H&R Block's support isn't great in my experience. I called them last year with a similar issue and waited 1.5 hours just to have them tell me to "try again tomorrow" which didn't solve anything. They just read from scripts and don't have access to the actual state rejection reasons.

That's surprising to hear. I've had decent experiences with their phone support, but I guess it depends on who you get and maybe the time of year. You're right that early April is probably their busiest time so support quality might drop. An alternative is to try their live chat support instead of phone. The wait times are usually much shorter and you can get a transcript of the conversation which is helpful when following their instructions.

I second FreeTaxUSA! Had the exact same issue with H&R Block last year. Their state returns have weird formatting issues sometimes. FreeTaxUSA is super cheap for state returns too (like $15 I think?).

Thanks for this info! We're actually thinking about having kids in the next year or two, so that's really good to know. If we have a child, would I automatically qualify for HOH or are there other requirements I'd need to meet?

You'd still need to meet the other HOH requirements - paying more than half the cost of keeping up the home where your child lives for more than half the year, and being unmarried or considered unmarried. But yes, your child would be a qualifying person, allowing you to file as HOH which would give you better tax rates and a higher standard deduction compared to filing as single. If both you and your girlfriend are the child's parents, only one of you can claim HOH, typically the parent who has the higher adjusted gross income if the child lives with both of you equally.

This is right! I claim my brother as a dependent because he's in college and I support him. Saved me about $500 on my taxes last year. The key is they can't have much income and you have to provide more than half their total support for the year.

Oh wow, I didn't even think about this! She only worked part-time last year and made around $3,500 total. I definitely provided way more than half her support. Does she need to be related to me to claim her as a dependent?

Would this still happen if the two jobs are in different states? I'm considering taking a remote position while keeping my current job, but they're in different states and I'm worried about triggering something like this.

Yes, it would still likely trigger a flag even with jobs in different states. The IRS systems look at the total reported income under your SSN regardless of which states the W2s come from. In fact, having W2s from multiple states might make it even more likely to trigger their identity theft algorithms. For your remote position situation, just be prepared to potentially deal with this verification process. It's not a huge problem, just an extra step. Also be aware you'll need to file state tax returns for both states in most cases, which adds some complexity to your tax situation.

Which software did you use to file? I'm wondering if certain tax software handles multiple W2s better than others to avoid triggering these flags.

Thanks for bringing this up! I am actually already working as a CNA at a hospital that's helping with some tuition reimbursement once I start. Would that change anything about how I should be looking at these expenses? The hospital benefits coordinator mentioned something about "work-related education" but I wasn't sure what she meant.

That definitely opens up more possibilities! Since you're already working in healthcare as a CNA, some of your nursing education expenses might qualify as work-related education expenses if they maintain or improve skills needed in your current employment. The downside is that after the tax law changes in 2018, work-related education expenses are much harder to deduct for employees. However, your tuition reimbursement situation is really important to consider. If your employer is providing tuition assistance, up to $5,250 per year can be excluded from your income if it's part of a qualified educational assistance program. Any amount over that would be taxable unless it qualifies as a working condition fringe benefit.

Wow, that's actually really smart. I'm gonna try that with my dental hygiene program. Did you just talk to the regular financial aid office or did you have to reach someone specific?

Thanks for mentioning this! I didn't even think to check if our employers offer early online access to W-2s. I'll definitely look into that right away. Is there any difference between the electronic version and the paper one that gets mailed out?

The electronic and paper W-2s contain exactly the same information - they're just delivered differently. The electronic version is official and can be used to file your taxes just like the paper copy. The advantage is you typically get access to it 1-2 weeks earlier than waiting for mail delivery. Just log into your company's HR portal or payroll system and look for a tax documents section. Some employers require you to specifically opt-in for electronic W-2 delivery, so check that setting too. If you can't find it, ask your HR department - they'll point you in the right direction.

Yep! Same with my company's fitness subsidy. They reimburse my gym membership but it counts as taxable income that only appears on W-2. Also, if you have company stock or RSUs that vested, those calculations can be super complex and often don't appear accurately on regular pay stubs.