Pro tip: if ur cycle code ends in 05, transcripts update thursday night/friday morning. if its 02, wednesday night/thursday morning. But the wmr tool only updates once a day so dont trust that

Same situation here! Filed and accepted on Feb 5th too. I can see my 2023 Account Transcript listed on the IRS site but when I download it, it's just showing my original return info with no updates yet. Based on what others are saying about cycle 05, I'm definitely planning to check Friday morning around 6am EST. The waiting is killing me but at least we're all in this together! 🤞

The IRS phone system has different options depending on your specific issue. What exactly are you trying to resolve? That will determine which number and which menu options are best for your situation.

For what it's worth, I've had success using the callback feature when available. Instead of staying on hold, the system will call you back when an agent is available. It's not always offered, but when it is, it's a lifesaver! Also, if you're dealing with a notice or letter from the IRS, have the notice number ready - it can help the agent pull up your case faster. I learned this the hard way after getting transferred three times because I didn't have all my paperwork organized beforehand.

Has anyone mentioned head of household status yet? That's what you'd probably be filing as now with kids and an unmarried partner. When comparing tax benefits of marriage, make sure you're comparing married filing jointly against head of household (not single), which already gives you some benefits. The marriage benefit might be smaller than if you were filing as single.

Great question! As someone who went through a similar situation, I can confirm there are definitely tax benefits to getting married when one spouse has no income. One thing I'd add to the excellent points already made - make sure you also consider the timing of when you get married. If you get married by December 31st, you're considered married for the entire tax year for IRS purposes. So if you're planning to tie the knot anyway, doing it before year-end could maximize your 2025 tax savings. Also, with three kids, you'll want to look into how the Child and Dependent Care Credit might change. If your girlfriend ever decides to work part-time or go back to work full-time, being married could affect how much you can claim for childcare expenses. The spousal IRA benefit mentioned earlier is huge too - that's potentially $7,000 more you can save for retirement while getting tax benefits. With 15 years together and three kids, it sounds like you're already a family in every way that matters. The tax benefits could just be the cherry on top of making it official!

Has anyone tried the "two jobs" checkbox in Step 2 of the W4? My husband and I both work and I was thinking that might be easier than trying to calculate everything precisely. Would that work for a situation with commission income too?

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is the importance of considering state taxes in your W4 calculations, especially if you live in a high-tax state. The federal W4 estimator is great for federal withholding, but don't forget that commission income can also bump you into higher state tax brackets. In our case (similar situation - dual income with variable bonuses), we found that we needed to increase our state withholding too. Some states have their own withholding calculators, but if yours doesn't, a good rule of thumb is to add your state's top marginal rate as additional withholding on commission income. Also, since you mentioned your commission varies "quite a bit," consider doing a mid-year check-up around July or August. Run the numbers again with your actual year-to-date income and commission, then adjust if needed. This prevents end-of-year surprises and is especially important in years when your commission pattern changes significantly from what you initially estimated.

Just a reminder that if you efile your taxes and then find out that you need to amend, you need to wait until your original return is processed before filing the amendment. You can check the status of your original return on the IRS website with the "Where's My Refund" tool. The confusing part about the 1040-X showing you owe $82 instead of getting a reduced refund is because the amendment only shows the CHANGE from your original return, not the new total refund. So if your original refund was $643 and the corrected refund should be $561, the amendment shows you "owe" $82 because that's the difference.

Something to consider: if the additional W-2 is small enough, you might technically be allowed to just wait and report it next year by filing a form 8275 disclosure statement with next year's return explaining the situation. This is generally only recommended if the additional tax is very minimal (like under $50). That said, the right thing to do is file the amendment. Just want to point out that the tax world won't end if your amendment takes a little time to file. The penalties for a small amount would be minimal if you're getting a refund anyway.