As a newcomer to this community, I want to thank everyone for such a thorough and reassuring discussion! I was dealing with the exact same worry as the original poster - my partner and I regularly send money back and forth through Apple Pay for our shared household expenses, probably around $2,200-2,800 monthly for rent, groceries, utilities, and other costs. I was genuinely stressed about whether we'd somehow trigger tax issues with these new reporting rules. Reading through all the expert responses here has been incredibly helpful. The consistent message from CPAs, tax preparers, and people who've actually spoken with IRS agents is clear: the $600 reporting threshold is specifically designed to catch unreported business income from people selling goods or services, not normal expense sharing between couples. What really helped me understand is the distinction between reimbursements vs. actual taxable income. When my partner sends me $900 for groceries I bought for our household, that's not $900 of new income for me - I'm just being reimbursed for expenses I covered with money they already earned and paid taxes on. We're simply managing our existing household funds efficiently, not creating any new taxable income. The key takeaways I'm getting from this discussion are: 1) Make sure to use "friends/family" options rather than "goods & services" when transferring, 2) Keep basic records of what larger transfers are for, and 3) Don't stress about normal spousal/partner expense sharing because that's not what the IRS is targeting. It's such a relief to know that our regular way of managing household finances is completely normal and not something we need to worry about from a tax perspective. Thanks to everyone for sharing their expertise - this is exactly the kind of informed, helpful discussion I was hoping to find here!

As a newcomer to this community, I can't express how helpful this entire discussion has been! My husband and I have been dealing with the exact same concern - we transfer around $2,500-3,000 monthly through Apple Pay for all our shared household expenses like mortgage, groceries, utilities, and childcare. I was genuinely panicking about whether these transfers would create tax problems under the new $600 reporting rule. What's been incredibly reassuring is seeing the consistent advice from multiple CPAs, tax preparers, and people who've actually gotten answers directly from the IRS. The key message that keeps coming through is that these reporting requirements specifically target unreported business income from goods and services sales, not normal household expense management between spouses. The distinction between reimbursements and actual income has been the most valuable insight for me. When my husband sends me $1,200 for his share of the mortgage, he's not creating $1,200 of new taxable income for me - he's just reimbursing me for an expense I covered with money he already earned and paid taxes on. We're simply moving existing funds around to manage our household efficiently. Based on everything I've read here, I'm going to make sure we consistently use the "friends/family" transfer options rather than "goods & services," and start keeping better records of what our larger payments are for. But the biggest relief is understanding that our regular financial management is completely normal and not something the IRS is interested in taxing. Thanks to everyone for such a thorough and expert discussion - this is exactly the kind of knowledgeable community guidance I was hoping to find here!

I'm dealing with a similar situation right now after my mother passed away last month. One thing I learned from the estate attorney is that you should also check if your state has any specific inheritance tax rules that might apply, even if there's no federal estate tax liability. Some states tax inherited property differently than others. Also, if any of the items are particularly unique or rare (like one-of-a-kind artwork or historical pieces), you might want to get a formal appraisal before the auction. The IRS can challenge your basis if they think your valuation was unreasonably low, especially for items that sell for significantly more than you claimed they were worth at inheritance. Another tip - keep all the documentation from the estate settlement process, including any informal valuations done for probate court. Courts often require rough inventories of estate assets, and those valuations can serve as additional support for your stepped-up basis calculations. My probate attorney said this kind of contemporaneous documentation is gold if you ever get questioned by the IRS later. Good luck with everything - settling an estate is emotionally difficult enough without worrying about tax complications!

I'm going through a similar situation with my late father's estate and wanted to share a few additional considerations that might be helpful. One thing that caught me off guard was the timing of when you establish the "date of death" value versus when you actually receive the inherited items. If there was a delay between your grandmother's passing and when you actually took possession of the items (due to probate, family disputes, etc.), you might need to use the actual date of death for the stepped-up basis calculation, not when you physically received them. This became relevant for me because some of my father's collectibles appreciated significantly during the 6-month probate process. Also, if you're working with multiple family members who inherited portions of the collection, make sure you're all using consistent valuation methods. The IRS could flag discrepancies if different heirs report vastly different basis values for similar items from the same estate. One practical tip: consider creating a simple spreadsheet tracking each item with columns for description, estimated date-of-death value, actual sale price, and net proceeds after auction fees. This makes tax preparation much easier and provides clear documentation if you're ever questioned. I wish I had done this from the start instead of trying to reconstruct everything later! The auction house route is definitely the way to go for valuable collections - just make sure to factor in both their buyer's premium and seller's commission when calculating your net proceeds.

I went through this EXACT same thing last week! I was literally checking my Credit Karma account every hour after seeing the fees taken out. It took exactly one full business day for mine to show up - fees were taken Tuesday morning and the deposit hit Wednesday around 10am. I was so worried because I had bills scheduled to auto-pay! The waiting is seriously the worst part, especially when you can see that they've already taken their cut but you're still waiting for yours. Hang in there!

I'm dealing with this same situation right now! Filed with TurboTax, got the refund advance in February, and just saw the fees come out this morning. It's reassuring to see so many people going through the exact same process. Based on what everyone's sharing, it sounds like 1-2 business days is pretty standard for the remaining balance to hit Credit Karma. I'm going to try to be patient and check again tomorrow evening. Thanks for asking this question - I was starting to worry something was wrong with my deposit!

Something similar happened to me. Get your credit reports from all three bureaus and freeze your credit ASAP if you haven't already. I waited too long and the person who stole my identity opened SIX credit cards!! Also, call Social Security Administration directly because if they have your SSN they might try to mess with your social security benefits too. The SSA has a fraud department that can put extra protection on your account.

I'm really sorry to hear about what you've been through - losing your personal information during such a vulnerable time must have been incredibly stressful, and it takes courage to address this now. The good news is that the IRS has specific procedures for tax-related identity theft, and you don't need a police report to get help. Here's what I'd recommend as your first steps: 1. **Get your tax transcripts immediately** - You can request them online at IRS.gov (Account Transcript and Return Transcript for the past 3-4 years). This will show if anyone filed returns using your SSN. 2. **File Form 14039** if you find fraudulent activity - This Identity Theft Affidavit alerts the IRS to put protections on your account. You can download it from IRS.gov. 3. **Contact the IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit** at 800-908-4490. They're trained specifically for cases like yours. 4. **File your legitimate return ASAP** if you haven't already - Even if someone filed fraudulently, you still need to file your real return. The IRS will sort out which is legitimate. The IRS understands that identity theft victims have different circumstances, and they won't penalize you for not having a police report. Focus on documenting everything moving forward and don't let this derail the progress you've made. You've got this!

I ran into this exact same issue last week! What finally worked for me was creating the account during off-peak hours (around 6 AM EST) and using a completely fresh browser profile - not just clearing cookies, but actually creating a new browser profile entirely. Also, make sure you're not using any password managers to auto-fill the forms. I noticed FFFF seems to have issues with auto-filled data sometimes. Type everything manually, even if it's tedious. One more tip - if you have any old FFFF accounts from previous years, you might need to contact the IRS to clear those out first. Sometimes there's a conflict in their system if they detect similar information tied to old accounts. The phone wait times are brutal though, so you might want to try the other suggestions first. Good luck with getting those returns done! The system is definitely more glitchy than usual this year.

I've been dealing with FFFF issues for years and found that sometimes the problem is actually on the IRS server side, not your browser or setup. What helped me this season was trying different times of day - I had zero luck during business hours but finally got through around 10 PM on a Tuesday. Also, double-check that you're using the current year's FFFF portal and not accidentally bookmarking last year's version. The IRS doesn't always redirect properly from old URLs, which can cause that silent redirect back to the start page you're describing. If you're still stuck after trying the browser suggestions from others, you might want to consider that this could be related to your uncle's specific tax situation - sometimes if there are flags or issues with prior returns, it prevents new account creation without any clear error message. In that case, calling the IRS might be your only option to get it resolved, frustrating as that sounds.