Have you tried the IRS Direct File system? I heard they're testing it in some states this year but not sure if it's any good.

I have tried the IRS Direct File beta in my state (was one of the test states). It's very basic right now and only works for the simplest tax situations - W-2 income, standard deduction, and a few tax credits. No itemizing, no 1099 income, no investment income. The interface is clean but feels unfinished compared to commercial options. The advantage is it's truly free and goes directly to the IRS. If your taxes are super simple, it's worth considering, but most people will need more features than it currently offers. They're supposed to expand it for next tax season though.

This! I used TaxSlayer through the IRS Free File program and filed federal + state completely free. My friend went directly to TaxSlayer's website and ended up paying $60 for the exact same service.

We used the same provider all year - it's a daycare center at a local community college. They provided me with their Tax ID number which I entered exactly as they gave it to me. The educational vs. care distinction is interesting - could that be why the software is reducing my eligible expenses? The program is called "Early Childhood Learning Center" but it's definitely daycare while I'm at work, not a school. Do I need to clarify this somehow in my filing?

That's definitely what's happening then. When a provider has "Learning Center" in the name, tax software often flags it for partial educational expense allocation, even though it's functioning as childcare while you work. You'll need to override this in the software by specifically indicating that the primary purpose is care, not education. In TurboTax, there should be a question about the "nature of the services provided" where you can specify it's for care while you work. Make sure that's correctly marked. If the software doesn't allow you to override this, you might need to enter the provider twice - once for the "care" portion and once for what they're misclassifying as "educational," though this isn't technically correct and could create other issues.

Overnight camps definitely do NOT qualify for the Child and Dependent Care Credit. The IRS is very clear about this in Publication 503. Only day camps can qualify. The reasoning is that overnight camps are considered primarily for entertainment rather than for care that enables you to work. Day camps (even specialty ones like sports or computer camps) CAN qualify if they allow you to work or look for work, but any overnight program is specifically excluded by IRS rules.

Thanks for clarifying that! I had a feeling overnight camps wouldn't qualify, but my neighbor insisted they included their kids' sleepaway camp on their taxes. I'll stick with just claiming the day camps my kids attended. Do you know if there's any way to deduct overnight camps under a different tax benefit? Or are those expenses just completely non-deductible?

Do you know if the education credits work if I'm paying for my kid through a 529 plan? I've heard conflicting things about whether you can double-dip on the tax advantages.

That's a great question about 529 plans and education credits. You can't "double-dip" on the same expenses, meaning you can't claim a tax credit for education expenses paid with tax-free 529 withdrawals. However, if your total education expenses exceed what you paid from the 529, you can claim credits on those additional out-of-pocket expenses. For example, if your student had $25,000 in qualified education expenses and you used $20,000 from a 529 plan, you could potentially claim eligible education credits on the remaining $5,000 you paid from other sources.

I've been using TaxSlayer for the past few years and really like it. It's like $50 total for federal and state. Used to use TurboTax but they got too expensive and kept trying to upsell me on everything.

Thank you for the validation! I was really starting to doubt myself. Given what you experienced, did you have any trouble transferring all your tax info mid-year to a new accountant? I'm nervous about starting over with someone new since my business situation is a bit complicated with some interstate income.

Transferring to a new accountant was actually much easier than I expected. I simply requested all my documentation back (they're legally required to provide it), and my new accountant sent over a professional authorization form that let them get copies of previous returns directly from the IRS just to be sure everything was in order. For your interstate income situation, just make sure you find someone who specializes in multi-state taxation. I found it helpful to interview 3 different accountants before deciding. The best ones asked detailed questions about my business during the initial consultation and explained their communication policies without me even having to ask. Trust your gut - if someone is responsive and thorough during the sales process, they'll likely be that way after you hire them too.

Not all businesses have the same deadlines right? My LLC files with my personal return so I always thought it was October 15th with an extension. Are you saying some business types have different extension deadlines?

Thanks for mentioning PFIC and FBAR! I hadn't even considered the PFIC angle. My foreign corporation is actually involved in manufacturing, so I think it's an active business rather than passive, but I'll double-check the passive income percentages to be sure. And good reminder about the FBAR requirements - those definitely apply to me as I had over $10,000 in foreign accounts. Is the FBAR filing threshold the same regardless of residency status?

For PFICs, you're right that manufacturing is typically considered an active business, but be careful if your company also earns interest, dividends, or has rental properties as those could push you over the passive income thresholds. Regarding FBAR, the filing requirement applies to "U.S. persons" which includes resident aliens. During your non-resident period, you technically wouldn't have an FBAR requirement, but once you become a resident alien, the requirement kicks in. If you had over $10,000 in foreign accounts at any time while you were a resident alien, you need to file the FBAR for that period.

Do any exceptions apply specifically to the dual status year though? I'm trying to figure out if there's a minimum time you need to be a resident for 5471 to apply. Like if you're only a resident for 2 months of the year, seems excessive to require full reporting.