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I got behind on taxes for about 4 years while dealing with severe depression. What really helped me was contacting the Taxpayer Advocate Service - it's a free, independent organization within the IRS that helps people resolve tax problems. They assigned me an advocate who helped me through the whole process. For the ADHD aspect, bring documentation from your doctor when you speak with tax professionals. While there's no specific program for neurodivergent folks, medical issues (including mental health) can sometimes qualify for penalty abatement under "reasonable cause" if you can show it directly impacted your ability to comply with tax obligations.
I've never heard of the Taxpayer Advocate Service. Do they help with complicated situations involving multiple years and different income sources? Also, do they help negotiate payment plans or is that a separate process?
Yes, they absolutely help with complicated multi-year situations - that's actually their specialty. My case involved W2 income, freelance work, and some investment income across several years. They're particularly helpful when your case has special circumstances or when you've tried to resolve issues through normal IRS channels without success. The advocate can help with the entire process including setting up payment plans and exploring options like Offers in Compromise if you can't pay the full amount. They'll look at your financial situation holistically and recommend the best approach. They can even request holds on collection activities while you're working with them. To contact them, call 1-877-777-4778 or find your local office on the IRS website.
Malia Ponder
One thing nobody's mentioned is that you might actually be owed refunds for some of those years! I was in a similar boat (5 years unfiled) and when I finally did my taxes, I discovered I was due refunds for 2 of those years because of over-withholding from my W2 job. The catch is you only have 3 years to claim refunds, so some might be gone forever, but it's worth checking. Also look into IRS Free File if your income is under $73,000 - you can file current and some prior year returns for free with guided software.
Kyle Wallace
ā¢This is a really good point. My brother thought he'd owe thousands, but ended up getting about $1,500 back because his W2 withholding more than covered what he owed from his side gig. Don't assume you'll owe until you run the numbers!
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The W4 changed dramatically in 2020, and the IRS has been tweaking withholding tables ever since. Your daughter probably filled out the old version years ago, and the employer has just been using that information. The new W4 doesn't use allowances anymore. I'd suggest she fill out a new W4 and on line 4(c) add additional withholding. For her income level, if she wants a small refund instead of owing, adding about $25 per paycheck in additional withholding should cover it if she gets paid biweekly.
How do you calculate the right amount for line 4(c)? Is there a formula or something? Also, is there any risk to withholding too much?
A quick way to estimate is to take the amount she owed this year ($320) and divide by the number of paychecks she receives annually. If she's paid biweekly, that's 26 paychecks, so about $12.50 per check. I suggested $25 to give a buffer for a small refund rather than owing. There's no real risk to withholding too much except that you're giving the government an interest-free loan of your money until you file your taxes and get a refund. Some people actually prefer larger refunds as a form of forced savings, even though financially it's not optimal.
Ethan Moore
Did her job change at all? Sometimes they classify workers differently from year to year which affects withholding. My daughter had this happen when she went from being classified as a regular employee one year to some kind of "seasonal employee" the next, even though she worked year-round.
This happened to me too! My employer reclassified me as a different type of employee with the same hours and slightly higher pay, but my withholding dropped by almost 40%. Ended up owing $900 and was NOT happy about it.
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22 One thing nobody's mentioning - consider running at least quarterly payroll instead of just one annual payroll at year-end. The IRS sometimes looks skeptically at S corps that only run payroll once a year since it doesn't resemble a typical employer-employee relationship. My accountant advised me to run quarterly to look more legitimate.
14 Is that really necessary? I've been doing one annual payroll for my single-member S corp for 3 years with no issues. Seems like extra work and payroll fees for no reason.
22 While not technically required, it can definitely help establish the legitimacy of your employment relationship with the S corp. The IRS often raises eyebrows at once-a-year payments because regular employees typically don't get paid just once annually. Multiple payroll runs throughout the year can strengthen your position that you're treating the employment relationship properly. Plus, it helps with cash flow planning and can make your estimated tax payments more manageable rather than dealing with one large tax hit. My accountant specifically mentioned this was one of the factors that can help avoid unwanted IRS attention.
4 Has anyone run into issues with state payroll taxes and reporting deadlines being different from federal? I made this mistake last year and ended up with penalties because my state required payroll tax deposits more frequently than I realized.
9 Yes! I'm in California and they required quarterly payroll tax reporting even though I was below the federal threshold. Got hit with a $250 penalty my first year. Definitely check your specific state requirements.
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My company does payroll for several small businesses, and we actually prefer reissuing W2s rather than W2-Cs when we catch errors early. The W2-C form is confusing for most employees because it shows the delta between incorrect and correct amounts rather than the final numbers. When we reissue a W2, we mark the original as "VOID" in our system so the SSA knows to use the latest submission. As long as your employer properly submitted the corrected W2 to the SSA (which they should have), you're good to just use the new one.
Is there any way for an employee to confirm that their employer actually submitted the corrected W2 to the SSA? I'm worried my employer might have given me a corrected one but forgotten to update it with the government.
Unfortunately, there's no direct way for employees to verify SSA submissions in real-time. However, you can indirectly check by creating an account on the SSA website (my.ssa.gov) and viewing your reported wages after tax season. This won't help immediately for filing, though. Your best approach is to contact your payroll or HR department directly and ask them to confirm they've submitted the corrected W2 to the SSA. Most payroll systems automatically handle this when generating a replacement W2, but it's fair to ask for confirmation. If they're using proper payroll software, they should be able to tell you the submission date of the corrected information.
Friendly reminder to everyone - make sure you keep BOTH W2s (the original incorrect one and the reissued correct one) with your tax records for at least 3 years. Even though you'll only file using the corrected one, if you ever get audited, having both documents helps explain any discrepancies the IRS might question.
Ravi Sharma
ā¢Good advice. I keep all my tax docs for 7 years just to be safe. Electronic copies are fine too - I scan everything and keep it in a secure folder.
Diego Chavez
I think everyone is overreacting to this news. I'm a small business attorney who works with dozens of clients affected by the CTA. Here's the real deal: this enforcement pause is almost certainly temporary. The Treasury Department is likely responding to legal challenges, but once those are resolved, enforcement will resume. My advice to clients remains unchanged: prepare your beneficial ownership information now so you're ready to file when needed. The requirements themselves haven't been eliminated, just the enforcement mechanism. For most legitimate small businesses, the reporting isn't actually that burdensome - it's identifying the beneficial owners (those with 25%+ ownership or substantial control) and providing basic information about them. Don't use this pause as an excuse to ignore your obligations completely, or you might find yourself scrambling when enforcement suddenly resumes.
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NeonNebula
ā¢What about companies formed in 2023? I thought we had different deadlines than older companies. Does this pause affect all businesses the same way?
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Diego Chavez
ā¢Companies formed in 2023 fall under the "existing entities" category, which originally had until January 1, 2025 to file their initial reports. Companies formed in 2024 have 90 days from formation to file. The enforcement pause affects all businesses subject to the CTA equally - regardless of when they were formed. However, it's important to note that the technical legal requirement still exists for all applicable businesses, even though there's no enforcement mechanism currently in place. My recommendation remains to prepare your information so you're ready when enforcement resumes, which it almost certainly will.
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Anastasia Kozlov
Does anyone know if this affects companies that already filed their beneficial ownership information? I submitted mine in January when the requirements first went into effect. Did I waste my time? Should I be worried about the information being in their system now that they're not enforcing the rule?
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Sean Kelly
ā¢You didn't waste your time. If anything, you're ahead of the game. The database still exists and your information is properly recorded. When enforcement resumes (which most experts think it will), you won't have to scramble like everyone else.
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