Pro tip: upload your stuff to taxr.ai - saved me so much stress with my CP05. It actually predicted when my refund would hit within 2 days! Better than playing guessing games tbh

That letter about the amended return and frivolous filing penalty is really concerning - especially since you never filed an amended return! This sounds like identity theft or the IRS mixed up your case with someone else's. I'd definitely call that number (866-883-0235) ASAP to get this sorted out. Don't worry about it delaying your refund - if someone filed fraudulent documents under your SSN, that needs to be addressed immediately. Document everything and ask for a case number when you call. The CP05 might actually be related to this mix-up rather than normal verification.

Does anyone know how the IRS even finds these fake businesses? Like, what triggers them to look at someone's return?

Your neighbor is walking into a financial disaster. What he's describing isn't a "brilliant tax strategy" - it's textbook tax fraud that the IRS specifically targets. The IRS has sophisticated algorithms that flag exactly this type of behavior: new LLCs with no real revenue, excessive business deductions that offset W-2 income, and patterns that don't match legitimate business activity. They're especially good at catching "hobby businesses" or shell companies created solely for tax avoidance. The fact that he's openly bragging about it makes it even worse from a legal standpoint. If audited, the IRS will want to see: - Proof of business purpose for every expense - Documentation showing exclusive business use (for home office) - Evidence that meals were actual business meetings - Legitimate business activity generating income Without these, he's looking at owing all the back taxes plus penalties that can range from 20% to 75% of the unpaid amount. In severe cases of willful fraud, there can even be criminal charges. The IRS gives people enough rope to hang themselves with - they'll often let this behavior continue for a few years before striking. When they do audit, they typically go back 3-6 years and scrutinize everything. Your neighbor needs to stop this immediately and consult with a legitimate tax professional to clean up his situation before it gets worse.

Just want to add that if the father suddenly decides to file taxes after several years of not filing, he could face penalties and interest from the IRS for those missed years. If he pushes this issue, it might end up costing him more than whatever he'd get from half the child tax credit.

The bottom line is that your girlfriend has no legal obligation to share the child tax credit with her ex, especially since he hasn't been filing taxes for years. The IRS rules are clear - whoever claims the child as a dependent on their tax return gets the credit. Since she's already filed and received her refund, and he hasn't filed taxes in 4-5 years, there's no mechanism for him to claim the child or the credit unless he suddenly decides to file this year. Even then, his return would likely be rejected since she already claimed the child. The 50/50 custody arrangement doesn't automatically entitle him to half the tax benefits. Tax law and custody arrangements are separate issues. Unless they have a written agreement or court order specifically addressing how tax benefits should be split, she's under no obligation to share. If he's serious about wanting tax benefits, he should start filing taxes consistently and they can work out an alternating years arrangement for future tax seasons. But for this year, the credit is rightfully hers since she's the one who actually filed and claimed the child.

I think people are overcomplicating this. Here's the simple truth about Roth IRAs: 1) You earn money at your job 2) That money gets taxed through regular income tax withholding 3) You take some of that already-taxed money and put it in a Roth IRA 4) That's it. No additional "Roth tax" to pay. The whole point of a Roth is that you pay ordinary income tax on the money NOW (which you already do through your regular paycheck withholding or estimated tax payments) so you don't have to pay ANY tax when you withdraw it later. That's why there's no special line on your tax return for "Roth IRA taxes" - it's already built into your regular income tax calculation.

I had this exact same confusion when I first started contributing to my Roth IRA! The key thing that finally clicked for me is that Roth IRAs don't create any NEW taxes - they just use money that's already been taxed. Think of it this way: if you earn $50,000 and put $6,000 into a Roth IRA, you're still paying income tax on that full $50,000. The $6,000 that goes into your Roth is just part of your regular taxable income that happened to end up in a retirement account instead of your checking account. This is totally different from a traditional 401(k) where money comes out of your paycheck BEFORE taxes, reducing your taxable income. With Roth, the money comes from your regular after-tax income. So you haven't missed anything! You've been paying the "Roth tax" all along as part of your normal income taxes. The beautiful part is that now all the growth in that account will be completely tax-free when you retire. No taxes on dividends, capital gains, or withdrawals - that's the trade-off for paying taxes upfront.

There's another important factor to consider: SBTPG's batch processing schedule. They typically transmit funds to banks in specific windows (10am, 2pm, and 6pm Eastern Time are common processing times). If your trace number appeared after today's final batch, it will go in tomorrow's first batch. Also, be aware that SBTPG's system sometimes shows the trace number before they've fully processed your refund - the status should change to "Funded" when it's actually been sent to Chime. This can affect ACH transfer timing significantly.

I'm in a similar situation right now! Got my SBTPG trace number yesterday evening and have been refreshing my Chime account every hour since then. Based on what everyone's saying here, it sounds like I should see the deposit by tomorrow morning at the latest. This is my first time using TurboTax with the refund processing fee option, so I wasn't sure what to expect with the timing. Really helpful to see all these real experiences with the SBTPG → Chime timeline. Fingers crossed we both wake up to good news tomorrow!