Has anyone ever had any luck contacting their state's DMV to expedite a driver's license for tax purposes? My brother was in a similar situation last year but in California, and they actually were able to help him get a temporary digital ID that worked with ID.me when he explained it was for tax filing purposes.

I went through almost the exact same situation two years ago! The ID.me verification process is absolutely terrible, especially when you're dealing with DMV delays. Here's what ultimately worked for me: If you filed electronically last year and can remember ANY details about your return (like your refund amount or if you owed money), try calling your tax software company directly. I called TurboTax's customer service line and they were able to help me recover my account using my SSN and some basic info about my previous return. They have better recovery options than just the standard "forgot password" flow on their website. Also, if you have any bank statements from around the time you received your tax refund last year, that can help you narrow down which email account you used for filing. Most people use the same email that's linked to their bank account. One more tip - if you're really stuck and need to file today, you can always file a paper return instead. Paper returns don't require the prior year AGI verification, though they take much longer to process. But at least you'd be filing on time and avoid penalties. The whole system is frustrating beyond belief, but don't give up! There are usually more options than it initially seems.

Does anyone know if I need to be concerned about FATCA if I temporarily lived abroad last year but my bank accounts are all US-based? My bank sent me a 1099-INT with the FATCA box checked but I'm not sure if my situation is different since I was physically outside the US for part of the year.

Hey Daniel! I totally understand your confusion - I went through the exact same panic when I first saw that FATCA box checked on my 1099-INT from my Chase savings account. It's one of those things that sounds way scarier than it actually is. The key thing to remember is that FATCA reporting requirements are on the BANK, not on you as the account holder. When Ally Bank checks that FATCA box, they're basically just telling the IRS "we've done our job reporting this account information as required by law." It has nothing to do with you having foreign accounts or needing to file additional paperwork. For your regular US savings account with $750 in interest, you just report it as normal interest income on your tax return. Don't let TurboTax's foreign account questions confuse you - if you don't actually have accounts outside the US, you answer "no" to those questions regardless of what boxes are checked on your 1099-INT. The whole FATCA system was designed to catch people hiding money offshore, but it creates these confusing notifications for regular taxpayers who have done nothing wrong. You're not going to trigger an audit just because of this checkbox!

Has anyone else noticed that tax preparers are getting shadier every year? Last time I used one, they "accidentally" checked the box to take their fee from my refund even though I paid cash upfront. When I questioned it they acted like it was a small mistake that wouldn't affect anything. Found out later they get kickbacks from the bank that processes those transactions.

I'm really sorry you're dealing with this situation. Based on what you've described, this definitely sounds like an unauthorized refund transfer product was used without your knowledge or consent. Since you paid upfront in cash, there was absolutely no legitimate reason for your preparer to route your refund through a third-party account. Here's what I'd recommend doing immediately: 1. Call the IRS at 800-829-1040 and request a "refund trace" - this will track exactly where your money went and can help recover it if it's sitting in a third-party account. 2. Get a copy of your tax transcript from the IRS (it's free) so you can see exactly what was filed under your name and what account information was used. 3. File Form 14157 with the IRS to report the preparer for potentially fraudulent practices. Even given her health situation, what happened to you was not ethical or legal. The fact that she changed your banking information without explanation and you haven't received your refund after 3 months is a major red flag. Don't feel bad about pursuing this - you deserve to get your money back and prevent this from happening to other taxpayers. The IRS takes these complaints seriously and has processes in place to help victims of preparer fraud.

Make sure you're also documenting this for next year's taxes. If you don't recover anything from this loss, you might still have tax implications going forward. For example, if you ever do recover any money (either through insurance, legal action, or even if the authorities manage to recover any funds), that recovery would typically be taxable in the year received unless you didn't get a tax benefit from the loss. Also, depending on how much you initially invested versus your reported losses, you might need to deal with "phantom income" issues if you ever claimed any gains from these fake investments on previous tax returns.

I'm so sorry you're going through this - losing that much money to a scam is absolutely devastating. Beyond the tax implications others have mentioned, I'd also recommend checking if you qualify for any victim assistance programs. The FTC has resources for fraud victims, and some states have victim compensation funds that might help with recovery costs. Also, make sure you're working with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) if you haven't already. They've been more successful lately at tracking down crypto scammers, especially when there are multiple victims of the same scheme. Sometimes they can freeze assets or work with exchanges to recover funds. For the tax side, definitely keep every single piece of documentation - not just the obvious stuff like bank statements, but also things like your phone records showing when calls were made, any emails about the "investment platform," and screenshots of your research into the company (if you did any). The IRS will want to see evidence that you performed due diligence as a reasonable investor would, which helps distinguish this from just a bad investment decision. One more thing - if you used credit cards for any of the transfers, contact those companies immediately. Some credit card companies have fraud protection that might cover at least some of the losses, especially if you can demonstrate you were deceived about what you were purchasing.

One thing nobody mentioned - your age might actually be an advantage here. If you're buying these tools early in your career, you'll get many years of use out of them. Also, check if your company has any kind of tool reimbursement program that you might not know about. Mine had a $500/year tool allowance that I didn't even realize existed for my first two years!

Hey Diego! Great question and smart thinking getting this figured out early in your career. Just wanted to add something that might help with your situation specifically as a younger driver. Since you mentioned you're not even 21 yet, you're probably in a lower tax bracket, which means the value of these deductions might be less than for someone earning more. But don't let that discourage you - investing in quality tools now is still smart for your career. One thing to consider: if your employer classifies you as an independent contractor rather than an employee, the rules change completely. As a 1099 contractor, you'd deduct tools on Schedule C as business expenses, which is much more favorable than the employee expense rules others mentioned. You wouldn't need to worry about the 2% AGI floor or itemizing vs standard deduction. Also, keep photos of your tools with serial numbers and store them somewhere safe (cloud storage). If they get stolen from your truck, you'll need proof for insurance AND to show the IRS you actually owned them. Truck stops aren't exactly known for being theft-free! Quality tools are definitely worth the investment in this industry - they'll pay for themselves in avoiding downtime and costly roadside repairs.