Thanks for mentioning this! Do you know if the Free File Fillable Forms will tell me why my return was rejected in the first place? And is there a deadline for filing last year's return before penalties start piling up?

The Free File Fillable Forms will generally show an error code or explanation if your return gets rejected, which should help identify the issue. However, they won't have access to your previously rejected return from another service like H&R Block. Regarding deadlines, if you're owed a refund, you have 3 years from the original filing deadline to submit your return without losing your refund. So for 2023 taxes, you'd have until April 2027. However, if you owe taxes, penalties and interest started accruing after the original due date (April 15, 2024, for 2023 taxes). The failure-to-file penalty is usually 5% of unpaid taxes each month, up to 25%, and the failure-to-pay penalty is 0.5% per month. I'd recommend filing as soon as possible to minimize these penalties if you think you'll owe.

Yes, there can be consequences, but it depends on your situation. If the IRS owes you a refund for 2022, there's no penalty for filing late - but you only have 3 years from the original due date to claim that refund before you lose it forever.

Thanks, I'm pretty sure I was owed a refund of like $800 something. So sounds like I should file that 2022 return ASAP if I still want that money? Didn't realize there was a time limit on getting refunds!

Do you have any issues with more complex returns in TaxAct Pro? I've got mostly simple returns but a couple clients with rental properties and small businesses. Can it handle K-1 forms?

I haven't run into any significant limitations with more complex returns. It handles Schedule E for rental properties very well, and I have several clients with small businesses filing Schedule C without issues. For K-1 forms, it processes them fine - I have a few clients with partnership and S-corp income. The only area where I've found it slightly less robust is with very complex investment situations or extremely complicated business returns with lots of unusual deductions. But for the typical small business owner, rental property investor, or individual with some investment income, it works perfectly well. The value for the price is excellent for a small practice.

FreeTaxUSA doesn't have a professional version that allows you to prepare multiple client returns under a practitioner account. It's really designed for individuals doing their own taxes, not professionals preparing returns for clients. You'd need software specifically designed for tax professionals that includes features like client management, e-filing capabilities under your EFIN, and professional liability protections.

Thanks for clearing that up! I was hoping there might be a free option, but I understand professional software would need those additional features. Guess I'll need to budget for one of the lower-cost options mentioned here.

What version of TaxAct are you using? I had the same problem until I realized I was using the "Free" version which doesn't support education credits properly. I had to upgrade to the "Deluxe" version to get the full education section where you can enter all the boxes from the 1098-T correctly.

I'm using the Deluxe version already, that's why I'm so confused. Maybe I need to update it? I'll try logging out and back in to see if that fixes it.

Does the safe harbor rule apply even if you had zero tax liability the previous year? I was a student last year with almost no income.

Yes, the safe harbor rule still applies if you had zero tax liability the previous year. In fact, that's the best case scenario! If you had no tax liability last year, then 100% of your previous year's tax is zero, which means you technically don't need to make estimated payments this year to meet the safe harbor provision. However, this only protects you from underpayment penalties - you'll still owe the full tax amount when you file. So it's usually better to make the quarterly payments anyway to avoid a big tax bill all at once. This zero-liability exception only works for one year, so plan accordingly for next year's payments.

Yes, payment processors like PayPal, Stripe, and Venmo are required to report to the IRS if you receive more than $600 in payments for goods and services in a year. They'll send you a 1099-K form that you'll need to include when filing your taxes.

This explanation makes sense but I'm still confused about one thing - when I'm entering info into TurboTax, does it want me to enter the full carryover amount from my previous return, or just the original capital losses from each specific year? The input screen is confusing me.

When entering information into TurboTax, you should enter the carryover amount shown on your previous return's Capital Loss Carryover Worksheet. You're not re-entering the original capital losses from each specific year - those have already been accounted for in the carryover calculation from previous returns. TurboTax specifically wants the carryover amount that was calculated at the end of your 2024 return, which should represent all your accumulated unused losses. Think of it as a single number that represents your "capital loss balance" that you're bringing forward, not as separate loss events that you need to track individually.

YES! This happened to me when I switched from TurboTax to TaxAct. The Capital Loss Carryover Worksheet looked completely different and I realized I had been entering my carryover amounts wrong for YEARS. I had to go back and look at my old returns and realized I'd been shorting myself by not carrying over short-term and long-term losses separately. Cost me like $900 in refunds I could have had.

Thanks for confirming I'm not crazy! I went back and checked my old returns and realized the issue. H&R Block was combining my short-term and long-term carryover losses into one field, but FreeTaxUSA tracks them separately. Once I separated my carryover amounts correctly (about 60% was short-term, 40% long-term based on my trading history), the worksheet finally showed the correct total amount.