Just to add another perspective for anyone reading this thread - I work in a university registrar's office and see these questions all the time. The key thing to remember is that "full-time student" status for tax purposes is much more flexible than people think. The IRS specifically designed the 5-month rule to accommodate students in non-traditional programs like co-ops, internships, study abroad, and accelerated degrees. As long as your school officially enrolled you as full-time for any part of 5 calendar months during the tax year, you qualify - regardless of whether those months were consecutive or whether you were taking traditional classroom courses. For situations like yours with school-sponsored internships, most universities maintain your full-time enrollment status during the internship period since it's a degree requirement. This is exactly why you were charged full tuition. The IRS recognizes this and counts it toward your student status. Your spring semester alone (January-May) already gets you to the 5-month threshold, so you're definitely in the clear for claiming full-time student benefits on your taxes!

One thing I'd add that might help future readers - if you're ever unsure about your enrollment status for a particular semester, you can usually get an official enrollment verification letter from your school's registrar for free. Most schools can generate these online or by email request, and they'll clearly state whether you were enrolled full-time, part-time, or not enrolled for specific date ranges. This is especially useful for situations like internships, study abroad programs, or co-op semesters where your status might not be obvious from just looking at a transcript. Having that official documentation makes tax filing much more straightforward and gives you confidence that you're answering the student status questions correctly. Plus, if you ever need to provide documentation to the IRS later, you'll have exactly what they're looking for!

As a newer preparer myself, this entire discussion has been incredibly enlightening! I came in thinking the same way as Eduardo - if there's an exemption, why wouldn't you use it to save time and reduce costs? But after reading everyone's insights, I'm completely convinced that completing these "optional" schedules is actually the professional standard, not the exception. The reasons are compelling: 1. **Future-proofing**: Partnerships often grow beyond exemption thresholds 2. **Client education**: Partners gain valuable insights into their business financials 3. **Practical needs**: Loan applications, partner disputes, business planning all benefit from complete information 4. **Examination preparedness**: Having documentation ready for IRS requests 5. **Minimal additional effort**: Most tax software auto-generates these from existing data What strikes me most is how this exemplifies the difference between minimum compliance and comprehensive professional service. We're not just filing returns - we're providing strategic business support that anticipates future needs. I'm definitely changing my approach going forward. The small amount of additional prep time is clearly outweighed by the value it provides to clients and the professional credibility it establishes. Plus, as several people noted, it's often more work to remove auto-generated schedules than to include them! Thanks to everyone who shared their experience - this kind of practical wisdom is exactly what newer practitioners need to develop sound professional judgment.

This has been such an educational thread! As someone who's been working in tax for about 5 years but mostly with individual returns, I'm just starting to take on more partnership clients and this discussion perfectly addresses the confusion I've been feeling. The unanimous consensus here really surprised me - I expected more debate about whether to use the exemption or not. But the practical reasoning is so compelling. What I find most valuable is how everyone emphasized that tax preparation is about serving the client's broader business needs, not just meeting IRS minimums. The point about tax software auto-generating these schedules is particularly relevant for me. I've been manually removing them thinking I was being efficient, but now I realize I was actually creating more work for myself while providing less value to my clients. One question I have: for partnerships that are clearly going to remain small (like two-person professional practices), do you still recommend completing all schedules? Or are there specific situations where the exemption might actually be the better choice? I'm also wondering about how to explain this approach to cost-conscious clients who might question why they're paying for "optional" work. Any suggestions for how to frame this conversation? Thanks again to everyone - this thread should be required reading for anyone new to partnership returns!

I'm dealing with this same issue right now - my Nevada state refund has been "authorized" for 4 business days and still nothing in my Wells Fargo account. It's so frustrating when you need that money for bills! Reading through everyone's experiences here is really reassuring though. It sounds like 2-4 business days is pretty normal, and I'm seeing that California and Texas folks are having similar timelines with Wells Fargo. One thing I noticed is that my federal refund came through much faster (like 24 hours after approval), but apparently state refunds just process differently. The early morning checking tip is gold - I've been refreshing my app all day like a crazy person! Going to try just checking once around 6am from now on to save my sanity. For anyone else waiting, it seems like the "authorized" status is actually a good sign that everything is moving along normally, just slower than we'd like. Hang in there!

I'm going through this exact same situation right now! My California state refund has been showing "authorized" since Tuesday and it's Friday evening with still no deposit in my Wells Fargo account. Reading everyone's experiences here is really helping calm my nerves - it sounds like 2-4 business days is completely normal. What's really interesting is how much faster the federal refund was compared to state. My IRS refund hit my Wells Fargo account literally the day after it showed approved, but this state one is taking forever! I had no idea there was such a difference in processing times. I'm definitely going to stop checking my app every hour and just do the early morning check routine that everyone's mentioning. The anxiety of waiting for money you're counting on for bills is real, but at least now I know this timeline is totally normal. Hopefully Monday brings good news for all of us still waiting! Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences and timelines - this community is so helpful for understanding what to expect with these refund deposits.

I'm in a very similar boat and this entire discussion has been a lifesaver! My paper return was also mailed via certified mail in mid-March and delivered to the Kansas City processing center on March 16th. Like everyone else here, I've been stuck with that misleading "waiting in PO Box" status and absolutely no updates in "Where's My Refund." What really helped me was learning from the tax professional's comment that this status doesn't actually mean our returns are sitting forgotten - the IRS just doesn't update USPS tracking when they collect mail from their PO Boxes. The breakdown of all the internal processing stages (sorting, queuing, manual handling) before anything appears in their system finally explains these long delays. The 10-14 week timeline for Kansas City processing center is definitely longer than I hoped for, but at least now I have realistic expectations instead of panicking at week 3 like I was doing. I've downloaded the IRS2Go app for alerts and I'm going to try the "warehouse operation" mindset - this isn't Amazon shipping, it's a massive bureaucratic process that takes months. My certified mail receipt gives me peace of mind about the filing date protection. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and timelines - it's so reassuring to know this is completely normal even though it feels stressful as someone new to paper filing!

I just wanted to add my voice to this incredibly helpful thread as someone who's currently going through this exact same situation! My paper return was mailed certified mail on March 14th and delivered to the Kansas City processing center on March 16th - almost the exact same timeline as several others here. Like everyone else, I've been stuck with that frustrating "waiting in PO Box" status and have been obsessively checking "Where's My Refund" daily with zero results. I was starting to convince myself that something had gone wrong until I found this discussion. The professional insight about the misleading USPS tracking status was eye-opening - I had no idea that "waiting in PO Box" doesn't actually mean our returns are sitting there forgotten, but rather that tracking stops once the IRS picks up their mail. The detailed explanation of all the internal processing stages (sorting facilities, queues, manual handling) finally makes sense of these month-long delays. While the 10-14 week processing timeline for Kansas City is longer than I was hoping for, it's so much better to have realistic expectations than to keep panicking every week. I've already downloaded the IRS2Go app for alerts and I'm going to try my best to adopt that "warehouse operation" mindset rather than expecting modern digital business efficiency. My certified mail receipt definitely gives me peace of mind knowing my filing date is protected regardless of how long processing takes. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences and timelines - it's incredibly reassuring to know this is completely normal even though it feels nerve-wracking as a first-time paper filer!

Important thing nobody mentioned yet - make sure your sister properly reports any taxable portion of her condo sale on her taxes! If she sold a primary residence she lived in for at least 2 of the last 5 years, she likely qualifies for the capital gains exclusion (up to $250k for single filers), meaning she might not owe taxes anyway. The temporary deposit in your joint account doesn't change anything about how she reports the sale. She should receive a 1099-S if the sale was handled by a title company, and she'll report everything on her return using Schedule D and Form 8949 if needed.

Just want to add another perspective here - I work at a credit union and see these situations fairly regularly. The key thing to remember is that banks report cash transactions over $10,000 through CTRs (Currency Transaction Reports), but this is purely for regulatory compliance, not tax purposes. These reports go to FinCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) and are used to track potential money laundering or other financial crimes. They're not automatically shared with the IRS for tax enforcement purposes, and receiving one doesn't mean you owe taxes or need to report anything additional. Your situation sounds completely normal - family members often use joint accounts for convenience when handling large transactions like real estate sales. As long as the money's source is legitimate (which a documented condo sale clearly is) and your sister reports any taxable gains on her return, you have nothing to worry about. The paper trail you already have (sale documents, deposit records, transfer to her individual account) is perfect documentation if any questions ever arise.