What kinds of things could be missed on a home sale? I thought it was pretty simple - if you lived there 2 of 5 years you get the exemption up to $250k/$500k depending on if you're single or married?

The basic exemption rule is straightforward, but there are several areas where people commonly miss opportunities or make mistakes. Home improvements can be added to your basis (original purchase price + improvements), which reduces your capital gain. Many people don't keep good records of these or don't know which improvements qualify. This includes major renovations, additions, new roof, HVAC systems, etc. - not regular repairs or maintenance. If you ever used part of your home for business or rental purposes, the calculation gets more complex since that portion may not qualify for the full exemption. This requires proper allocation and depreciation recapture considerations.

Second FreeTaxUSA! Used it for the last 3 years and it's just as good as TurboTax for way less. I had a home sale last year too and it walked me through it fine. Saved like $120 compared to TT.

Thanks for the warning. I tried the online transcript request but couldn't verify my identity because my phone isn't in my name (I'm on my parents' family plan). How long does the mail request usually take? I'm worried it won't arrive in time for my deadline.

Mail requests generally take 5-10 business days to process plus mailing time, so you're right to be concerned about meeting your deadline. Since you're in a time crunch, I would recommend using Claimyr as others have suggested to get through to an IRS agent who can provide your wage information immediately over the phone. Alternative verification methods for the online transcript system include using a credit card number (doesn't have to be in your name) or getting a one-time code mailed to your address of record, but that also takes 5-10 days. The fastest solution is definitely speaking directly with an IRS agent who can read your wage information to you from their system.

This is great advice! I had a similar issue and my school's financial aid office was able to give me a 30-day extension on tuition payments once I showed them proof I had filed my taxes. Saved me from having to drop my classes while waiting for the loan disbursement.

Thanks for the Social Security suggestion! I just checked my ssa.gov account and found the wage info, which is definitely helpful. Unfortunately I don't have copies of those old federal returns either - they were on a hard drive that crashed. But at least having the exact income amounts will help me start the process. Do you know if RITA would accept a statement from Social Security showing the wages as partial proof?

RITA might accept the SSA earnings record as supporting documentation, especially if you pair it with an explanation about the company being defunct. I'd call them directly and ask what they'll accept in lieu of the actual W2. One other thing - if you used any tax preparation software like TurboTax or H&R Block for those years, you might be able to log into your account and download copies of your past returns which would include the W2 information they had on file. Many of these services keep your returns for several years.

This is smart! Ohio tax dept was actually super helpful when I had a similar issue. They can often calculate what you owe RITA based on your state info.

Thanks for this advice. I do have some text messages from the production coordinator with specific reporting instructions and break schedules. Should I include screenshots of these with my SS-8 filing? And did you end up saving much on your taxes after going through the process?

Yes, definitely include screenshots of those text messages! They're perfect evidence of the control factor. Anything showing they dictated when and how you performed the work strengthens your case dramatically. As for tax savings, it wasn't huge for me since it was just a few days of work, but I saved about 7.65% on those earnings (the employer half of FICA taxes). The bigger impact was that the company got flagged for a broader employment tax review, which potentially helps all the other misclassified workers too.

That hasn't been my experience at all! I filed one for a $750 job last year and got a determination in about 4 months. I think it depends on how clear-cut the situation is. My case had obvious employee factors like required uniforms, equipment provided, and scheduled hours - sounds similar to the OP's situation.

Thanks for the insider perspective! That makes me feel a lot better about just using what's printed on the form. Did your credit union ever get customers calling to ask for full account numbers for tax purposes? Just wondering if I'm overthinking this.

We actually get calls about this all the time during tax season! I'd estimate at least 10-15 calls per day in January through April from customers worried about the partial account numbers. We always tell them to just use what's printed on the form. The funny thing is, even if customers ask, we generally won't give out full account numbers over the phone anyway for security reasons. So you're definitely not overthinking it - it's a common concern, but I promise the masked account number is exactly what you're supposed to use.

Pro tip: I scan all my tax docs as soon as I get them and save them to both my cloud storage and an encrypted USB drive. Saved me multiple times, especially with closed accounts!