Does this same rule apply to people who enrolled but then lost their job mid-year? My sister's income dropped below the threshold after a layoff but she still had marketplace coverage with premium tax credits for the full year.

Yes, this same rule applies to job loss situations as well. The critical factor is that when your sister initially enrolled, she provided an income estimate that qualified her for premium tax credits. The fact that her income later dropped below the threshold due to an unexpected layoff is exactly the type of situation this rule was designed to protect. The IRS recognizes that income can be unpredictable, especially with job loss, reduced hours, or difficulty finding employment. As long as the Marketplace determined she was eligible for advance premium tax credits at enrollment based on her good-faith income projection, she should be able to claim the premium tax credit for the entire year even though her actual income ended up below 100% FPL.

Immigration status definitely matters for ACA coverage. F-1 student visa holders are typically considered "non-resident aliens" for tax purposes for the first 5 calendar years, which affects eligibility. They're usually required to have health insurance through their school anyway, not the marketplace. If your friend got marketplace coverage, they might have issues because students on F-1 visas often don't qualify for premium tax credits. It depends on how long they've been in the US and whether they pass the "substantial presence test" for tax residency.

Still getting timeout errors on my end. What browser are you using? I'm wondering if that's making a difference.

I'm using Chrome with all extensions disabled. Try clearing your cache completely and restarting your browser. I also found that using their mobile site rather than the full desktop version seems more stable right now. If you're still having trouble, try logging in from a different device entirely. I switched from my office computer to my personal laptop and that's when it finally worked.

100% agree. I've started telling clients April 10th is the "deadline" just to build in this buffer. Still had a few stragglers insisting on April 15th filing though, and now look at this mess. TaxWise should offer partial refunds for today's outage.

Does anyone know how much the student visa renewal typically costs? And do international students get any discounts on banking services? I'm planning my budget for next semester.

Student visa renewal costs around 1,100-1,500 AED (roughly $300-400 USD) depending on the emirate and institution. This typically includes the visa fee, medical examination, and Emirates ID card. For banking, several UAE banks offer student accounts with reduced or waived fees. Emirates NBD and ADCB have specific student packages with no minimum balance requirements and free international transfers to certain countries. Some universities also have partnerships with specific banks that provide additional benefits to their students. Check with your institution as they might have recommendations based on existing relationships.

Does everyone know if there's a good resource to check these agreements? I'm from South Africa and not sure where to look for this info.

Oh wow, I hadn't even thought about state taxes! I've been living in the same state the whole time (Michigan), so I guess I'll need to file those too. Are the penalties for state taxes similar to federal?

State tax penalties vary depending on where you live, but in general they follow a similar structure to federal penalties - there's usually a failure-to-file penalty and interest on any unpaid tax amounts. Some states might be more aggressive with collection than others. Michigan has its own set of penalties, but they're typically less severe than federal ones. The important thing is to file both federal and state returns for each missing year. Some tax software automatically prepares your state return along with your federal, which makes the process easier. Just make sure you're using the correct forms for each specific tax year, as tax laws and forms change periodically.

TurboTax does offer previous years' versions, but only going back about 3 years. You have to buy each previous year separately which gets expensive fast. I found it easier to use FreeTaxUSA for my back taxes - they charge way less for prior year returns and have forms going back several years.

Thanks for suggesting ProSeries! That form-based approach is exactly what I miss from my professional days. Do you know if they offer a one-time purchase option or is it subscription-only? And roughly what price range are we talking about for the Basic version?

They offer both options. You can get a single-year license for around $450 for the Basic version, which includes federal and one state. It's definitely more expensive than consumer software, but much less than the professional versions which run into thousands. The nice thing is you can download a trial version to test before purchasing. This lets you see if the interface works for your needs. The learning curve isn't bad if you're already familiar with professional tax software. One thing to keep in mind is that while it's form-based, you still get the calculations and error-checking that prevents mistakes.

I second ATX! Been using it for 5 years after trying everything else. Perfect balance of functionality and price for experienced preparers. The Max bundle handles everything but costs around $1200. The basic package might be enough at around $600 if you don't need specialized business forms.