I completed my verification on February 17th this year, and like your boyfriend, the notification disappeared almost immediately. My return was fully processed and the refund hit my account on March 4th. The system seems to be working much better this year than in previous tax seasons. If he verified through ID.me (which is what the IRS uses), and that verification was accepted, you should be in good shape for summer tuition planning.

As someone who went through identity verification last year, I can relate to the anxiety! The quick disappearance of the notification is definitely promising. In my experience, the IRS system has become much more efficient - when verification goes smoothly, it really does process that fast. One thing I'd suggest is setting up an IRS account online if your boyfriend hasn't already. You can check his account transcript there, which updates more frequently than Where's My Refund and gives you a clearer picture of what's happening behind the scenes. The transcript will show codes that indicate where his return is in the process. Also, just to manage expectations for summer tuition - even with successful verification, refunds can still take 3-6 weeks to process completely. It might be worth having a backup plan just in case, but based on what you've described, things sound like they're moving in the right direction!

Watch out for the quarterly estimated tax payments if your trading is profitable! I got hit with an underpayment penalty last year cause I didn't realize I needed to make payments throughout the year on my trading gains. The Fidelity dashboard shows YTD figures but doesn't remind you about this requirement.

Based on your numbers, you're looking at about $800 in net short-term capital gains ($2,300 - $1,500), which will be taxed at your ordinary income rate. The Fidelity YTD dashboard is generally reliable for tracking realized gains/losses. A few key things to consider: First, make sure you understand wash sale rules - if you've been buying back the same or substantially identical securities within 30 days of selling at a loss, some of those losses might be disallowed. Second, consider whether you need to make estimated quarterly tax payments. If you'll owe more than $1,000 in additional taxes and your current withholding doesn't cover at least 90% of this year's tax liability (or 100% of last year's), you might need to pay quarterly. For someone in your situation with relatively modest gains, setting aside 20-25% of your net gains is usually a safe approach, but the exact amount depends on your total income and tax bracket. Given the complexity of trading taxes, especially with frequent transactions, it might be worth consulting with a tax professional or using specialized tax software that can handle investment activities properly.

I'm confused about whether the answer to the TurboTax question affects anything in the actual tax forms that get submitted to the IRS. Does answering "yes" to their question about prior disaster distributions actually show up anywhere on your final tax return?

I just went through this exact same scenario with my 2023 taxes! I had a COVID-related disaster distribution in 2020 and used the 3-year spread option. TurboTax kept asking about prior disaster distributions and I was worried I'd mess something up. What helped me was understanding that the question is really just TurboTax trying to figure out if there are any ongoing tax implications from previous distributions. Since you've already completed your 3-year reporting cycle (2020-2022), there's nothing more to report for that specific distribution. I ended up answering "yes" to the question, and TurboTax walked me through a few follow-up questions but ultimately didn't generate any additional forms for 2023. The software is smart enough to recognize when you've completed the reporting requirements. One tip: keep copies of your 2020-2022 returns with the 8915-E and 8915-F forms handy in case you need to reference the amounts you previously reported. It gave me peace of mind to double-check that everything added up correctly across the three years.

Don't forget to check your state tax rules too! Some states have more generous casualty loss provisions than federal, especially for declared disasters. In my state, we were able to deduct 100% of our hurricane losses on our state return even though we couldn't on the federal return because of the AGI limitation. Saved us about $300 on state taxes.

I went through this exact same situation with my fence after Hurricane Ian a couple years ago. One thing that really helped me was documenting the original installation cost and age of the fence - the IRS agent I spoke with said this was crucial for calculating the basis. Since you paid $3,900 for replacement and didn't file insurance, make sure you keep those contractor receipts. Also, if you can find any records of what you originally paid for the fence installation, that will help with the fair market value calculations Sofia mentioned. The federally declared disaster area status is definitely beneficial - it gives you that option to amend last year's return if it results in a bigger refund. I ended up doing that and got money back within about 8 weeks, which was much faster than waiting for this year's filing season. Just make sure to write "Hurricane Milton" on your return so the IRS knows it's disaster-related.

I completely understand your stress about waiting for mail! As someone who's been through this exact situation, let me reassure you - if you e-filed and selected direct deposit, you most likely won't receive ANY mail from the IRS unless there's an issue with your return. The IRS stopped sending routine acknowledgment letters for e-filed returns back in 2021. Your best bet is to check the "Where's My Refund" tool on the IRS website (it's completely free) rather than obsessively checking your mailbox. I filed around the same time as you last year and got my refund deposited without ever receiving a single piece of mail. The tool will show you exactly where your return is in the process and give you a timeline for when to expect your refund. Save yourself the daily mailbox anxiety - the online tool is way more reliable than waiting for correspondence that probably isn't coming!

I totally get the mailbox-checking anxiety! I went through this same exact situation when I filed in January last year. Here's what I learned: if you e-filed with direct deposit, you're probably not getting any mail at all unless there's a problem. The IRS basically went paperless for routine stuff a few years ago. Instead of driving yourself crazy checking the mailbox, use the "Where's My Refund" tool on the IRS website - it's free and way more accurate than waiting for mail that's probably never coming. I checked mine obsessively every morning until my refund hit my bank account with zero mail correspondence. The tool will tell you if there are any issues or delays, and honestly it's much faster than waiting weeks for a letter. Your January 22nd filing date means you're right in that 21-day processing window, so hopefully you'll see movement on the tool soon!