Thanks for all the advice everyone! Quick question - if I put that extra amount on line 4(c), will that just reduce my paycheck by exactly that amount? Or does it calculate differently?

Exactly right - whatever dollar amount you put on line 4(c) will be withheld from each paycheck as an additional amount. So if you put $50, your paycheck will be $50 less each time, and that money goes straight toward your federal tax.

This is actually really smart. I never thought of doing a mid-year correction. Do you just submit a new W4 to your HR department?

That's really helpful to know about your experience. How difficult was the Tax Court filing process? Did you end up needing a lawyer or were you able to do it yourself?

The Tax Court filing was actually pretty straightforward. I used the simplified procedure since my dispute was under $50k. The petition form is available on the Tax Court website, and it's mostly just explaining what the IRS got wrong and why. I did it myself without a lawyer. You basically need to state the facts clearly - that the crypto exchange reported incorrect information, what the correct numbers should be, and what evidence you have. Include copies of your documentation with the petition. One tip: be very specific about the error. In your case, explain that the exchange reported the full value as gain instead of just the interest earned, and provide your actual purchase records showing your cost basis.

Audit reconsideration is a terrible approach for this situation! Why would you voluntarily give up your Tax Court rights when that's literally the best protection you have? Paying thousands in taxes you don't owe and then HOPING the IRS gives it back through audit reconsideration is a recipe for disaster.

I hadn't even thought about checking if the amounts are correct! Where exactly would I find Box 1 and Box 5 on the form? And if something isn't right, do I just call the financial aid office?

Box 1 is near the top of the form labeled "Payments received for qualified tuition and related expenses" and Box 5 is labeled "Scholarships or grants." Compare those amounts to your actual payment records and financial aid statements. If you notice a discrepancy, yes, call your school's financial aid office or sometimes they have a dedicated bursar or student accounts office. Explain the issue and ask them to issue a corrected 1098-T. They're usually pretty good about fixing these errors since they're required by law to report accurate information to the IRS.

This is good advice! I lost access to my 1098-Ts after graduating and had to pay my old university $25 per form to get copies when I needed them later. Such a pain.

This is super helpful! My program coordinator mentioned something about the practical hours counting toward credits but I didn't connect that to the tax implications. Does that mean I should include all my apprenticeship hours and not just the classroom time when figuring out if I meet half-time status?

Yes, absolutely include all hours that the college is counting toward your credits or certificate. Many apprenticeship programs are structured so that your on-the-job training hours translate to a certain number of credits in addition to your classroom time. For example, I had a client whose 4-week classroom portion only equated to 4 credits, which wouldn't meet the half-time requirement. But when we included the supervised work experience that was part of the program curriculum (which added another 4 credits), they qualified for AOC. The key is that these work hours must be formally recognized by the educational institution as part of your academic program.

Yes, online courses absolutely count toward your workload calculation for AOC purposes as long as they're part of your eligible program and offered by a qualifying educational institution. The IRS doesn't distinguish between delivery methods (online vs. in-person) when determining eligibility. What matters is the credit hours or equivalent as determined by your educational institution. For your situation with 3 weeks in-person plus 4 weeks online, you'd need to find out how many total credits/units that represents at your institution and whether it meets their half-time threshold.

Does H&R Block have a free version? Cash App and FreeTaxUSA are appealing because they offer free or really cheap filing options. I don't want to spend $50+ on tax prep if I can avoid it.

H&R Block does have a free version but like all the "free" tax services, it's only free for simple returns. If you have anything slightly complicated (investment income, self-employment, itemized deductions, etc.), you'll end up having to upgrade to a paid version. Honestly, FreeTaxUSA is probably your best bet for affordable filing - their federal filing is free and state is only like $15. Cash App might be convenient for banking, but as you've discovered, it's pretty limited as a tax service. Whatever you choose, just stick with ONE service next year to avoid this headache!

Nothing complicated really - just standard W-2 income from one job and some basic interest income from my savings account. No major life changes or anything fancy. I just got lured in by Cash App's free filing and didn't realize they couldn't do my state taxes until after I'd already submitted the federal return.

If it's a simple return like OP described, they should definitely be able to file state-only through most services. I've used TurboTax for state-only before when I had a similar situation. Just make sure to select "I've already filed my federal return" option when you start.