6 How do I check what I put on my W-4? Do I need to ask HR for a copy? And if that's the problem, can I still fix my current tax return or is it too late?

9 You can ask your employer's HR or payroll department for a copy of your W-4 on file. They should be able to provide it or at least tell you what you selected. For your current tax return, if you've already filed it and the calculations are correct based on what was actually withheld, you can't change the outcome now. The tax bill is based on your actual income and withholding for the year. However, you can immediately submit a new W-4 to fix the problem for this year so you don't end up in the same situation next April.

2 The EITC is refundable too, so it could actually give you money back instead of just reducing what you owe! But I think there are age requirements if you don't have kids - you have to be at least 25 but under 65 to qualify without dependents.

That's weird, my 401k is through Vanguard and they literally just had me check a box saying I qualified under the CARES Act. No documentation required at all. I wonder if different companies have different policies?

Yes, each 401k administrator sets their own verification policies. Fidelity was being extra cautious with my company's plan, but Vanguard and others often just require the checkbox as you mentioned. It varies widely by both the administrator and sometimes even by the specific employer's plan. The actual IRS guidelines only require self-certification, but plan administrators can add their own layer of verification if they choose to. Always best to check directly with your specific plan before proceeding.

Wait seriously? I thought the CARES Act provisions were extended! This completely changes things for me. So there's no special COVID-related withdrawal option for 401ks anymore?

That's mostly correct, but there's a small caveat. While the general CARES Act withdrawal deadline was December 30, 2020, some COVID-related relief provisions were extended through other legislation. However, the specific 401k withdrawal provisions with penalty waivers and extended repayment options did indeed expire.

Thanks for bringing this up! I had no idea about the itemizing rule. Does this mean we need to coordinate our filing strategies even if we're doing separate returns? That seems frustrating.

Yes, you do need to coordinate at least on this one aspect. If your ex decides to itemize their deductions, you'll be forced to itemize as well, even if your itemized deductions are less than the standard deduction. This can result in you paying more tax than if you both took the standard deduction. It's one of the downsides of the Married Filing Separately status. That's why it's worth having a brief conversation with your ex about whether either of you plans to itemize, just so you're not caught off guard.

No, you can't claim Head of Household if you're married as of December 31st. You would need to be "considered unmarried" which means either legally separated under a decree or legally divorced. Plus you need a qualifying dependent and to have paid more than half the cost of keeping up your home.

This is incorrect. There's no minimum income requirement to file as Head of Household. You need to meet the requirements about marital status, providing support, and having a qualifying person live with you. The IRS doesn't care if your support comes from current income, previous income, gifts, loans, or inheritance. The confusion might be that you need income above certain thresholds to be REQUIRED to file taxes at all, but that's different from being ELIGIBLE for a certain filing status.

Thanks for the correction - I was mixing up the requirements for being required to file with the requirements for filing status eligibility. You're right that there's no minimum income requirement specifically for claiming Head of Household status. The key factors are the ones mentioned earlier about maintaining a household and supporting a qualifying dependent. The OP should be eligible based on what they've described, regardless of whether they had positive income in the current tax year.

Thanks for bringing this up. My son is definitely my dependent - he's 9 years old and I provide 100% of his support. He lives with me full-time. I do have some small side income from freelance work (about $8,000 for the year) that I didn't mention in my original post since it's minor compared to what I was living on from previous crypto gains. I also had some interest income from my savings where I keep my previous crypto profits. Would that help establish that I had some income for the year?

That's really helpful! I'm in Illinois - do you know if they're pretty good about this kind of thing? I've never filed any kind of complaint before.

Illinois actually has a pretty strong stance on worker misclassification! They have a specific task force called the Illinois Task Force on Misclassification that investigates these exact situations. You can file a complaint through the Illinois Department of Labor. The state takes these issues seriously because misclassification costs them tax revenue and deprives workers of benefits and protections. The complaint process is straightforward - you'll need to provide information about the company, your working arrangement, and copies of any documentation you have (pay stubs, text messages about scheduling, etc). Even without recorded conversations, your description of the working relationship can be enough for them to investigate.

This! When I was a house cleaner, I tracked my mileage between client houses (NOT from home to first job or last job to home, that's commuting), and all my supplies. Reduced my taxable income by almost 40%. Even if you didn't track it at the time, you can reconstruct reasonable estimates with calendar entries, texts arranging jobs, etc.