Does it help to send it via Priority Mail or does regular certified mail work fine? Also wondering if I should call the IRS first to verify the correct mailing address for 941-X forms?

Regular certified mail with return receipt is perfectly fine. The key is having that tracking number and delivery confirmation, not the speed of delivery. I wouldn't bother calling the IRS just to verify the address - those addresses are listed in the 941-X instructions and rarely change. Plus, getting through to someone just to ask about an address will be a huge waste of time. Just double-check the address in the most current version of the instructions (available on irs.gov) and you'll be good to go.

No, you don't need to issue corrected W-2s for ERTC claims. The ERTC doesn't change the wages you paid your employees or what was reported on their W-2s. The credit is based on qualified wages, but claiming it doesn't retroactively reduce the actual wages paid to employees. It's a credit for the employer only. The employees' taxable income and withholding amounts remain the same, so the original W-2s remain correct.

I'm having the same childcare credit issue but with foreign income. Did you find any specific IRS guidance on this? My accountant says one thing but TurboTax is calculating it differently. Really frustrating that the 2023 childcare credit seems so simple but has so many hidden complications!

The IRS Publication 503 covers how foreign income affects the childcare credit. Basically, all income (including foreign) counts toward determining your credit percentage, but only income subject to US tax can qualify you for the credit itself. It's a subtle but important distinction. Your foreign income might be pushing you into a different percentage bracket even if it's excluded from US taxation. This is one of those situations where the basic "20% of $3,000" formula breaks down. TurboTax is actually correct to include worldwide income for determining the percentage, but many accountants miss this detail.

Which IRS Free File program did you use specifically? There are several options and I've heard some are better than others for handling childcare credits. I'm especially interested if you have a recommendation for someone with variable income (1099 and W-2 mix) trying to claim the childcare credit.

Thanks for this info! I just checked my paystub and they did take out a small amount for federal taxes. So even though I made under $600, I should still file to get that money back? I didn't get a W-2 form yet though.

Yes, you should definitely file to get back any federal tax that was withheld! No matter how small the amount, that's your money being held by the government. Your employer is required to provide your W-2 by January 31st, so you should receive it soon if you haven't already. If you don't get it by early February, reach out to your employer. You'll need that form to file your return and claim your refund.

Exactly what I was thinking! Plus learning about taxes now when the situation is simple will make it easier when things get more complicated later. Took me until my 30s to really understand this stuff lol

Quick question - does that $10,000 FBAR threshold include all accounts combined or is it per account? My client has like 5 small accounts in Canada that individually are under $10k but together might be over.

It's definitely the combined total of ALL foreign financial accounts. So if your client has 5 accounts that each have $2,500, that's $12,500 total, which exceeds the $10,000 threshold - they would need to file the FBAR. The IRS and FinCEN are very serious about this reporting requirement. The penalties for not filing can be severe, especially if they consider it a willful violation. Make sure you count all accounts - checking, savings, investment accounts, pension funds, and sometimes even life insurance policies with cash value.

Not a stupid question at all! Yes, you absolutely need to report that $220 of interest on Schedule B, even though the foreign online bank didn't send a 1099-INT. You'd list the name of the bank, the amount of interest (converted to USD), and make sure to check the box indicating you had a foreign account. Since it's over $200, you'll definitely want to complete the foreign account questions at the bottom of Schedule B. And remember, if your total foreign accounts exceeded $10,000 at any point during the year, you'd also need to file an FBAR separately.

But doesn't entering all those zeros trigger some kind of flag with the IRS? I've heard that too many zeros can lead to an audit.

That's actually a common misconception. Entering legitimate zeros for amounts that genuinely are zero won't trigger an audit. The IRS is looking for inconsistencies and unreported income, not properly reported zeros. What can raise flags is if you have foreign accounts on an FBAR but don't report them on Form 8938 when required, or vice versa. Consistency across your filings is more important than avoiding zeros.

Thanks for pointing to the actual instructions - I just checked and you're right. On page 2 it says "report the value of specified foreign financial assets and any income, gain, loss, deduction, or credit..." So reporting the asset with zero income is correct.