Is anybody else annoyed that companies do this? They make it sound like they're doing you a favor with relocation and then you get slammed with taxes. My company did the same thing - promised a "fully covered" move and then I ended up owing $5k in taxes. The grossed-up amount never covers the full tax impact!

This is exactly why I always recommend keeping detailed records of any employer-provided relocation benefits throughout the year. The IRS considers most relocation expenses as taxable income, and companies often don't explain this clearly upfront. For your current situation, you'll need to report all income shown on your W-2 - there's no way around that. But here are some steps that might help: 1. Request a detailed breakdown from your employer showing exactly what portion was actual expenses vs. gross-up amount 2. Check if any of the expenses qualify for exclusions (like certain temporary lodging costs) 3. For the underpayment penalty, you may qualify for an exception if your withholding met the safe harbor rules (90% of current year or 100% of prior year tax) 4. Consider filing Form 2210 to request a waiver based on unusual circumstances The key is documenting everything properly. Your employer should have calculated the gross-up to cover the tax impact, but if they used incorrect assumptions about your tax bracket or state taxes, you might have grounds to request additional compensation or a corrected W-2. Don't panic - this is more common than you think, and there are usually ways to minimize the damage if you handle it correctly.

The IRS is so broken this year istg. Everyone I know is having issues with their returns 🤮

This transcript pattern is actually quite common and not something to panic about. The "Head of Household" filing status showing up with blank financial fields is the IRS system's way of maintaining a record structure even when no return data has been processed yet. A few things to check: 1. Verify with TurboTax that your return was successfully transmitted (you should have received a confirmation email) 2. Check if you had any rejection notices that might have been missed 3. Make sure all your personal info (SSN, name, address) matches exactly what the IRS has on file The $0.00 balances everywhere are normal for this situation - it's essentially a placeholder account. If you e-filed recently and it's been less than 21 days, I'd wait a bit longer. The IRS is still catching up from the holidays and early filing season rush. If it's been more than 3 weeks since you got your acceptance confirmation from TurboTax, then definitely call the IRS. But honestly, this looks like a standard "return in processing" transcript to me.

Has anyone else noticed that TurboTax seems to handle the basis calculation differently than H&R Block software? When I had almost this exact same situation last year (contribution then loss before conversion), TurboTax carried forward the basis correctly, but when my brother used H&R Block, it seemed to miscalculate the basis after the loss. Just wondering if others have seen this?

I went through this exact same situation two years ago and it was so confusing at first! Your tax software is correct - that $200 on line 14 of Form 8606 represents your remaining basis in Traditional IRAs that carries forward to future years. Think of it this way: you put $7,000 of after-tax money into the Traditional IRA, but only converted $6,800 worth of value. The IRS recognizes that you still have $200 of "basis" (money you already paid taxes on) that wasn't converted yet. This $200 doesn't disappear - it's like a credit that reduces the taxable portion of any future Traditional IRA distributions or conversions. So if you do another backdoor Roth next year, that $200 will be added to your new contribution for basis calculation purposes. It's actually a small silver lining to the investment loss since it means less taxable income on future conversions. Just make sure to keep good records of your Form 8606 each year so you can track this basis properly!

I'm dealing with something similar right now - filed my amended return in February and have been getting the same "pending processing" runaround for weeks. What's really frustrating is that they can't give you any real timeline or explain what exactly is happening behind the scenes. From what I've gathered from calling multiple times, it seems like amended returns just sit in a massive digital pile until someone gets assigned to review them. The 10-16 week timeframe they quote is basically their way of saying "we have no idea when we'll get to it." I've started keeping a log of every call I make just to track the different responses I get from different representatives - it's amazing how inconsistent the information is!

I can totally relate to your frustration with the "pending processing" status! I went through this exact same thing last year with my amended return. What I learned is that "pending processing" basically means your return passed the initial computer checks but is now waiting in a queue for a human examiner to review it. The IRS processes amended returns in the order they receive them, but they don't assign them to specific examiners until they're ready to work on them. The good news is that if the tax advocate said nothing is wrong, you're likely just waiting your turn in line. I'd suggest checking your online account transcript every few weeks - when they actually start working on it, you'll see new transaction codes appear. Hang in there, the waiting is the hardest part but it does eventually move forward!

Just wondering - does having a SSN from your internships change anything about how you fill out the W8-BEN? I got a social when I worked in the US last summer.

Just to add one more perspective here - don't stress too much about the W8-BEN form. It's actually pretty straightforward once you understand what it's for. The key thing to remember is that this form is specifically about the interest income your bank account generates, not your employment income. Since you're Canadian, you'll definitely benefit from the tax treaty. The US-Canada treaty eliminates withholding on bank interest entirely (0% instead of 30%), so filling out this form will actually save you money on any interest you earn. One thing I'd suggest is to keep a copy of your completed W8-BEN for your records. When you do eventually become a US tax resident (which sounds like it'll happen soon with your full-time move), you'll need to notify your bank and switch to providing them with a W-9 form instead. Having documentation of when you made that transition can be helpful for tax purposes. The form itself is valid for 3 years, but your circumstances are changing, so you'll likely need to update it sooner than that. Good luck with your move!