate accounts, you could potentially do this for all three accounts simultaneously without violating any IRS rules, since they'd all be direct transfers rather than rollovers. Given how uncooperative your current bank has been (seriously, waiting 3 months to mention you have three accounts?!), I'd also strongly suggest filing that CFPB complaint as @Ava Garcia recommended. Banks typically have 15 days to respond to CFPB complaints, and it often gets you connected to someone who actually has the authority to resolve your issue. Document everything - dates, names, what each person told you, the runaround you've gotten. This kind of behavior from a financial institution handling retirement accounts is exactly what the CFPB exists to address. You shouldn't have to jump through hoops to move your own money between your own accounts!

I work in retirement plan administration and see these transfer issues constantly. Your situation is unfortunately very common with smaller banks that don't have dedicated IRA departments. A few additional tips beyond what others have mentioned: 1. When requesting the direct rollover distribution checks, ask for expedited processing and get a tracking number. Some banks will sit on these requests for weeks. 2. Call your receiving bank first and ask them to generate a "transfer acceptance letter" - this is official documentation that shows they're ready to accept the incoming Roth IRA funds. Present this to your current bank along with your distribution request. 3. For the three separate accounts issue - this often happens when people have made contributions in different tax years or when banks merge systems poorly. You can consolidate them into one Roth IRA at the receiving bank, which actually makes future management much easier. 4. Document everything in writing. Send follow-up emails after every phone call summarizing what was discussed and agreed upon. This creates a paper trail that's invaluable if you need to escalate. The CFPB complaint route really does work - I've seen banks that ignore customers for months suddenly become very helpful within days of receiving regulatory pressure. Don't hesitate to use it!

Anyone else think the W-4 system is totally broken? Why do we have to figure this out ourselves? The government already knows how much we should be paying!

This is exactly what happened to us a few years ago! We learned the hard way that claiming the same child on both W-4s is a recipe for underwithholding. Here's what we did to fix it: 1. We had the higher earner (in your case, the $70K spouse) claim the child on their W-4 2. The lower earner ($45K spouse) should file a new W-4 with "Single or Married Filing Separately" checked in Step 1, even though you're married - this increases withholding 3. Consider adding extra withholding on one or both W-4s to be safe The income difference between you two isn't huge, but the higher earner claiming the child will still result in slightly better withholding accuracy. Most importantly, get those new W-4s submitted ASAP since you're already behind on withholding for this year. Pro tip: After you make the changes, check your next few pay stubs to make sure the withholding increased appropriately. You should see a noticeable bump in federal tax withheld from the higher earner's paycheck.

This is such a helpful thread! I was making the exact same mistake - I kept trying to use my take-home pay as the starting point for tax calculations because that's what I actually "received." But reading through everyone's explanations, it's clear that the IRS works backwards from gross income. What really clicked for me was understanding that my W-2 Box 1 is already a partially processed number - it's my gross income with certain pre-tax deductions already removed. So when I start my tax return with that Box 1 amount, I'm not starting with true gross income, but I'm also not starting with net income. It's this middle ground that represents my taxable wages before standard/itemized deductions. I think the confusion comes from thinking about our paychecks, where we see gross pay, then a bunch of deductions, then net pay. But tax returns don't follow that exact same flow since some of those paycheck deductions are already baked into the W-2 numbers we use.

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I work in payroll and see this confusion constantly with employees who don't understand why their tax calculations don't match their paycheck math. One thing I'd add that might help clarify: when you look at your final pay stub of the year, the year-to-date (YTD) gross pay amount is your true gross income. But your W-2 Box 1 will often be lower because it reflects gross pay minus pre-tax deductions like 401(k), health insurance, HSA contributions, etc. So the flow is: True Gross → W-2 Box 1 (gross minus pre-tax stuff) → AGI (Box 1 minus other adjustments) → Taxable Income (AGI minus standard/itemized deductions) → Tax calculation. The key insight is that you never actually use your "net" or take-home pay in tax calculations. Net pay is just what's left after taxes are withheld, but those withholdings are estimates that get reconciled when you file your return.