Don't forget to check state tax rules for clergy housing allowances! Federal excludes it from income tax but includes it for SE tax. But states vary wildly - some follow federal exclusion, others tax it fully, and some have special clergy provisions. In my state of California, the housing allowance is excluded from income for state tax purposes if it qualifies for federal exclusion. But I have a clergy client who moved from Pennsylvania where they DO tax housing allowances. Make sure you know your state rules!

One thing nobody mentioned - make sure your clergy client is aware of the Parsonage Allowance Lawsuit situation. Some court cases have challenged the constitutionality of the housing allowance exclusion as a violation of separation of church and state. The latest case (Gaylor v. Mnuchin) upheld the allowance, but it's been challenged multiple times. Just something to be aware of since this area of tax law could potentially change in future years.

I adjunct at a community college too! For my $500ish biweekly checks, I have them withhold $100 for federal taxes. My spouse and I are in the 22% bracket with our combined incomes, and this has worked out almost perfectly for the past two years. You could try a similar percentage. Just remember that teaching income stacks on top of your other income for tax bracket purposes, so it's getting taxed at your highest marginal rate. Don't make the mistake I made the first year where I only had 10% withheld because I thought that's what the bracket would be if it was my only job!

I'm dealing with a similar situation with my part-time consulting work! One thing that really helped me was using the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator on their website. You can input all your income sources - your full-time job, your spouse's income, and your teaching income - and it will give you a pretty accurate recommendation for additional withholding. Since you're married filing jointly with two full-time incomes plus the teaching gig, you're likely in the 22% or 24% bracket. For your ~$435 biweekly checks, I'd probably start with requesting around $85-95 in federal withholding. You can always adjust it later if needed by submitting a new W-4. The key thing to remember is that this side income is being taxed at your marginal rate since it's "on top of" all your other income. Better to err on the side of slightly overwithholding than getting hit with underpayment penalties!

Something similar happened to me and I was going CRAZY trying to figure out what was wrong with my return. Spent hours researching transcript codes and still couldn't understand why it was delayed. I used taxr.ai and it translated all the IRS gibberish instantly! Showed me exactly why my refund was delayed (had a random review code) and when to expect it. Saved me so much stress - definitely recommend checking it out at https://taxr.ai if you're stuck in limbo like I was.

I'm in a really similar situation! Filed with TurboTax on March 10th, accepted March 11th, and still showing "being processed" on WMR. My transcripts are also showing N/A for 2023. This is so frustrating because I really need that refund for some upcoming bills. It's reassuring to see I'm not the only one dealing with this - the IRS processing times seem all over the place this year. Thanks for posting about this, it helps to know others are in the same boat!

Has anyone tried faxing the IRS? I was in a similar situation last year and ended up faxing a copy of my return with a cover letter explaining that it was previously mailed. I got confirmation they received it within about 2 weeks, and my refund started processing after that. Just make sure to write "DUPLICATE - ORIGINAL MAILED ON [DATE]" on every page.

I went through this exact nightmare two years ago! Here's what finally worked for me: Don't panic about filing twice - the IRS has procedures for handling duplicate returns. What you need to do is file a Form 3911 (Taxpayer Statement Regarding Refund) along with a copy of your original return. This formally starts a trace on your missing return. Since you have the certified mail receipt, you're actually in a strong position. The IRS considers your return timely filed based on the postmark date, even if they can't locate it internally. Make sure to keep that receipt safe! I also recommend sending everything via certified mail again, but this time include a detailed cover letter explaining the situation, your certified mail tracking number from the original filing, and copies of any correspondence you've had with the IRS. One thing that helped me was creating an online account at irs.gov - sometimes the online transcripts show information that phone representatives can't see. It's worth checking your account transcript to see if there's any record of your return being received. The whole process took about 6 weeks for me, but I did get my full refund plus interest for the delay. Hang in there!

Dont forget to check if your state has different capital gains rates than federal! I got burned on this last year - my state treats all capital gains as ordinary income so I ended up paying a higher rate than I expected.

Great thread with lots of helpful info! Just wanted to add one more consideration that saved me some money when I sold land last year - don't forget about selling expenses when calculating your basis. You can add legitimate selling costs like real estate agent commissions, attorney fees, title insurance, transfer taxes, and even advertising costs to your basis. This reduces your taxable gain dollar-for-dollar. In my case, I had about $3,500 in selling expenses that I almost forgot to include. That reduced my capital gain by $3,500, saving me around $525 in taxes (15% federal rate). Make sure you keep all receipts related to the sale - they're deductible against your gain!