Thank you for this suggestion! I hadn't even thought about checking if they properly renewed the judgment. I'll definitely contact my county clerk tomorrow. Do you happen to know if I need any specific information when I call them? I'm not even sure what the case number would be since I never received the original paperwork.

You'll need to provide your full legal name as it would appear on court documents. Some counties have online systems where you can search by name, while others require you to call or visit in person. They can usually find judgments against you just with your name and possibly your address. If they locate the judgment, ask specifically about renewal filings. The clerk should be able to tell you if and when any renewals were filed. If the original judgment has expired without renewal, get documentation of this to present to both the creditor and the tax authorities.

Not OP but I'm in Florida dealing with similar issues. Would love to know what protections might apply here. I'm on SSDI with about $22k annual income and just got a garnishment notice for a debt from 2014.

But doesn't that social contract idea assume we're getting functional services in return? Have you seen the state of public infrastructure lately? Where is all that money actually going?

I definitely understand that frustration. The quality of public services varies dramatically depending on where you live, and that's a legitimate concern. The issue isn't necessarily the amount of taxes collected but how efficiently they're being used. The reality is that a substantial portion of federal tax dollars goes to things like Social Security, Medicare, defense, and interest on the national debt - not directly visible infrastructure. Local infrastructure like roads and schools depends more on state and local taxes, which is why quality varies so much between different areas.

Be careful with that approach. A friend of mine got too aggressive with deductions and ended up getting audited. The penalties and interest ended up costing more than what he saved. Better to stay within clear guidelines.

3 Wait, seriously? I have an old Traditional IRA with about $30k in it from a 401k rollover years ago. I just did a $6k contribution to a new Traditional IRA and converted it thinking it would be tax-free. Am I going to owe taxes on most of that conversion? Is there any way to fix this after the fact?

8 Unfortunately, yes, you'll likely owe taxes on most of the conversion because of the pro-rata rule. With $30k in existing traditional IRA funds and a new $6k non-deductible contribution, only about 16.7% ($6k/$36k) of any conversion would be tax-free. There's not much you can do to fix it after the conversion has happened, but for future reference, some people with existing traditional IRA balances first roll those into a current employer's 401k (if the plan allows it) to clear the decks before doing backdoor Roth conversions. That way you avoid the pro-rata calculation entirely. But that would have needed to be done before the conversion.

16 I had the same issue! You need to make sure you're properly filling out Form 8606. In FreeTaxUSA, after entering your non-deductible contribution and the conversion, go to "Other Tax Forms" and select Form 8606. Make sure line 2 shows your non-deductible contribution amount, which establishes your basis. The software should then calculate correctly that you don't owe taxes on the conversion.

Aren't there income limits for contributing to Coverdell accounts though? I remember looking into this and there was some cutoff that made me ineligible.

Yes, you're right about the income limits for Coverdell accounts - contributors can't have a modified adjusted gross income above $110,000 for single filers or $220,000 for joint filers. This is a significant limitation compared to 529 plans, which generally don't have income restrictions. A lot of people overlook this requirement and end up with excess contributions that can trigger penalties. It's definitely something to check before going this route.

But wouldn't the mom need to actually claim the daughter as a dependent to get that credit? Sounds like the daughter is OP's dependent, not the grandmother's.

Thanks everyone for the help! I'll definitely look into the Lifetime Learning Credit instead. Did you find the LLC gave you a comparable tax benefit to what you would've gotten with AOTC?

The Lifetime Learning Credit is definitely not as generous as the AOTC. AOTC gives you up to $2,500 credit with up to $1,000 refundable (meaning you can get it even if you don't owe tax). LLC is limited to $2,000 max and it's non-refundable, so you only benefit if you actually owe federal tax. Also, the LLC calculation is only 20% of your qualified education expenses (up to $10,000 in expenses to reach that $2,000 max). Still better than nothing though! And definitely better than claiming AOTC incorrectly and dealing with an audit like I had to.

This is actually a really good point. I had a similar situation where I paid for my last undergrad semester in December but graduated the following May. My tax person said payment date is what determines the tax year for education credits.