OMG thank you for the warning!! I was just about to use Credit Karma for my taxes this weekend. Has anyone tried H&R Block? Do they do the same shady consent thing?? I'm a student with a pretty simple return, just W-2 and some 1098-T education expenses. Don't need anything fancy but also don't want my info sold until 2031 lol.

This is exactly why I always recommend people check if they're eligible for the IRS's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program before going with any commercial tax software. VITA volunteers are IRS-certified and provide completely free tax preparation with no data sharing, no consent forms, and no upselling. The income eligibility is generally under $64,000, and they can handle most common tax situations including W-2s, 1099s, unemployment, retirement income, and basic credits/deductions. You can find locations near you on the IRS website. I've been volunteering with VITA for 3 years now, and it's frustrating to see how these commercial "free" services prey on people who could get genuinely free help without any strings attached. The quality control is actually better too - every return gets reviewed by a second volunteer before filing. For those who don't qualify for VITA or prefer to do it themselves, definitely stick with the official IRS Free File portal as others have mentioned. Don't let these companies trick you into giving away years of data rights just to file your taxes!

Lucas, I can definitely relate to the stress of waiting for a refund when you have home repairs planned! Your cycle code 20250705 is actually great news - it means your return is actively being processed. Here's the breakdown: - 2025 = Processing fiscal year (Oct 2024-Sept 2025) - 07 = 7th cycle week of processing - 05 = Thursday (IRS counts Monday=01, Tuesday=02, etc.) So your return was processed on Thursday of the 7th cycle week, which is right on schedule for filing two weeks ago electronically. The important thing is that having a cycle code means you're past the initial review stage and into active processing. For most taxpayers with standard deductions like mortgage interest, refunds typically arrive 5-10 business days after the cycle code date appears on the transcript. Since you're planning home repairs, I'd suggest checking your bank account daily and monitoring the "Where's My Refund" tool. Barring any unexpected hold codes appearing on your transcript, you should have your refund in the next week or so - plenty of time to get those repairs scheduled! The waiting is definitely the hardest part, but you're in the home stretch now.

I totally get the anxiety about cycle codes - I was in your exact situation last year when I needed my refund for some urgent plumbing repairs! Your cycle code 20250705 breaks down like this: - 2025 = IRS processing year (fiscal year 2025, which runs Oct 2024-Sept 2025) - 07 = 7th cycle week of processing - 05 = Thursday (IRS uses 01=Monday through 05=Friday) So your return was processed on Thursday of the 7th cycle week, which is actually perfect timing for filing electronically two weeks ago. The really good news is that having a cycle code appear means your return has moved from the waiting queue into active processing - that's honestly the biggest milestone! For homeowners with standard deductions like mortgage interest, most refunds arrive within 5-10 business days after the cycle code date shows up on your transcript. I'd suggest checking "Where's My Refund" daily and keeping an eye on your bank account. Based on your timeline, you should definitely have your refund in time for those home repairs. The waiting is nerve-wracking, but you're basically in the final stretch now!

Check if your state has a whistleblower program for tax issues! In my state, if you report property tax evasion and they end up collecting, you can actually get a percentage of the recovered taxes. I learned about this when reporting a similar situation with a "nonprofit" that was renting out multiple houses.

This is a really important issue that affects property tax fairness for everyone in the community. From what you've described, it sounds like these properties should definitely be paying taxes since they're being used for commercial rental purposes rather than religious activities. One thing to keep in mind is that even if the church is legitimate in other ways, they might not realize they're supposed to pay taxes on these rental properties. Sometimes religious organizations get bad advice or misunderstand the rules. The tax assessor's office can help clarify whether this is an honest mistake or something more problematic. I'd recommend documenting what you can see publicly - like the rental listings, addresses, and any other evidence that these are regular rental properties. The more specific information you can provide to the tax assessor, the better they can investigate. Thanks for looking out for tax fairness in your community!

Great question! I'm in a similar situation with my small business. One thing I'd add to what others have mentioned is to document your decision-making process. I keep a simple spreadsheet showing how I determined my business use percentage - things like "take client calls during work hours," "use for business banking apps," "post inventory photos," etc. Also, since you mentioned you're thinking about using your business credit card - definitely do that! It creates a clean paper trail and makes it obvious this was a business purchase. I learned this the hard way when I mixed personal and business purchases on the same card and had to sort through months of statements later. One last tip: if you're getting a high-end iPhone (like the Pro models), keep the receipt and any documentation about why you chose that specific model for business purposes. Sometimes the IRS questions whether premium features are "necessary" for business use, so having a business justification ready can save headaches later.

Adding to what everyone else has said - make sure you understand the difference between deducting the phone purchase versus the monthly service. The phone itself (especially a new iPhone) is considered equipment and might need to be depreciated over several years unless you elect Section 179 or bonus depreciation to expense it immediately. The monthly service bills, on the other hand, are operating expenses that you can deduct each year based on your business use percentage. Since you're an LLC, you have some flexibility here. If you're planning to expense the phone purchase in full this year (rather than depreciate), make sure your tax preparer knows so they can make the appropriate elections on your return. This is especially important if you're buying a higher-end model that costs over $1,000. Also, I'd recommend taking photos of your current phone setup and any business apps you use - this documentation can help support your business use percentage if questions come up later. Good luck with the RV business!

My wife's name was misspelled on our joint return last year (Maria vs Mariah). We did nothing about it and still got our refund on time with no issues. I think people get way too stressed about minor stuff like this. The IRS has bigger problems than hunting people down over a typo lol.

I actually had the exact same issue with my name last year - Aleksandre vs Alexandre! What a coincidence. I ended up calling the IRS using that Claimyr service someone mentioned earlier (after wasting 2 hours on hold the traditional way first). The agent I spoke with said that as long as the first letter and general structure of the name are the same, and your SSN matches, it typically won't cause processing delays. She did recommend that I make sure my tax preparer uses the correct spelling next year though, because repeated discrepancies over multiple years could potentially flag your account for additional scrutiny. The agent was able to add a note to my file about the spelling variation, which gave me peace of mind. My refund came through right on schedule, so I think you should be fine. But definitely worth getting it on record with them if you can get through!