Been using Cash App for taxes since they bought Credit Karma Tax. Its totally fine for W2 and basic 1099 stuff. One tip tho - download a PDF copy of ur return BEFORE you submit! Last year their servers got overloaded on April 14 and ppl couldnt access their returns for like 2 days. Just save a local copy as u go!

Definitely try Cash App! I switched from TurboTax last year and saved $89 on filing fees for basically the same service. Just make sure you set aside like 2-3 hours to do it all at once since their save feature can be a little glitchy. And double check all the numbers before submitting - their review process isn't as thorough as some paid services.

Here's a tip for next year - if you're dealing with lots of stock transactions, consider using tax software that can import your 1099-B directly from Fidelity. I switched from FreeTaxUSA to TurboTax specifically for this feature and it saved me hours of manual entry. It automatically brings in all transactions, handles wash sales correctly, and fills in all the right boxes. Costs a bit more but completely worth it if you have more than a few investment transactions.

Just to add another perspective on the wash sale question - while small amounts like $0.09 might seem trivial, technically you're supposed to report them exactly as shown on your forms. The IRS systems match your reported numbers against what's submitted by brokerages. If FreeTaxUSA truly only accepts whole dollars (which surprises me), then follow standard rounding rules. But double-check if there's a way to enter cents - sometimes it's not obvious in the interface but is actually possible.

I've been doing this with my kids for years and here's what my accountant told me: the key is that the money is ACTUALLY THEIRS. Whether you pay for their stuff directly from their account or reimburse yourself doesn't really matter - what matters is that they did real work, got paid fair market value, and the money is being used for THEIR benefit. My accountant suggested keeping a ledger showing: - Work performed by child - Amount paid - Expenses paid from their account - Who benefitted from each expense This has worked great for us through multiple years of taxes!

Warning for anyone doing this - make sure the work your kids do is AGE APPROPRIATE and that you pay them REASONABLE wages!!! My friend got audited because he was "paying" his 7-year-old $2000/month for "consulting" lol. The IRS agent literally laughed at him.

The way I understand it, the AOTC counts your years differently than your school does. For example, I was part-time for 3 years, but the IRS only counted that as 1.5 years of education for AOTC purposes. This might be why you're confused. Check out IRS Publication 970 for the exact rules. For the AOTC vs Lifetime Learning Credit decision, AOTC is almost always better if you're eligible because it's partially refundable.

Make sure you keep all your receipts for required textbooks and course materials too! Those count as qualified education expenses for both credits. I almost missed out on claiming an extra $800 in expenses because I forgot about all the access codes and online materials I had to buy that weren't included in my tuition.

For what it's worth, I missed reporting a 1099-G on my 1040-NR back in 2019 and never amended. Nothing ever happened. The amount was only about $800 though, so maybe that's why? Not saying you shouldn't fix it, just sharing my experience.

Quick tip: If you end up filing an amended return for the 1099-G, make sure you also look at your state tax situation. If your federal taxable income changes, you might need to amend your state return as well. Each state has different requirements for this.