When I got my confirmation required letter, it was because someone had attempted to file a return using my name and SSN, but the IRS caught it as suspicious. This identity verification process is how they confirmed I wasn't the one who filed that return. You might want to check your credit reports and put a freeze on them just in case.

I went through this exact same process last year and can confirm it's legitimate - the IRS has really ramped up these identity verification letters due to increased fraud attempts. A few key things that helped me: First, definitely verify the phone number independently through irs.gov as others mentioned. Second, have your complete tax return, prior year return, and a government-issued ID ready when you call. They asked me about specific line items from my current return, my previous address, filing status, and exact refund amount. The whole call took about 25 minutes including hold time. The agent was professional and explained that my return had been flagged for routine verification - nothing I did wrong. After verification, they released my refund processing within 2-3 business days. One tip: call early in the morning (right when they open) for shorter wait times. And don't worry too much - this is becoming pretty standard procedure to protect taxpayers from identity theft.

Does anyone know which tax software handles this situation best? I'm using TurboTax and it keeps asking me to input a 1099-K that I don't have...

You're absolutely right to be proactive about this! I had the same concern with my online sales last year. The IRS actually expects you to report ALL income regardless of whether you receive a 1099 - it's your legal obligation whether the form shows up or not. Since you have your sales records from Shopify, you're in great shape. Just report your gross income on Schedule C and deduct any legitimate business expenses (Shopify fees, advertising, materials, etc.). The 1099 threshold confusion this year means many people are in your exact situation, and the IRS is well aware of it. One tip: save screenshots of your Shopify dashboard showing your total sales for the year. This creates a paper trail in case you ever need to prove your income reporting was accurate. Don't let the missing 1099 delay your filing - you've got everything you need to file correctly right now!

Don't forget about state taxes too! Federal is only part of the equation. Some states tax capital gains at the same rate as ordinary income, while others have special rates or exemptions. I sold SPP shares last year and was surprised that my state (California) wanted a bigger cut than I expected. The discount portion was fully taxable as regular income at both federal and state levels.

Great thread everyone! As someone who just went through this process, I wanted to add a few practical tips that helped me: 1. **Keep meticulous records from day one** - Don't wait until tax time to organize your SPP transactions. I created a simple spreadsheet tracking each purchase with columns for: date, shares purchased, price paid, fair market value that day, and discount received. 2. **Check if your broker provides tax documents** - Some SPP administrators will send you supplemental tax forms (like Form 3922 for qualified plans) that show the discount amounts. This makes reporting much easier than trying to calculate everything manually. 3. **Consider tax-loss harvesting** - If you have other investments with losses, you might be able to offset some of the gains from your SPP sales. Just be aware of wash sale rules if you're buying and selling similar stocks. 4. **Plan your sales strategically** - Since you mentioned needing money for a house down payment next year, consider selling your longest-held shares first to take advantage of long-term capital gains rates, and maybe spread the sales across tax years if it makes sense for your bracket. The complexity is real, but once you understand the basics it becomes much more manageable. Good luck with the house purchase!

Has anyone successfully gotten both the employer and employee portions of FICA refunded? My university tax advisor told me that even with a W2C, I can only get back the employee portion (my 7.65%) but not the employer portion (the other 7.65%). Is this right or should I be fighting for the full amount?

Just wanted to add another perspective here - I went through this exact same situation last year with FICA withholding on my F1 CPT. One thing that really helped me was keeping detailed records of all communication with my employer about the W2C correction. When I finally got my corrected W2C, there were still some discrepancies in the amounts, and having email trails showing what they promised to correct made it much easier to get them to issue a second corrected W2C. Also, I'd recommend double-checking that your employer didn't withhold state disability insurance (SDI) or other state-specific taxes that you might also be exempt from as an international student - many payroll systems make multiple mistakes at once. The whole process took about 6 months from start to finish, but I eventually got back around $1,200 in incorrectly withheld FICA taxes. Don't give up if it seems like it's taking forever!

You know what's interesting about these IRS timelines? They're almost always worst-case scenarios. I had a similar situation in March when they made a correction to my return. The agent told me 6-8 weeks, but I received my refund in 17 days. Why do they do this? Perhaps because they're dealing with millions of returns and want to set expectations low? Or maybe because complex cases can genuinely take that long? Either way, I've found that the actual processing time is usually about half of whatever timeline they quote you.

I went through something very similar last year! Filed in late January, got the "still processing" message for about 6 weeks, and when I finally got through to the IRS they said they had made a "correction" and quoted me 8 weeks. Turns out they had adjusted my withholding amount by about $150 - apparently my employer had reported a slightly different amount than what was on my W-2. The good news is I got my refund in just under 4 weeks from that phone call, not the full 8 weeks they quoted. Since you mentioned needing the refund for medical expenses, I'd definitely recommend checking your transcript weekly rather than relying on WMR - it'll show the actual progress with those transaction codes everyone mentioned. The 8-week timeline really does seem to be their standard "cover all bases" response. Fingers crossed yours processes much faster!