Has anyone else noticed that tax software seems to mess up these calculations a lot? I've used TurboTax, H&R Block, and FreeTaxUSA over the years and ALL of them have made mistakes with excess Social Security calculations when I have multiple W-2s.

As a CPA, I see this exact issue every tax season. The excess Social Security tax calculation is one of the most commonly botched calculations by tax software, especially when you have multiple employers with high wages. Here's what likely happened: FreeTaxUSA correctly identified that you had excess withholding based on your combined W-2s, but it may have miscalculated the actual excess amount. This often occurs when one employer made mid-year adjustments, had unusual wage types (bonuses, stock compensation, etc.), or when there are timing differences between when wages were earned versus paid. The IRS has sophisticated systems that cross-reference all your W-2s and recalculate the excess using the exact wage base limits. They're usually right when they make these adjustments. My advice: Wait for the CP12 notice which will show their math step-by-step. Then compare it against your Schedule 3, Line 11 and the Social Security wages (Box 3) and taxes (Box 4) from all your W-2s. This will help you understand exactly where the discrepancy occurred and avoid the same issue next year.

Has anyone here actually gotten audited because of options trading? I'm doing similar stuff (buy to open / sell to close) but sometimes I do like 20-30 trades a week. I'm worried that's gonna trigger something with the IRS.

For someone just starting with options taxes like Emma, I'd strongly recommend keeping detailed records from day one. Even though your broker will send a 1099-B, they often don't have the complete picture for options trades. Here's what I track for each trade: - Date opened and closed - Strike price and expiration - Premium paid/received - Underlying stock symbol - Whether it's a call or put The $15,700 you made will likely be taxed as short-term capital gains since most options are held less than a year. At your income level, this could be anywhere from 12-32% depending on your total income. One tip: if you're planning to continue active options trading, consider setting aside 25-30% of your profits in a separate account for taxes. This way you won't get caught off guard when tax season comes around. I learned this the hard way my first year when I had to scramble to pay a big tax bill!

FYI - the refund advances are actually loans based on your anticipated refund amt. H&R charges prep fees for in-person (~$200+) vs online (~$50-100). They use the advances to justify higher fees. Most ppl don't realize the advance is just a small portion of their total refund anyway. If you filed a complete and accurate return with DD info, you'll prob get your $ within 21 days anyway. The IRS Where's My Refund tool can give you a better timeline once your return is accepted.

As someone who's been through this exact situation, I can confirm what others have said - H&R Block's refund advance is only available for in-person tax preparation. I learned this the hard way last year when I was in a similar financial crunch after graduation. What I ended up doing was checking the IRS "Where's My Refund" tool religiously, and my refund actually came through in about 16 days with direct deposit - faster than I expected. If you're really strapped for cash and haven't submitted yet, you could consider going to a physical H&R Block location, but factor in that you'll pay significantly more in prep fees (usually $200+ vs the online fees). Alternatively, if you've already filed online, you might want to look into other short-term options like asking family for a small loan or seeing if your bank offers any advance services on pending deposits. The refund advance marketing is definitely misleading - they should be much clearer about the online vs in-person distinction!

These holds are getting rediculous every year i stg. The IRS needs to get it together fr

Same situation here! Filed 1/18 through HR Block and got hit with the CTC verification hold too. They told me 6-8 weeks but seeing some people get theirs in 4 weeks gives me hope. Has anyone tried calling the IRS directly to get more info about the hold status? Getting tired of just waiting around with no real updates 😤

tbh the whole offset system is ridiculous. they take forever to process our refunds but can snatch that money for debts real quick 🤡

I went through this exact situation last year with a defaulted student loan offset. The DDD on your transcript is accurate - they process the offset behind the scenes but keep the same deposit date. You'll just see the reduced amount hit your account on that date. The Treasury Offset Program works pretty efficiently once they have all the info. Just make sure your bank account details are still current since sometimes people change accounts and forget to update with IRS.