Something else to consider - you mentioned your trip is 4-6 months long. The IRS has specific rules about deducting expenses for travel away from your "tax home" that lasts longer than a year (they generally don't allow it), but shorter trips can qualify if they meet certain criteria. Look into the "temporary vs. indefinite" assignment rules. Since your trip is under a year, it could qualify as temporary, which is more favorable for deductions. BUT you have to demonstrate a clear business purpose. The fact that you're also generating income from car rentals and credit card tradelines during this time actually helps your case that this is a legitimate business endeavor and not just a vacation.

One practical tip that might help establish business legitimacy - consider setting up a separate business bank account and credit card for all your blog-related expenses before you leave. This creates a clear paper trail and demonstrates you're treating this as a real business venture, not just a personal trip with some content creation on the side. Also, since you're planning to monetize through multiple channels (blog, YouTube, affiliate marketing presumably), document your monetization strategy early. Create accounts with affiliate programs, ad networks, or sponsorship platforms before your trip begins. Even if you don't earn much initially, having these business relationships established shows genuine commercial intent. The IRS likes to see that you're operating like other businesses in your industry. Research what successful travel bloggers do - many start building their audience and revenue streams months before their major trips. Consider publishing some local content first to establish your business operations, then your international travel becomes a business expansion rather than the entire foundation of your venture.

Make sure you're tracking all your qualified education expenses carefully for next year too. Things like required books, supplies, and equipment count toward your education credits even if you don't pay them directly to the school. I learned this the hard way after missing out on claiming about $1,200 in textbooks and required software for my program. I use TurboTax and they have a feature where you can upload receipts throughout the year so you don't have to scramble to find everything at tax time. I imagine other tax software has similar features.

I'm so sorry to hear about your son's hospital stay - that must have been incredibly stressful on top of everything else you're dealing with. As others have mentioned, you can definitely still claim education credits by filing an amended return with Form 1040-X. One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is that you should also look into whether any of those medical expenses are deductible. Medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income can be deducted, and with a hospital stay that could potentially add up to significant savings. This would include things like travel to/from the hospital, parking fees, meals during extended stays, and of course all the medical bills themselves. Since you're dealing with both education expenses AND substantial medical bills in the same year, it's worth making sure you're capturing everything you're entitled to. The combination of the Lifetime Learning Credit plus potential medical deductions could really help offset those hospital costs. Hang in there - being a parent and a doctoral student is tough enough without added medical stress!

From what I've gathered from this community, the timeline seems to average around 3-4 weeks after verification, but can definitely vary. Have you checked your account transcript for any updates yet? Are you planning to call if it goes beyond a certain timeframe? Many people here recommend checking transcripts rather than WMR for the most accurate updates.

Congrats on getting through the in-person verification! That 47-minute wait sounds pretty typical from what I've seen others report here. Based on the experiences shared in this thread, it looks like you're looking at roughly 2-6 weeks for your account to update after verification. The range seems pretty wide depending on your return complexity. Since you mentioned needing to plan your budget precisely for the semester, I'd probably plan for the longer end (4-6 weeks) just to be safe, especially if you have any credits like EIC or education credits that might add processing time. Keep checking your transcript weekly - that tends to update before WMR shows any movement. The waiting is definitely the hardest part, but you've cleared the biggest hurdle by completing the verification!

This is exactly why I keep detailed gambling logs even for casual play. I learned the hard way a few years ago when I got hit with a similar situation - had about $8k in reported winnings but was actually down for the year. The key thing that saved me was having contemporaneous records. I started keeping a simple spreadsheet tracking every session: date, site/casino, amount deposited, amount withdrawn, and net result. Takes maybe 30 seconds after each session but it's bulletproof documentation. For your situation, try to reconstruct as much as you can. Print out your complete PayPal transaction history and bank statements. Highlight every gambling-related deposit and withdrawal. Create a timeline showing the flow of money. Even if it's not perfect, showing a clear pattern of more money going out than coming in will help your case. Also consider getting a tax professional involved if the amount is significant. They know exactly how to present this documentation to the IRS in a way that's most likely to be accepted. The $24k they're claiming you owe is probably worth spending a few hundred on professional help.

One thing that might help strengthen your case is to request your complete account history directly from the online casino/gambling site. Most legitimate platforms are required to maintain detailed transaction records and can provide you with a comprehensive report showing every deposit, withdrawal, bet placed, and outcome. Contact their customer service and specifically ask for a "complete gaming history report" or "transaction summary" for 2024. This should include timestamps, bet amounts, game types, and results. Some sites can export this data in spreadsheet format which makes it easier to analyze. If they claim they don't have this data or won't provide it, get that refusal in writing. The IRS understands that some gambling operations don't maintain or share detailed records, so documented efforts to obtain records can actually help your case even if you're unsuccessful. Also, don't overlook credit card statements if you funded your gambling through cards. These create an additional paper trail showing money going to gambling sites that can corroborate your bank statement deposits. The more documentation you can piece together showing the full picture of money in vs money out, the stronger your position will be.

yall need to stop freaking out about every little code... its normal processing stuff happens every year

Just went through this exact same thing! Had 570/971 codes appear right after ID verification and was panicking. Turns out it's totally normal - the 570 is just a processing hold while they finish reviewing everything after you verified your identity. Mine cleared after about 10 days and refund came through. Hang in there, you're almost at the finish line! 🤞