As someone who's dealt with similar business expense questions, I'd recommend keeping meticulous records if you decide to pursue this. The IRS looks for three key things: ordinary (common in your industry), necessary (helpful for your business), and reasonable (not excessive). For a pet daycare, having a "demo dog" that helps socialize and train client animals could potentially qualify, but you'll need to prove it's genuinely business-related. Consider getting a letter from a veterinary behaviorist or animal trainer explaining how your dog's role benefits the business operations. Also, only deduct the percentage that's truly business use. If your German Shepherd spends 30% of her time actively working with client dogs, then 30% of training costs might be deductible. But regular vet care and food would likely be considered personal expenses unless you can document a clear business need. One more tip: take photos and videos of your dog actually working with client animals. Visual documentation of her training other dogs could be valuable evidence if the IRS ever questions the deduction.

This thread has been really helpful! As a tax preparer, I see unusual business expense questions like this fairly often. The key thing to remember is that the IRS doesn't care what your "employee" species is - they care about whether the expense is ordinary, necessary, and reasonable for your specific business. For a pet daycare, having a well-trained dog that helps with client animals is actually pretty standard in the industry. I've successfully helped clients deduct portions of working dog expenses before. The critical factors are: 1) Document everything with photos/videos of the dog working, 2) Keep a detailed log of business vs. personal time, 3) Only deduct the business percentage of expenses, and 4) Get professional validation (vet behaviorist letter is excellent advice from Callum). One additional tip: Consider getting your German Shepherd certified through a professional dog training organization for her role in your business. Having formal credentials strengthens your case that this is a legitimate business function, not just a pet expense in disguise.

I went through almost the exact same situation with my 2017 amended return that I filed in 2020. The waiting is absolutely maddening, especially when you've already paid what you think you owe! One thing I learned that might help - when you check your account transcript, look for the cycle date next to code 977. This shows when the IRS actually began working on your amendment. If it's been more than 16 weeks since that cycle date, you have grounds to request expedited processing when you call. Also, don't worry too much about your payment sitting as a credit. Mine sat there for almost 8 months before they applied it. The IRS is super cautious about applying payments until they've triple-checked all the math, especially on older tax years where there might be statute of limitations issues. The code 290 everyone mentioned will definitely appear when it's done - mine showed up on a Friday and by the following Tuesday I had a letter in the mail explaining the final adjustment. Hang in there, it will eventually move!

I went through a very similar situation with my 2019 amended return that I filed in late 2022. The waiting period is absolutely brutal, especially when you can see some activity but no resolution. One thing that helped me understand the process better was learning that there are actually sub-phases within the "processing" status that the online tools don't show. After code 977 appears, your return goes through several internal queues - first for initial review, then for calculation verification, then for final approval. Each step can take weeks or months depending on the complexity and current workload. In my case, I had codes 971 and 977 for about 7 months before anything else appeared. Then suddenly one week I saw code 290 with the exact additional tax amount I calculated, followed by codes showing interest assessment and payment application. The whole thing finalized within days once it actually reached the final stage. The hardest part is that there's really no way to know which internal queue your return is sitting in. But the fact that you already paid the amount you calculated was smart - it shows good faith and prevents additional interest from accumulating while they work through their backlog. Keep checking that transcript weekly. When the 290 code appears, you'll know you're finally at the finish line!

ya'll need to chill and stop checking so much. it'll come when it comes

Filed mine on 1/28 and been in the same boat checking constantly! The waiting is brutal especially when you need that refund. From what I've learned lurking here, transcripts usually update Friday mornings around 6am EST and WMR updates daily around 3-6am EST. But honestly the IRS system is so inconsistent during tax season. Maybe try checking just once in the morning instead of throughout the day? That's what I'm trying to do to stay sane lol

Has anyone used TurboTax for filing as a non-resident alien? I'm in the same boat as OP (just under 183 days) and wondering if the standard tax software handles these situations well?

I went through this exact same situation two years ago and can confirm what others have said - the IRS does NOT round up the substantial presence test calculation. At 182.33 days, you're under the 183-day threshold and would not be considered a US tax resident. However, I'd strongly recommend double-checking your day count because being this close to the line is risky. A few things to verify: Are you counting partial days correctly? If you arrive late at night or leave early morning, those still count as full days. Also make sure you're not missing any brief trips back to the US that might push you over. One other thing - since you mentioned wanting to avoid taxation on global income from before you moved, make sure you understand the rules about when income is sourced to the US versus your home country. Even as a non-resident, you'll still owe US taxes on US-source income during the time you were physically present here. Keep very detailed records of all your travel dates with supporting documentation (flight records, passport stamps, etc.) in case the IRS ever questions your residency determination.

I'm in a very similar situation and completely understand your frustration. We filed our ERC claim in August 2023 and are now at 8 months with virtually no communication from the IRS beyond that initial acknowledgment letter. What I've learned from talking to other business owners and our CPA is that the IRS is essentially treating every ERC claim like a potential audit case now. They're manually reviewing documentation, cross-referencing with PPP loans, and being extremely thorough because of all the fraudulent claims that flooded the system. The good news is that if you received that letter saying they need more time, it typically means your claim passed the initial fraud screening and is being reviewed by an actual person rather than being automatically rejected. The bad news is that this manual review process is what's causing these massive delays. I know it's incredibly stressful when you're counting on that money for business operations. We're in the same boat - made decisions based on expecting this credit and now we're scrambling with cash flow. But from everything I've heard, legitimate claims are eventually getting processed, it's just taking much longer than anyone anticipated. Hang in there!

I'm dealing with the exact same nightmare - filed our ERC claim in July 2023 and we're now at 9 months with just that one generic letter about needing more processing time. The silence since then has been absolutely maddening, especially when our business is struggling with cash flow issues. What really gets me is that there's no transparency in the process at all. With regular tax refunds, you can at least check the status online, but with ERC claims it's like throwing your paperwork into a black hole. I've called the IRS multiple times and the representatives either can't access ERC claim information or just give me the same "it's being processed" runaround. I'm starting to wonder if they're intentionally dragging this out hoping businesses will just give up or go under before they have to pay out these credits. The whole situation feels deliberately opaque, and it's incredibly frustrating when you're a legitimate small business that followed all the rules and desperately needs this money to keep operating. Has anyone found ANY reliable way to get actual information about where their claim stands in the process? I'm willing to try just about anything at this point.