Thanks for mentioning this! I actually did work in January 2023 very briefly before my condition worsened, but it was only about $1,200 in earnings. Is there any way that partial amount would help me qualify even though it's below the $2,500 threshold?

That $1,200 in earnings would count toward the $2,500 threshold, but unfortunately you'd still be short of the minimum needed to qualify for the refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit. You'd need to reach at least $2,500 in earned income to start qualifying. However, it's still important to file a tax return showing this income, especially if you had any withholdings that might be refundable. Plus, having filed returns consistently will help when your disability is approved, as it creates a clearer picture of your work history and the onset of your inability to work.

This is actually not great advice for someone with zero income. Non-refundable credits can only reduce tax liability, and with no income there's no tax liability to reduce. So the Credit for Other Dependents wouldn't help in this specific situation.

Can you contribute to both a 401k and an IRA in the same year? And if I already have a 401k at work, can I still deduct traditional IRA contributions?

Yes, you can definitely contribute to both a 401k and an IRA in the same year. They have separate contribution limits. Whether you can deduct traditional IRA contributions when you have a 401k depends on your income. For 2025, if you're single and your modified AGI is below $78,000, you can take a full deduction. Between $78,000-$88,000, you get a partial deduction. Above $88,000, no deduction. For married filing jointly, the phase-out range is $123,000-$143,000. Even if you can't deduct it, you could still do a non-deductible IRA contribution and then convert to Roth (the backdoor Roth strategy).

Does it make more sense to max out your 401k first or your IRA first? My company matches the first 5% in my 401k but the investment options aren't great.

What if my tax preparer was a local guy who's now retired? He did my taxes for years but closed his business last fall. Do preparers have to transfer their records when they close or am I just out of luck?

That's definitely a tough situation. When preparers retire, they're supposed to notify clients about what will happen with their records. Many transfer them to another preparer who takes over their business, or maintain limited access to records for situations exactly like this. If you know his name, try searching online to see if there's any information about who took over his clients. You could also check with other local tax offices - sometimes they absorb the clients and records from retiring preparers in the area.

How did you make an appointment? When I called the IRS appointment line it said the wait was over 3 weeks for my local office. Did you just walk in or is there a faster way to get seen?

What about restaurants that had to switch to takeout only? We had about 40% of our normal business volume but kept all staff on. Does that count as partial suspension?

Yes, restaurants that were forced to close their dining rooms and switch to takeout-only would generally qualify under the partial suspension test. That's a clear case where government orders directly limited your normal operations in a significant way. The key is documenting exactly how these restrictions impacted your business. Keep copies of the local/state orders that required the closure of your dining room, notes about dates these were in effect, and evidence of how it affected your operations (like showing you normally had dine-in service before the pandemic). The IRS will be looking closely at these claims, so having good documentation is crucial. The switch from dine-in to takeout-only is actually one of the examples the IRS itself has used of qualifying partial suspension.

Filed ours in November last year, just got the refund last week. So about 8 months total wait time. IRS is super backed up with these claims.

We filed in December and got our first quarter payment in June, still waiting on Q2 and Q3. No rhyme or reason to the order they're processing them.

Does it matter if some of the unfiled years included illegal income? Not asking for a friend...seriously wondering how that affects the process.

Regarding income from illegal activities, it technically should be reported on tax returns (yes, seriously - the IRS requires reporting of all income regardless of source). However, in practice, most people in this situation report it as "other income" without specifying the source. The Fifth Amendment can protect you from having to disclose the specific illegal source, but not from paying taxes on the income itself. That said, this is definitely an area where having professional representation is crucial - ideally an attorney with tax expertise who can maintain attorney-client privilege.

I used it after being behind 7 years. It helped me avoid some penalties, but you have to file all required returns first before you can access most of the benefits. The installment agreements were surprisingly reasonable tho.