Does anyone know how the IRS even finds these fake businesses? Like, what triggers them to look at someone's return?

Your neighbor is walking into a financial disaster. What he's describing isn't a "brilliant tax strategy" - it's textbook tax fraud that the IRS specifically targets. The IRS has sophisticated algorithms that flag exactly this type of behavior: new LLCs with no real revenue, excessive business deductions that offset W-2 income, and patterns that don't match legitimate business activity. They're especially good at catching "hobby businesses" or shell companies created solely for tax avoidance. The fact that he's openly bragging about it makes it even worse from a legal standpoint. If audited, the IRS will want to see: - Proof of business purpose for every expense - Documentation showing exclusive business use (for home office) - Evidence that meals were actual business meetings - Legitimate business activity generating income Without these, he's looking at owing all the back taxes plus penalties that can range from 20% to 75% of the unpaid amount. In severe cases of willful fraud, there can even be criminal charges. The IRS gives people enough rope to hang themselves with - they'll often let this behavior continue for a few years before striking. When they do audit, they typically go back 3-6 years and scrutinize everything. Your neighbor needs to stop this immediately and consult with a legitimate tax professional to clean up his situation before it gets worse.

I think people are overcomplicating this. Here's the simple truth about Roth IRAs: 1) You earn money at your job 2) That money gets taxed through regular income tax withholding 3) You take some of that already-taxed money and put it in a Roth IRA 4) That's it. No additional "Roth tax" to pay. The whole point of a Roth is that you pay ordinary income tax on the money NOW (which you already do through your regular paycheck withholding or estimated tax payments) so you don't have to pay ANY tax when you withdraw it later. That's why there's no special line on your tax return for "Roth IRA taxes" - it's already built into your regular income tax calculation.

I had this exact same confusion when I first started contributing to my Roth IRA! The key thing that finally clicked for me is that Roth IRAs don't create any NEW taxes - they just use money that's already been taxed. Think of it this way: if you earn $50,000 and put $6,000 into a Roth IRA, you're still paying income tax on that full $50,000. The $6,000 that goes into your Roth is just part of your regular taxable income that happened to end up in a retirement account instead of your checking account. This is totally different from a traditional 401(k) where money comes out of your paycheck BEFORE taxes, reducing your taxable income. With Roth, the money comes from your regular after-tax income. So you haven't missed anything! You've been paying the "Roth tax" all along as part of your normal income taxes. The beautiful part is that now all the growth in that account will be completely tax-free when you retire. No taxes on dividends, capital gains, or withdrawals - that's the trade-off for paying taxes upfront.

There's another important factor to consider: SBTPG's batch processing schedule. They typically transmit funds to banks in specific windows (10am, 2pm, and 6pm Eastern Time are common processing times). If your trace number appeared after today's final batch, it will go in tomorrow's first batch. Also, be aware that SBTPG's system sometimes shows the trace number before they've fully processed your refund - the status should change to "Funded" when it's actually been sent to Chime. This can affect ACH transfer timing significantly.

I'm in a similar situation right now! Got my SBTPG trace number yesterday evening and have been refreshing my Chime account every hour since then. Based on what everyone's saying here, it sounds like I should see the deposit by tomorrow morning at the latest. This is my first time using TurboTax with the refund processing fee option, so I wasn't sure what to expect with the timing. Really helpful to see all these real experiences with the SBTPG → Chime timeline. Fingers crossed we both wake up to good news tomorrow!

For those who have been through this before: Does having the trace number guarantee the money will arrive on the DDD? Here's what I understand so far: Step 1: IRS approves refund (shown on transcript) Step 2: IRS sends money to SBTPG (the "funded" status) Step 3: SBTPG issues trace number Step 4: Money arrives at Chime Is there anything else that could delay it at this point?

Thanks for sharing your timeline - this is really helpful for those of us waiting! I'm in a similar situation with a cycle 05 transcript that updated Friday, but I haven't gotten my trace number yet. SBTPG shows "funded" as of yesterday evening. Quick question: did you have to keep refreshing the SBTPG portal to see the trace number, or did they send you any kind of notification? I'm trying to figure out if I should be checking constantly or if there's a better way to monitor the progress. Also hoping my funds come through soon since I have some urgent expenses coming up too.

Have you tried using the TPG Tax Refund Status page at https://taxpayer.sbtpg.com/login rather than the regular SBTPG portal? Sometimes they have different databases that don't sync properly. Also worth checking the IRS2Go app which sometimes shows different information than the website version of Where's My Refund. If you filed with TurboTax, you should also check your account there as they sometimes have more detailed status information.

I'm dealing with a similar situation right now! Filed 1/28 and got IRS acceptance same day. My WMR tool showed "Refund Approved" on 2/18, but when I check the SBTPG tracker, it says "No records found" no matter what combination of SSN, filing status, or refund amount I try. It's been 6 days since the IRS approval and I'm starting to worry. Has anyone found that calling SBTPG directly actually helps, or do they just tell you the same thing their website says? I'm wondering if I should wait a few more days or start making calls now.