Trust assets only avoid the 9-month estate tax filing if they're in an irrevocable trust established well before death. If your dad had a revocable living trust (the most common kind), those assets are still considered part of his taxable estate. But with $850k total value, you're nowhere near the federal filing threshold anyway.

I'm sorry for your loss, Lucas. Dealing with estate matters during grief is incredibly challenging. Based on what you've shared, with an $850,000 estate value, you're well below the federal estate tax filing threshold of $13.61 million for 2025, so you likely won't need to file Form 706. However, don't overlook these important steps: 1) File your father's final income tax return (Form 1040) for 2025 by April 15, 2026, 2) If the estate generates any income after his death, you may need to file Form 1041, and 3) Even though you're in Texas (no state estate tax), you'll still need to handle property transfers through the county. Regarding the trust - if it's a revocable living trust (most common), the assets are still considered part of his estate for tax purposes, but the trust should help you avoid probate proceedings. Make sure all assets were properly titled to the trust before his passing, as any assets not in the trust may need to go through probate. Consider consulting with a probate attorney for at least one session to ensure you're handling everything correctly - it could save you significant headaches later.

I've been tracking my own transcripts for the past few tax seasons and here's what I've noticed: while the IRS technically updates daily, there are definitely patterns. Most significant movements (like refund approvals, cycle codes changing) tend to happen overnight Wednesday-Thursday and Friday-Saturday. But smaller updates like processing acknowledgments can pop up any day. My advice? Check Thursday mornings and Saturday mornings for the big stuff, but don't stress about checking daily - you'll just drive yourself crazy like the rest of us have! 😅

As someone who's been through this waiting game multiple times, I can tell you the daily checking becomes an obsession real quick! The IRS system does update daily, but like others mentioned, the major processing batches usually hit Wednesday night/Thursday morning and Friday night/Saturday morning. I've found that checking first thing Thursday and Saturday mornings gives you the best chance of seeing actual movement. That said, I've also seen random updates on Tuesdays and Mondays, so there's always exceptions. My sanity-saving tip: set specific check times instead of randomly throughout the day. Maybe Thursday 6am and Saturday 6am, then try to forget about it the rest of the time (easier said than done, I know!). The transcript will update when it updates, regardless of how many times we refresh that page! 😅

Just to add on to what others have said - the 2025 W4 doesn't even have allowances anymore like the old form did. It's structured completely differently now. You need to fill out the multiple jobs worksheet if you have more than one job, or the deductions worksheet if you have a lot of deductions. The form is actually easier to use now but claiming exempt still has the same requirements - you need to have had NO tax liability last year and expect NONE this year. At $68k, you definitely don't qualify.

Hey Miguel! I was in almost the exact same situation as you - making around $70k, getting huge refunds, and wanting more money in my paychecks. Definitely don't claim exempt though - that's only for people who literally owe zero taxes, which definitely isn't the case at your income level. What worked for me was using the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator (it's free on irs.gov) to figure out exactly how to fill out my W4. Since you're single with no kids and just have student loans, it should be pretty straightforward. You'll probably want to claim the standard deduction and maybe add your student loan interest deduction if you pay interest on those loans. The key is using Step 4 on the W4 - you can reduce your withholding there without going all the way to exempt. I ended up putting about $2,000 in the deductions section (Step 4b) which increased my take-home by about $150 per paycheck. Still got a small refund of around $400 instead of the $3,000+ I was getting before. Just be conservative with your first attempt - you can always adjust it again if needed!

Quick question - if my HSA contributions for 2024 were $3,850 (the max for individual coverage), do I still need to file Form 8889 even though I don't need to claim any deduction on my 1040? Seems like extra paperwork for no reason.

This is such a common source of confusion! I went through the exact same thing last year. The key insight that helped me was understanding that HSA contributions through payroll are "pre-tax" - meaning they never show up in your taxable income in the first place. So when you look at your W-2, Box 1 (wages) already has your HSA contributions subtracted out. Form 8889 is still required to report all HSA activity to the IRS, but you won't claim an additional deduction for payroll contributions since they're already tax-free. Only direct contributions (made outside of payroll) get claimed as an adjustment to income on your 1040. For your situation with $1,300 employer contribution and $2,400 payroll deduction - the employer contribution was never your taxable income to begin with, and your $2,400 should already be excluded from your W-2 wages. Double-check Box 12 on your W-2 - it should show your total HSA contributions with code "W".

Make sure you check if any part of that severance was designated as a "supplemental wage" - things like severance are sometimes withheld at a flat 22% federal rate, which might not be enough depending on your tax bracket. I got hit with a surprise tax bill because of this! Also, did they give you any outplacement services or career counseling as part of the package? Those can be non-taxable benefits if structured properly.

One thing that might help put your mind at ease is to run a quick tax projection now rather than waiting until filing season. Since you have both W-2s already, you can estimate your total tax liability and see if you're on track or need to make adjustments. If you find out you're significantly under-withheld, you might want to consider making an estimated tax payment before the end of the year to avoid underpayment penalties. The IRS generally wants you to pay at least 90% of your current year tax liability or 100% of last year's (110% if your prior year AGI was over $150k). Also, since you got rehired at the same company, double-check that they didn't accidentally combine your severance with regular wages on your main W-2. Sometimes payroll systems can get confused when there's a termination followed by a rehire, and you want to make sure everything is reported correctly.