Thanks for the suggestion! I actually tried something similar - asked if I could use the company purchasing system but have it assigned to me permanently. They said no because of some asset tracking policy. It's frustrating because they acknowledge we need more laptops but won't approve the budget for them. Might be time to dust off the resume...

Dude, that's literally tax fraud if you're a W-2 employee claiming those expenses after 2018. The law changed. The IRS has been ramping up audits with their new funding. I wouldn't risk it for a few hundred bucks.

Does FreeTaxUSA have good support if you have questions? I'm always nervous about doing it myself in case I mess something up.

Their support is pretty decent - you can email them questions and they usually respond within a day. If you need immediate help, their knowledge base is really comprehensive and has answers to most common questions. For basic stuff like W-2s and simple 1099 work, it's very straightforward. The software walks you through everything step by step. I've been using it for 5 years with no issues, even when my tax situation got more complicated with rental property.

Thank you for confirming what I suspected! I actually called H&R Block's customer service line and complained about the lack of upfront pricing, and they agreed to reduce my fee to $199. Still more than I wanted to pay, but better than $349. Definitely doing it myself next year with one of the options you all suggested.

I completely forgot about social security taxes, thank you! Do you know if there's a minimum threshold for this? Like if I'm only there for 8 months, would that change anything about Social Security obligations?

For Social Security taxes, the duration of your stay doesn't typically create a minimum threshold. If you're employed by a US company, they'll generally continue to withhold Social Security and Medicare taxes from your paychecks regardless of where you're physically working, unless there's a totalization agreement with that country. As far as I know, the US and Kenya don't have a totalization agreement, so you'd continue paying into the US Social Security system. The good news is this means you'll continue earning credits toward your eventual US Social Security benefits, even while working abroad.

I'm not a tax expert, but from what I understand, Kenya typically doesn't consider you a tax resident unless you're there for 183+ days in a year. Since you were only there for 3 months (presumably less than 90 days), you likely weren't subject to Kenyan income tax. If you did everything correctly with your US taxes and reported all your income there, you probably don't need to worry about filing anything retroactively for Kenya. But if you're concerned, it might be worth consulting with a tax professional who knows the Kenyan tax system.

That's a relief! Yes I was there for exactly 89 days and did report everything on my US taxes. Was worried I might have some surprise tax bill waiting for me from the Kenyan government. Thanks for the info!

That makes so much more sense. The way they broke it down made it sound like they were just passing along IRS charges to me, which seemed really high. I'll definitely be switching back to online filing next year...or maybe even trying the IRS Free File options. Do you know if those work well for simple tax situations like mine?

For a simple tax situation like yours with just a couple of W-2s and education credits, the IRS Free File options would work perfectly. Most of the major tax software companies participate in the Free File program if your income is below certain thresholds (usually around $73,000). I'd recommend checking out the IRS Free File site directly rather than going through a tax prep company's website, as sometimes the companies hide their free options. With your straightforward tax situation, you should be able to file completely free of charge.

Yep same here! I had 2 W-2s, student loan interest, and a 1099-INT from my bank and paid $49 with TaxAct. These big tax prep chains are really taking advantage of people who don't know any better.

You're playing with fire. The IRS specifically requires contemporaneous mileage logs with exact details. If you get audited, they'll disallow ALL of your mileage deductions without proper documentation. I know because it happened to my brother-in-law's business last year. Cost him thousands in back taxes plus penalties.