Has anyone used appeals after getting a Notice of Deficiency? I know typically you'd go through appeals before getting a NOD, but in my case, the revenue agent went straight to issuing the notice without giving us a chance at appeals.

I've been through a similar situation and wanted to share what worked for us. We received a Notice of Deficiency for $31,000 in disallowed business expenses, and honestly, the 90-day deadline felt overwhelming at first. Here's what I learned: Don't wait to file the Tax Court petition if you believe the IRS is wrong. Filing the petition doesn't mean you're committing to a full trial - it preserves your rights and stops the assessment clock. Many cases get resolved through settlement conferences with IRS Appeals once you're in the Tax Court system. The key is having your documentation organized and a clear argument for why each expense should be allowed. We ended up settling for about 20% of the original assessment without ever going to trial. The IRS Appeals officer was much more reasonable to work with than the original examining agent. Also, consider getting professional help if the amount is significant. The cost of a tax attorney or CPA experienced with Tax Court cases is often worth it when you're dealing with a $24,000+ assessment. They know exactly how to present your case and what Appeals officers are looking for in settlement discussions. Time is your enemy here - use it wisely to build the strongest case possible rather than hoping for a miracle solution that avoids Tax Court entirely.

Has anybody had the situation where supplemental property tax bills arrive YEARS after you bought the property? We just got one from 2022 last month and it made me miss the SALT deduction for that year since I already filed! So annoying.

Great discussion here! One thing I'd add is that if you're close to the $10,000 SALT cap, it might be worth calculating whether bunching your property tax payments could be beneficial. For example, if you're going to be slightly over the cap in both 2023 and 2024, you might consider paying both installments in one year to maximize the deduction in that year, then potentially having more room for other SALT deductions (like state income taxes) in the other year. Also, make sure you're keeping good records of all payment dates and amounts. The IRS can be particular about documentation for property tax deductions, especially with supplemental bills that might not follow the typical payment schedule. I always recommend keeping copies of the cancelled checks or bank statements showing the exact payment dates, since that's what determines which tax year you can claim the deduction.

Don't forget that if your income is under $60,000, you can get your taxes done for FREE through the VITA program (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance). They're specifically trained to help with credits like the EITC and Child Tax Credit. Just Google "VITA site near me" to find locations. This will save you from paying for tax software and they'll make sure you get every credit you qualify for. I've used them for years and they're amazing volunteers who really know their stuff about tax credits for families!

Remember that if your baby was born in 2024, they count as your dependent for the ENTIRE year, even though they weren't here the whole time! This surprises a lot of new parents. You get the full Child Tax Credit and they count for EITC purposes for all of 2024. Also make sure you're getting any state tax credits too! Many states have their own version of EITC that piggybacks off the federal one, so you could get even more money back.

Unrelated but does anybody have experience with getting refunds on EIC when amending? My returns just got accepted with a similar code but I'm concerned about the EIC processing time.

Looking at your transcript, you're actually in pretty good shape! The processing date of March 10th is when your amendment will be fully processed, not when you have to wait until. That second 971 code with "202212" is likely just a system notation - I wouldn't worry about it unless you get a notice. Your account balance of -$8,832 is promising - that negative balance typically indicates what you'll receive as a refund. The $1,300 credit (code 766) is probably just one component of your total refund. Since you're on the daily processing cycle (which is faster than weekly), and your amendment was accepted 2/8, you're looking at roughly 8-12 weeks total processing time. So expect your refund somewhere between early April to early May. Keep checking for code 846 - that's when your refund is officially issued and should hit your account within 3-5 business days after that. The EIC (code 768) is a good sign too - that's additional refundable credit that will be included in your final refund amount. Just be patient, your amendment is moving through the system normally!

Wait until you see cycle code 0605. That's when things start moving!

I had a similar situation last year with an 810 freeze and zero income showing on my transcript. The IRS typically places these holds when there's a mismatch between reported income and refundable credits claimed. Since you're showing $0 AGI but claiming nearly $24K in refunds, they want to verify your eligibility for credits like EITC and CTC. The freeze date being before your processing date is actually normal - the IRS can flag returns for review during initial processing. In my case, the freeze lasted about 8-10 weeks after the processing date. You might get a CP05 notice asking for documentation to support your credits. My advice: gather all your supporting docs (W-2s, 1099s, proof of dependents, etc.) and wait for correspondence. Calling won't speed things up much, but you can check if they need anything specific from you.