Thank you for sharing your experience! I just checked my county's website and found a property search function I didn't know about. You're right - they do have the assessed value listed even though bills haven't been mailed. Does having the assessed value mean it's officially "imposed" as someone mentioned above? I want to make sure I'm following the proper IRS guidelines.

Yes, if you can see the assessed value on the official county website, that means the tax has been "imposed" for IRS purposes. The physical bill is just a notification - the actual tax obligation is created when the assessment is finalized and recorded in the county system. Make sure to print or save a PDF of the assessment page showing the date and amount as documentation for your records. I also wrote "Property Tax Prepayment - PIN #12345" in the memo line of my check as additional documentation. The IRS never questioned my deduction.

I believe you're confusing the safe harbor rules for estimated tax payments with property tax deductions. For property tax deductions, the tax must actually be assessed (imposed) to be deductible in the year paid. There's no safe harbor that allows you to deduct estimated property tax payments before assessment.

You're right, I misunderstood what my accountant was telling me. He was actually referring to using last year's property tax amount for estimated tax payment calculations, not for claiming the property tax deduction itself. Getting the tax terminology mixed up shows why I need an accountant in the first place lol. Thanks for the correction!

Can I just file my state taxes separately even if I normally do them together with my federal? I use TurboTax and I'm not sure how to separate them after I've already entered all my info for both.

Absolutely! Most tax software allows you to file state separately from federal. In TurboTax, after completing both returns, you can choose to e-file just the state portion. Look for filing options during the final steps - there should be checkboxes for federal and state that you can select independently. If for some reason your software doesn't allow separate filing, you can also go directly to your state's tax website. Many states offer free filing options for basic returns, and you can enter your information there independently from your federal return.

Unfortunately, yes. Paper returns are taking 6-12 weeks minimum to process this year, and that's if everything goes perfectly. My brother was in your situation last year and ended up waiting almost 4 months for his refund after paper filing. The non-filer issue seems to flag returns for additional manual review too.

Have you noticed any difference between tax prep software? Like does using TurboTax vs H&R Block vs FreeTaxUSA change how fast the IRS processes things?

I haven't noticed any consistent difference in processing speed between tax software options. I've used TurboTax, H&R Block, and FreeTaxUSA over the years, and the refund timing seemed to depend much more on when I filed and what was on my return rather than which software I used. All the major tax software providers use the same electronic filing system to submit to the IRS, so once your return is accepted, the processing time should be the same regardless of which program you used to prepare it. The IRS doesn't prioritize returns based on which software was used.

Totally agree. And the really annoying thing is when it says "We cannot provide any information about your refund" and tells you to call, but then when you call they just tell you to check the website. It's a never-ending cycle of frustration!

17 Have you run into any issues with the FIRE system rejecting files? I tried it once and got frustrated with all the format requirements and ended up just paying a service.

22 The FIRE system can be finicky about formatting, for sure. The most common rejection issues I've encountered were with TIN/name mismatches and control sequence errors in the file. My advice is to run the file through their test system first before submitting - that catches most formatting problems. Once you get a clean template working, you can reuse it year after year. The learning curve is steep but worth it if you're doing this regularly and want to avoid service fees.

14 I used the Excel 1099 service last year and it was decent for a small number of forms (I did about 25). The integration is pretty seamless if you're already using Excel. It's not the cheapest option though - I think I paid around $3.50 per form plus e-filing fees. And it doesn't handle state-specific forms, so I still had to do those separately. Might be worth looking at if you're only doing federal 1099-NECs and already have everything in Excel format.

2 Thanks for the info! I might check it out for next year. For now I'm going with Tax1099 since several people recommended it and it handles the state forms too.

Does anyone know if you can use dependent care FSA for summer camp? My kids are school age but need supervision during summer months. Would that qualify as a dependent care expense?

Yes, summer day camps generally qualify as eligible dependent care expenses for FSA purposes! This includes general day camps, as well as specialized camps focusing on sports, arts, or academics. The key requirement is that the camp enables you to work or look for work. Overnight camps do NOT qualify though, as they're considered primarily for entertainment rather than care. Also, kindergarten and higher education costs aren't eligible, as they're considered educational rather than care expenses.

Thx for the clear explanation! So if I'm in the 24% bracket plus 7% state tax, am I saving 31% by using the dependent care FSA? Or is there more to it?