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Be careful about amending right away! Make sure you understand EXACTLY what the preparer did first. My sister had a similar situation and rushed to amend her return, but ended up creating more problems because she didn't understand what she was fixing. Get a professional review of your return (a legitimate CPA, not another random preparer). You might also want to check if your preparer has credentials - some people call themselves "tax preparers" without any qualifications at all.
That's good advice. Do you know how much it typically costs to have a CPA review a return that's already been filed? I'm already out the $125 I paid the fraudulent preparer plus whatever I'll end up owing the IRS... trying not to break the bank here.
Most CPAs will do a basic review of your situation for around $100-200, which I know feels like throwing good money after bad, but it's worth it to make sure everything gets fixed correctly. Some might even do a quick initial consultation for free to at least point you in the right direction. You can also check with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program if your income is under about $60k. They provide free tax help and might be able to advise you on next steps without charging anything.
Does the tax return have an EFIN or PTIN number on it anywhere? All legitimate tax preparers have to have these identification numbers. If they're missing, that's another red flag that you're dealing with someone who isn't properly registered with the IRS.
Also check if they signed the return as a preparer! That's required by law - if they didn't sign it that's a HUGE red flag. Legitimate preparers always sign the "Paid Preparer" section of the return and include their PTIN. If they did your taxes but didn't sign, they're trying to avoid accountability.
Just to add something that hasn't been mentioned yet - if you're still having trouble after trying all these suggestions, contact your sister's state Department of Labor. Many states have laws requiring employers to provide final wage statements and other employment documents to authorized representatives. Sometimes a letter from a state agency carries more weight than one from a family member.
Would this work even if it's been several months since the person passed away? My grandfather died last summer and we're still trying to get his final documents from his employer.
Yes, it would still work even after several months. Most state labor departments will handle wage complaints going back at least a year, sometimes longer. The statute of limitations for wage-related claims is typically 2-3 years depending on the state. Just make sure you have the documentation showing you're authorized to act on behalf of the estate. Also bring copies of any communication you've had with the employer showing you've made reasonable attempts to get the documents.
Has anyone dealt with this situation for someone who worked in multiple states during their final year? My husband passed away in March and had jobs in both Texas and Oklahoma last year. Getting his W-2 from the Oklahoma employer has been impossible so far.
I helped settle my cousin's estate last year who worked in both New York and New Jersey. For the employer that wouldn't provide the W-2, we ended up having to file separate state returns and use Form 4852 as others have mentioned. The most important thing was having his last pay stubs from each state to verify the state withholding amounts.
To answer your original question - yes, people would definitely pay for this service, but the pricing model would need to be reasonable. I think most people would be open to a "finder's fee" model where you pay a percentage of whatever's recovered. The industry standard seems to be around 10-15% of recovered funds. Anything higher feels excessive since the money already belongs to the person. Some states actually cap how much these services can charge - I believe California limits it to 10%.
Isn't there something kind of predatory about charging people to get access to their own money though? Especially when the information is technically available for free?
It's definitely a fine line. The information is free, but the convenience, time savings, and expertise in navigating the claims process is what people are paying for. I don't think it's predatory if: 1) The fee is reasonable, 2) There's transparency about the fact that people could do this themselves, and 3) The service adds genuine value beyond what someone could easily do on their own. Many people genuinely don't have the time or knowledge to track down funds across multiple states and properly file claims, so they're willing to pay for that assistance.
What most people don't realize is that unclaimed funds go way beyond forgotten bank accounts. I used to work for my state's treasury department, and we'd see unclaimed property from: - Insurance policy payouts - Utility deposits - Uncashed paychecks - Stock dividends - Tax refunds - Security deposits - Contents of safe deposit boxes A notification service would be valuable if it could actually identify ALL types of unclaimed assets. The biggest challenge is accurately matching people to their funds since the state databases often have limited identifying information.
That's a great point! Do these notification services actually check for all those different types of unclaimed assets? Or do they just focus on the easy stuff like bank accounts?
One thing nobody's mentioned yet - if your girlfriend claims Head of Household with your child as her qualifying person, she'll get a significantly better tax bracket than filing as Single. In 2025, HOH filing status has wider tax brackets and a higher standard deduction ($20,800 vs $14,600 for Single filers). Also worth noting that if she qualifies for Earned Income Credit with a qualifying child, that could be worth up to $3,995 depending on her exact income. This is ON TOP OF the Child Tax Credit everyone's been mentioning. All these credits and deductions could potentially mean several thousand dollars more in her refund!
How does someone prove they're eligible for Head of Household status if they're audited? My tax guy always warns me about claiming this when I'm not 100% sure.
To prove Head of Household eligibility during an audit, you'd need documentation showing: 1) You paid more than half the costs of keeping up the home (rent/mortgage receipts, utility bills, grocery receipts, etc.), 2) You have a qualifying person who lived with you for more than half the year (school records, medical records, birth certificate for a child), and 3) You're unmarried or considered unmarried for tax purposes. It's definitely worth claiming if you qualify, as the tax benefits are substantial. The IRS mainly wants to see that you're financially responsible for the household and have a qualifying dependent. Keep good records of your expenses if you're concerned about potential audit risk.
Just a warning - if your girlfriend hasn't filed in "a few years" she needs to get caught up before claiming these credits. The IRS is cracking down HARD on unfiled returns, especially when people suddenly file claiming refundable credits like the Child Tax Credit. Has she been getting notices from the IRS about unfiled returns? If she was working W2 jobs, even small ones, the IRS knows about that income. If they're already processed substitute returns for her, it can complicate things. The IRS can hold your current refund until all prior required returns are filed. Don't let that catch you by surprise when you're counting on that money for a house!
Ravi Patel
I had this exact problem and TurboTax was NOT helpful! I ended up calculating my estimated payments manually and here's what worked for me: For Line 18, you need to list the DATE and AMOUNT of each payment you actually made, regardless of when it was due. The dates matter because the IRS calculates interest based on how late the payments were. If you have your bank records or IRS payment confirmations, just go through and list each payment chronologically with the exact date. Don't try to organize them by which quarter they were "for" - just list them in the order you paid them.
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Freya Andersen
ā¢Thank you! This makes so much more sense than what TurboTax was saying. One question though - if I made multiple payments for a single quarter (like I paid half of Q3 in August and half in September), do I list those as separate entries?
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Omar Zaki
Don't panic about Form 2210! Most people get confused by it. One tip: if your total tax underpayment is less than $1,000, you may not even need to file this form at all - there's a safe harbor provision. If you're stuck on Line 18, just list all payments in chronological order with exact dates. And remember that even if you do have a penalty, it's just interest - not some huge fine. The penalty rates change quarterly but have been around 5-7% annually. Not pleasant but not the end of the world either!
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Keisha Taylor
ā¢Thank you all SO MUCH for your help! I feel much better about this now. I'll list my payments chronologically with exact dates. And I'll definitely check out that Schedule AI option since most of my income was in the last quarter. Turns out I was overthinking this whole thing!
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