1 Ahh that might be it! I think I might have selected Head of Household by accident. And I actually did take a couple classes at community college last fall that cost about $2,000 total. Would that qualify for that education credit you mentioned? I didn't even know that was a thing.

3 The American Opportunity Credit would absolutely apply to your community college expenses. It gives you a credit of 100% of the first $2,000 in qualified education expenses, which would give you a $2,000 credit right there. That along with the filing status confusion could explain a big chunk of that $5,000 estimate. Make sure you have Form 1098-T from your college which shows your tuition payments. When you file your actual return, use that form to claim the education credit correctly. This is definitely something worth looking into!

19 I've used both. For multiple W-2s they're pretty similar, but I found TurboTax's interface a bit more intuitive. Both will double-check that you've entered everything correctly. TurboTax has this W-2 import feature that can sometimes pull your info directly which saves time and reduces errors. H&R Block is usually a bit cheaper though. If price is important, go with H&R Block. If ease of use matters more, TurboTax might be better. Both will get you an accurate refund if you enter your info correctly.

Thanks for bringing that up! I actually have some dividend income from a few stocks. Should I be double-checking specific forms or sections after FreeTaxUSA imports them?

You should definitely review the Schedule B if you have dividend and interest income. FreeTaxUSA sometimes misses smaller financial institutions or categorizes things incorrectly during imports. I particularly recommend double-checking that all your 1099-DIV and 1099-INT forms are fully accounted for. Sometimes qualified dividends might not get properly categorized, which can affect your tax rate. Also, if you have foreign dividends, make sure the foreign tax paid is correctly entered so you can claim the foreign tax credit.

FreeTaxUSA's crypto section is decent but limited. I ended up using CoinTracker first to generate all my crypto transactions and then entered the totals into FreeTaxUSA. Worked much better that way.

Do you know if this credit gets reported on Form 5695? I'm trying to figure out the paperwork for a similar situation.

Yes, the Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit (formerly the Nonbusiness Energy Property Credit) is reported on Form 5695, "Residential Energy Credits." You'll need to complete Part II of the form if you're claiming credits for the tax years before 2023, which covers qualified energy efficiency improvements including roofing materials. For tax year 2023 and beyond, the form has been updated to reflect the expanded credit under the Inflation Reduction Act, but the basic reporting mechanism is still Form 5695. The documentation requirements remain the same regardless of which tax year you're amending.

I claimed the energy credit for my solar reflective roof last year on an amended return and had zero issues. Just made sure I had the manufacturer's certification that it met Energy Star requirements and kept copies of all receipts. The whole process was surprisingly smooth.

Thanks for the recommendation! I'll check out Checkpoint. Does it have any kind of trial period? Also, do you find it's worth having a separate research tool when we already have ProSystem for preparation? Trying to justify the expense to the partners.

Yes, Thomson Reuters usually offers a 2-week trial if you reach out to their sales team. I found that to be enough time to see if it works for your research style. As for justifying the expense, I track time spent on research for each client and found I was saving about 3-4 hours per week using a dedicated research tool versus trying to cobble together information from free sources and tax prep software. When I showed the partners that math (my billable rate × hours saved per year), the decision was easy. Plus, having proper research documentation significantly reduces your professional liability risk.

I felt that way my first 3-4 years in practice. What helped me was taking specific continuing education courses on research methods and primary source analysis rather than just technical tax updates. Also, don't be afraid to tell clients "I need to research that" instead of guessing. They actually respect you more for being thorough.

Does contributing to HSA after the end of the year still reduce your MAGI for things like Roth IRA income limits or premium tax credits? I'm close to some of those phaseout thresholds.

Yes, HSA contributions made up until the tax filing deadline will still reduce your MAGI for most purposes, including Roth IRA income limits. This is one reason HSAs are so powerful for tax planning. However, for premium tax credits (ACA subsidies), it gets a bit more complicated. HSA contributions do reduce your MAGI for determining eligibility, but the timing can matter for marketplace reporting. If you're close to subsidy thresholds, you might want to make the contributions during the calendar year to ensure they're properly accounted for in the marketplace's initial calculations.

You're absolutely right about the math. People get so fixated on "dropping a tax bracket" when the savings are actually pretty minimal because of how marginal tax brackets work. I'd add that HSAs have another huge benefit - if you invest the money (most HSA providers allow this) and don't touch it for medical expenses now, it can grow tax-free for decades. Some financial planners actually recommend paying current medical expenses out-of-pocket if you can afford to, and letting your HSA grow for retirement. It's basically a stealth retirement account!