23 Just my two cents: make sure you check if your state taxes were also affected! We fixed our federal withholding after a similar situation but completely forgot about state taxes and got hit with another bill the following year. Now we have extra withholding for both federal AND state.

15 I was in almost the exact same situation last year - dual income household, both filed as married filing jointly, and got smacked with an $8,400 bill we weren't prepared for. Here's what we learned: **Payment decision:** We ended up doing a hybrid approach. We paid about 60% immediately to reduce the principal amount that would accrue interest, then set up a 24-month payment plan for the remainder. This kept our emergency fund mostly intact while minimizing the total interest we'd pay. **For next year:** The W-4 redesign in 2020 really helps with this! We used the IRS withholding estimator (it's actually pretty user-friendly) and discovered we needed to add about $180 per paycheck in additional withholding. We split this between both our W-4s - I put an extra $90 on mine, my spouse did the same. **Pro tip:** Run the withholding calculator again mid-year, especially if either of you gets a raise, bonus, or job change. Income changes throughout the year can throw off your projections. The peace of mind from getting this fixed is totally worth the effort. We're actually on track for a small refund this year instead of another surprise bill!

its probably still processing. the system is super backed up rn

Wait, I think there might be some confusion in your post. You mentioned filing your federal return in February 2025, but California shows a refund issued in January 2025 - that timeline doesn't make sense since you can't get a refund processed before you even file! Are you maybe looking at last year's CA refund status by mistake? The state and federal systems are completely separate, so your CA refund status wouldn't affect your federal refund at all. For your federal return, if Where's My Refund is blank, definitely check your actual IRS transcript - that's where you'll see the real processing status. The WMR tool glitches out all the time but your transcript will show exactly what's happening with codes and dates.

Did you get any other codes? Like 570 or 971? Mine updated yesterday. Shows 3/19 DDD. First time filing with foreign income. Wondering if normal timeline.

Your timeline looks completely standard for international filers! I've been through this process several times with my 1040-NR returns. The 3/12 DDD following a Wednesday transcript update is textbook IRS processing. What's encouraging is that you didn't get hit with any verification delays - those can add weeks to the timeline. I usually see my funds arrive either the night before or morning of the DDD, depending on my bank's processing schedule. The fact that your transcript shows the 846 refund issued code means you're in the final stretch. International returns often take longer upfront due to additional verification steps, but once you reach this point, it's smooth sailing to your bank account.

Try 800-829-0582 extension 652. Call exactly at 7:00am EST. Press 1 for English then 2 for tax questions. When asked for SSN, enter it slowly. Don't press anything when asked about forms. Wait through two messages. You'll get a person about 50% of the time. I've gotten through three times using this method.

I'm going through something very similar! Filed on February 15th with solar credits and my transcript has been blank for weeks too. The "still being processed" message on WMR is so frustrating when you're expecting a refund. Reading everyone's experiences here really helps - it sounds like the solar credit forms are just causing normal delays this year. I've been checking my transcript obsessively but maybe I should just be more patient. Has anyone found that calling multiple times actually helped speed up the process, or did your returns just eventually process on their own timeline regardless?

Just want to add that I consulted with a real estate-specific CPA, and they said most people focusing on business entities are missing the biggest tax advantage: doing a 1031 exchange to defer capital gains when selling. I've done this twice now to upgrade from smaller to larger properties without paying taxes on the appreciation. Saved well over $70k in taxes so far.

This is such a helpful thread! I'm in a similar situation with two rental properties and have been wondering about the same thing. Based on what everyone's shared, it sounds like the business entity route might not be the magic bullet I was hoping for, especially since I'm probably not at the income level where S-corp election would make sense. I'm really intrigued by the cost segregation and missed deduction strategies that @Butch Sledgehammer and @Freya Ross mentioned. I've been doing my own taxes with TurboTax, but it sounds like I might be leaving money on the table by not having a more detailed analysis done. The 1031 exchange info from @Elin Robinson is also really valuable - I hadn't considered that as part of my overall tax strategy, but it makes sense to think long-term about how to defer gains when upgrading properties. Thanks to everyone for sharing their real experiences rather than just theoretical advice!