Don't forget about the wash sale rule if you're trying to do tax loss harvesting! If you sell investments at a loss and buy "substantially identical" securities within 30 days before or after the sale, you can't claim the loss for tax purposes.

Great question about ESPP gains and tax loss harvesting! Yes, you can definitely use your regular brokerage losses to offset ESPP capital gains - the IRS treats all capital gains and losses the same regardless of source. However, make sure you're calculating your ESPP gains correctly. With a 15% discount and immediate sale after the holding period, you likely have both ordinary income (the discount portion that should appear on your W-2) and capital gains/losses (any price movement from purchase to sale). Only the capital gains portion can be offset by your other investment losses. Since you have $11,000 in losses versus $8,400 in ESPP gains, you should be able to fully offset those gains and still have $2,600 in losses to carry forward or offset other gains. Just watch out for the wash sale rule if any of your losses involve the same company stock as your ESPP!

I feel your pain - I'm in almost the exact same situation! Filed in late January and been stuck on "Return Received" with Topic 152 for over 2 months now. The daily checking becomes an obsession when you're waiting on money you need. One thing I learned is that Topic 152 basically means "we're processing but it's taking longer than usual" - not very helpful but at least it's not an error. The identity verification you already did was probably the right step. Have you tried calling the refund hotline at 800-829-1954? I know @Tyrone Johnson mentioned calling - I've had mixed luck but sometimes if you call right when they open (7am) you might get through. The automated system can sometimes give you a more specific timeline than the WMR tool. Hang in there - from what I've seen in other threads, most people with similar delays from January eventually get their refunds, it just takes way longer than it should. The IRS processing times have been brutal this year.

I'm dealing with the exact same nightmare - filed January 15th and still stuck on "Return Received" with Topic 152. It's now been over 3 months which is absolutely ridiculous. What's really frustrating is that the IRS website acts like 21 days is the normal processing time, but then you get trapped in this black hole where they just say "delayed beyond normal timeframe" with zero explanation of what that actually means or when it might resolve. I've seen some people say that once you hit the 120+ day mark, you can request a payment trace, but honestly at this point I'm losing faith that the IRS even knows where our returns are. The fact that @Klaus Schmidt has been waiting 5 months is terrifying. Has anyone had any luck with contacting their local Taxpayer Advocate Service? I'm thinking about reaching out to them since regular customer service seems useless. This whole situation is making me seriously consider hiring a tax professional next year just to avoid this mess.

Quick question - I'm in a similar boat and wondering if I should just use TurboTax or something to catch up on my unfiled years? Anyone tried that route?

I went through this exact situation last year - 7 unfiled returns! After reading all the advice here, I ended up going with an Enrolled Agent and it was absolutely the right choice. Here's what I learned: the main advantage of an EA isn't just filing the returns, it's dealing with all the complications that come with being behind. When the IRS started sending me notices about penalties and interest, my EA handled all of that correspondence. She also knew exactly which forms to use for prior year filings and caught several issues that would have caused problems later. The cost was higher than a regular preparer (about $300 per return vs $150), but she saved me way more than that in penalties she got waived. Plus, she set up a payment plan for the taxes I owed, which I had no idea I could even do. My advice: definitely go with an EA for multiple unfiled years. The peace of mind alone is worth it when you're dealing with the IRS on back taxes.

Great question! I went through this same confusion a couple years ago. You're right to be careful about double-reporting. When you use Form 8814 to report your child's investment income on your return, you do NOT need to report those same dividends as nominee dividends on Schedule B. The key thing to understand is that Form 8814 is specifically designed to handle this situation. By filing Form 8814, you're making an election to include your child's unearned income on your return instead of filing a separate return for them. This means those dividends essentially become "your" income for tax purposes. Nominee dividends on Schedule B are only used when you receive income that belongs to someone else AND you're not including that person's income on your tax return. Since you're using Form 8814, you ARE including your daughter's income on your return, so the nominee dividend treatment doesn't apply. Just make sure you have all the dividend statements that show your daughter as the recipient, and report those amounts correctly on Form 8814. The IRS will match up the 1099-DIV forms with what you report on Form 8814. With $230 in dividends, you're well under the $1,150 threshold where it would start affecting your taxes, so this should be pretty straightforward once you get Form 8814 filled out correctly!

I had a similar situation last year with my 12-year-old son's investment account. One thing I learned that might help - make sure you keep good records of which 1099-DIV forms belong to your daughter versus any that might be in your name. The IRS computer matching system will flag any discrepancies if a 1099-DIV shows your daughter as the recipient but you don't properly account for it. Also, since this is your first year dealing with this, you might want to consider whether Form 8814 is actually the best choice going forward. While it's simpler for small amounts like $230, if your daughter's investment account grows significantly over the years, you might eventually want to file a separate return for her to avoid the "kiddie tax" rules that kick in at higher income levels. For now though, Form 8814 is definitely the right approach, and you're correct that you don't need nominee dividend reporting on Schedule B. Just make sure you attach Form 8814 to your return when you file!

I went through this exact same nightmare last year and want to share what finally worked for me. After my first submission disappeared into the IRS black hole, I took a multi-pronged approach: 1. Used certified mail with return receipt for my second submission (as others mentioned) 2. Called the Taxpayer Advocate Service after 20 weeks of waiting - they were incredibly helpful and actually located my original submission stuck in processing 3. Made sure I had ALL required documents: Form 843, Form 8843, copy of I-94, visa pages, I-20/DS-2019, employer letter confirming FICA withholding, and university letter confirming F-1 status The key thing the Taxpayer Advocate told me was that FICA refunds for nonresident aliens go through a manual review process that's completely separate from regular refunds, which is why it takes so much longer. They also confirmed that having duplicate submissions won't hurt you - they'll just process whichever one they find first. My refund ($2,850) finally came through about 6 weeks after the Taxpayer Advocate got involved. Don't give up - this money is rightfully yours and they will eventually process it correctly!

I'm dealing with a similar situation right now - been waiting 14 weeks for my FICA reimbursement as an F-1 student on OPT. Reading through all these experiences is both reassuring and frustrating at the same time! Based on what everyone has shared, it sounds like the key steps are: 1) resubmit with certified mail and proper documentation (Form 843, Form 8843, I-94, etc.), 2) contact Taxpayer Advocate Service after 20+ weeks, and 3) be prepared for this to take much longer than regular tax refunds due to manual processing. One question for those who've been successful - did any of you have issues because your employer continued withholding FICA taxes even after you submitted your exemption paperwork to HR? My employer says they "can't change the system mid-year" but I'm worried this ongoing withholding might complicate my reimbursement request for the taxes already taken out. Should I be filing for multiple periods or just wait until the end of my OPT to request everything at once?