Do scholarships count as taxable income? My financial aid letter called everything "scholarships" but some were grants I think.

Scholarships and grants used for qualified education expenses (tuition, fees, books, required supplies) are generally tax-free. However, if you receive scholarships or grants that exceed your qualified education expenses, or if they're used for room, board, or optional expenses, then that portion becomes taxable income. Your 1098-T should break down what was paid for tuition and qualified expenses, but you'll need to determine yourself if any scholarship/grant money went toward non-qualified expenses like housing or meals. FreeTaxUSA will walk you through this calculation when you enter your education information.

I had to switch to the Lifetime Learning Credit last year after using AOTC for 4 years. The Lifetime Learning Credit is definitely not as generous - only 20% of up to $10k in expenses (max $2,000) and it's non-refundable. But it's better than nothing after your AOTC eligibility runs out.

Does the same apply for H&R Block software? I have a similar situation with U.S. Government Securities but I'm using H&R Block instead of TurboTax.

Yes, this applies to H&R Block software too. The process is similar - you'll need to enter the U.S. Government Securities income information at the federal level first, and then when you get to the filing stage, you should see options for which amended returns you want to file. H&R Block's interface is slightly different, but the concept is the same since all tax software starts with federal information and flows to state. Look for a filing selection page toward the end of the amendment process where you can choose to only file the state amendment.

In my experience, if you file the amended state return promptly after discovering the error, many states will waive penalties but might still charge interest from the original due date. I amended my NY state return for U.S. Government Securities income I missed, and they charged interest but waived the penalty since I voluntarily corrected it.

1 I didn't even think to check that... just looked at my forms and you're right, my total tax paid went up a lot this year (like $1400 more than last year), but my withholding didn't increase enough to match it. I did do some DoorDash on weekends this year that I forgot about, and that probably didn't have any withholding on it. That explains a lot, thanks!

7 The DoorDash income is definitely a big factor then! Self-employment income doesn't have taxes automatically withheld, so that would explain why your refund was smaller - you earned money throughout the year that didn't have any tax withheld from it. For next year, you might want to consider making quarterly estimated tax payments on that income, or increasing your withholding at your main job to cover it.

11 I work at a grocery store and have the same problem. I think it's because our hours fluctuate so much week to week, so they can't really predict what we'll make for the whole year. My sister is a teacher with a steady salary and her withholding is almost perfect every year.

3 That makes a lot of sense about the fluctuating hours! I didn't think about it that way. I guess if some weeks I'm getting 38 hours and other weeks only 22, the withholding system probably gets confused about what my actual annual income will be.

Does filing an extension help if I already got the tax bill? I thought that meant they had already processed my return.

If you've already received a tax bill, that means your return has already been filed and processed, so an extension wouldn't help in that case. Sorry I misunderstood your situation. In that case, your options are mainly setting up a payment plan with the IRS (installment agreement), making an Offer in Compromise if you qualify, or requesting Currently Not Collectible status if you're truly in financial hardship. Definitely contact the IRS to discuss your options before ignoring the bill, as penalties and interest will continue to accrue.

This is solid advice. I did this last December and was able to book about $12k in losses while keeping basically the same crypto portfolio. Just make sure you document everything meticulously because the IRS loves to scrutinize crypto transactions.

Thank you for this suggestion! I just rechecked my 1042-S forms and you're right - they actually show different rates. For Jan-March they withheld at 30%, but April and May were already at 25% even though I thought my W8-BEN update wasn't processed until June. So I only need to claim treaty benefits for the first quarter, which simplifies things a bit.

That's great news! That will definitely make your filing easier since you only need to address a smaller portion of your dividends. Just make sure your tax software applies the correct rate to each payment based on what was actually withheld. If the software is still giving you trouble with applying different rates to different payments from the same source, you might need to enter them as separate items or look into the more specialized tax preparation options others have mentioned.

Yes, the treaty still applies based on the source of the income, not where your brokerage is located. If they're US company dividends, the US-India tax treaty rate of 25% applies regardless of whether your broker is in India or the US. However, there's an additional complication - your Indian broker might not be withholding US taxes properly. You should check if they're sending you a 1042-S form showing US tax withholding. If they aren't withholding US tax, you would need to report the full dividend amount on your 1040-NR and pay the treaty rate of 25% yourself.