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Ravi Kapoor
Something similar happened to me in 2023. Here's the form you need that nobody tells you about: Form 3911 "Taxpayer Statement Regarding Refund." This officially alerts the IRS that your refund is missing and starts a trace. You can download it from the IRS website. Also try contacting your local Taxpayer Advocate Service office - they can sometimes work miracles when normal channels fail.
Amina Diop
ā¢Thank you for mentioning Form 3911! Is there a waiting period before I should file this, or can I submit it now since it's been over 3 months since I mailed my return?
Ravi Kapoor
ā¢You can file Form 3911 now since it's been more than 8 weeks since you mailed your return. The IRS recomm
Freya Larsen
Just wondering if you filed an extension just in case? Even though you sent your return, if they truly lost it and you have no proof of mailing it (like certified mail), the IRS could potentially hit you with late filing penalties. Might be worth filing Form 4868 for an extension if you haven't already, just to cover yourself.
This is actually bad advice. Filing an extension now would be pointless since we're past the original filing deadline. Extensions have to be filed BEFORE the due date. At this point OP needs to focus on getting the original return processed or filing a duplicate.
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Amina Diop
One thing to consider is taking out a loan to pay the taxes if the interest rate would be lower than IRS penalties. I had a similar issue (owed about $18k) and took out a personal loan at 8.9% to pay it off, which was better than the combined IRS penalties and interest. Credit unions sometimes offer decent rates for this kind of thing, or you might qualify for a 0% intro APR credit card that could buy you 12-15 months to sort things out.
Wouldn't a HELOC be even better if they own a home? The rates are usually much lower than personal loans.
Amina Diop
ā¢Yes, a HELOC would definitely be better if you own a home with sufficient equity. The rates are typically much lower than personal loans, often in the 4-6% range currently. Plus the interest might be tax-deductible if you use it for home improvements (though not for paying taxes). I suggested a personal loan because many traders who get caught in this situation are younger and might not own property yet. But you're absolutely right that a HELOC is a better option if available.
Has anyone mentioned Form 9465? That's the Installment Agreement Request. You can setup a plan for up to 72 months.
Form 9465 is exactly what I used when I owed $15k a few years back. Super straightforward. Just know that if you owe over $10k they'll probably file a tax lien which can affect your credit.
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Maya Diaz
One thing nobody's mentioned yet - if you contributed to a Roth when you were over the income limit, you probably also need to account for any earnings on that excess contribution. The 6% penalty applies to both the excess contribution AND its earnings. Did your custodian provide a breakdown of how much of that recharacterized amount was principal vs. earnings? This might explain why your numbers don't perfectly align.
My custodian did break it down - there were about $78 in earnings on the excess amount. Does that change how I should handle the forms? So confused about why I'm still paying penalties even after doing what I thought was the right thing.
Maya Diaz
ā¢That explains it! When you recharacterize, both the contribution and earnings get moved. But for the 6% penalty calculation, you're still considered to have made an excess contribution until you properly "use up" that contribution amount. You need to either: 1) reduce your 2024 Roth contribution by the $390 excess amount, or 2) remove the $390 from your retirement accounts entirely. The earnings situation is properly handled through the recharacterization, but the "slot" of contribution is what's creating the ongoing penalty. Form 5329 has a specific line where you can claim a "credit" for addressing the prior year's excess. Make sure to complete that for 2024 once you've taken one of these steps, and you'll stop the penalty cycle.
Tami Morgan
Question for people who've dealt with this: Does tax software automatically handle these forms correctly or do we need to manually override things? I'm using H&R Block software and it seems confused by my recharacterization.
Rami Samuels
ā¢In my experience, NO tax software handles Roth recharacterizations correctly, especially when they span multiple tax years. I had to manually override several fields in TurboTax last year. The biggest issue is that the tax software interview questions don't properly distinguish between recharacterization vs conversion, and they don't track your basis correctly across tax years. I'd strongly recommend either getting professional help or at minimum running your completed forms by a tool that specializes in these situations before filing.
Tami Morgan
ā¢Thank you! That's really helpful. I think I'll have to do some manual overrides then. I was worried I was doing something wrong but it sounds like the software itself just doesn't handle these complex situations well.
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One piece of practical advice: if you're a student filing taxes for the first time, I HIGHLY recommend using tax software instead of trying to fill out the actual 1040 form manually. The software asks you simple questions about your situation and fills in the right lines automatically. Most students qualify for free filing through IRS Free File or programs like FreeTaxUSA. They handle education credits and the specific situations students face. Even with just a W-2, trying to figure out which lines are relevant on a paper 1040 is unnecessarily stressful.
Ana Rusula
ā¢Would you recommend any specific free software for students? I tried TurboTax last year but ended up getting charged at the end when it turned out my "simple return" wasn't so simple because of my education credits.
I personally recommend FreeTaxUSA for students. Unlike TurboTax, they don't bait-and-switch you with unexpected charges for education credits or simple deductions. Federal filing is completely free, and state returns are only about $15 if you need them. The IRS Free File program is also good if your income is under $73,000. You can access various free options through the IRS website, and they're required to keep it truly free for qualifying taxpayers. Just be careful to access them through the official IRS.gov site rather than going directly to their websites, as that's how you ensure you get the truly free version.
Fidel Carson
Don't overthink it! For most students, the 1040 is actually super simple. You'll probably only need to fill out: - Your personal info at the top - Line 1 for W-2 wages - Skip most of the other income lines (they'll be zero) - Take the standard deduction on line 12 - Maybe education credits if they apply - Calculate your refund Everything else can be left blank if it doesn't apply to you! Just put zeros or leave blank.
But what about student loan interest? I have loans and heard that's deductible somewhere on the form.
Ezra Collins
i got audited for this exact thing last year. was using my "home office" for both work and gaming/personal stuff. auditor basically said if u check even 1 personal email in there, technically the whole deduction is invalid. ended up owing back taxes plus penalties. my tax guy said the better approach is to just take specific business expense deductions for things like internet, computer, etc. at the business-use percentage instead of the home office deduction. less risky and still gets u some tax benefit without the exclusivity headache.
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Victoria Scott
ā¢Wow that's harsh! Did they actually ask you directly if you ever checked personal email or did other stuff in there? I'm wondering how detailed these audits get and what kind of proof they look for.
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Ezra Collins
ā¢Yeah they straight up asked me if I ever did anything non-business related in the room. when i said yes occasionally, they disallowed the whole thing. they also looked at my internet history and saw both work and personal sites being visited from the same IP during work hours. they didn't have cameras in my house or anything crazy, but they asked specific questions designed to get me to admit to non-exclusive use. they're good at this stuff. better to be honest upfront than get caught in a lie during an audit - that makes everything way worse.
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Benjamin Johnson
Have you considered just partitioning your space? I had a similar issue and my accountant recommended physically dividing the room. I put up a small divider wall and now I have my "business only" area that meets the exclusive use test (about 60% of the room) and my personal area with a separate computer for non-business stuff. IRS Publication 587 doesn't actually require the space to be a separate room - just an "identifiable space." My accountant said this approach is compliant as long as you're very clear about which section is exclusively for business and can demonstrate that with photos and measurements.
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Joshua Wood
ā¢I tried doing this but my tax preparer said it's still risky. How exactly did you document the division? Did you take measurements or photos or something?
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