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.

Did your in-laws ever get any of their money back? My parents already paid the $1,500 deposit and I'm trying to figure out if they can cancel and get that refunded.

Unfortunately no. The contract had tons of fine print saying the deposit was "non-refundable" for "services already rendered," which apparently included the initial consultation and some paperwork they filed. They threatened to send my in-laws to collections when they tried to cancel, so they ended up just walking away from the money. If your parents haven't signed anything binding yet, tell them to stop immediately. If they have, they should review the contract carefully for cancellation terms and possibly consult with a consumer protection attorney. Some states have cooling-off periods for certain contracts.

Don't most of those free file programs only work for the current tax year? I tried using one for an older return and it wouldn't let me.

You're right that most free services focus on current year returns, but some tax software lets you buy previous year versions. TurboTax, H&R Block, and TaxAct all sell prior year software. For truly free options, the IRS still provides prior year forms on their website that can be filled out manually. It's more work, but if someone has relatively simple returns, it's doable. There are also Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs that help eligible taxpayers with current and some prior year returns for free.

That's a good point. Do you think a tax attorney would be better than a CPA for my situation? I'm worried about the additional cost since I'm already struggling with the tax debt itself.

For your specific situation with stock sales and cascading tax consequences, I'd recommend a tax attorney over a CPA. While CPAs are excellent for tax preparation and general advice, attorneys have specialized knowledge of tax relief programs and negotiation with the IRS that's particularly relevant to your case. They can also represent you in Tax Court if it ever comes to that. Regarding cost concerns, many tax attorneys will work on a flat fee basis for tax resolution cases rather than hourly billing. During a free consultation, ask about their fee structure and whether they can give you a fixed quote. Often the money saved through proper representation exceeds the cost of hiring them, especially with tax debts in the six-figure range you're facing.

I actually went through this process! Innocent spouse relief is legitimate but pretty specific in when it applies. You need to show that you didn't know and had no reason to know about the underreported income or incorrect deductions when you signed the return. If you were aware of the stock sales but just didn't understand the tax implications, that typically doesn't qualify.

Do you know how I figure out how much to pay for those quarterly payments? Is it just roughly 25% of what I'd expect to owe for the year?

You have a couple of options for calculating your estimated payments: You can pay 100% of your prior year tax (110% if your AGI was over $150,000), divided into four equal payments. This is the safest method to avoid penalties. Alternatively, you can estimate your current year tax and divide by four. This works better if your income fluctuates a lot or if you expect significantly lower income than last year. The IRS has a form called 1040-ES that includes a worksheet to help calculate your payments. You can also use tax software to calculate this for you. Just remember that you need to account for both income tax and self-employment tax on that K1 income.

Can you really do that? Just ask them to withhold extra? How do you figure out how much extra to withhold?

Has anyone here actually successfully used the TAS recently? I tried back in 2023 for a different tax issue and they sent me a letter saying they were too backlogged to take new cases except in extreme hardship situations.

You're right that they've been overwhelmed in recent years, but their backlog has improved significantly in the last 6-8 months. The key is to clearly demonstrate the financial hardship the audit is causing you - be specific about any loans you've had to take, mental health impacts, inability to make financial decisions due to the uncertainty, etc. I've found that if you include supporting documentation of hardship with your Form 911, you're much more likely to be accepted. Also, calling your local TAS office directly (rather than just mailing in the form) can help get your case prioritized.

Thank you so much for this suggestion! I never would have thought of contacting my representative. Did you reach out to your House rep or Senator? And did they ask for anything specific besides the privacy form?