That's really smart! Should I also make photocopies or are pictures enough? And should I mail it from the post office or can I just drop it in a mailbox?

Pictures are generally enough if they're clear and show all the information, but if you want to be extra cautious, photocopies are good too. Personally, I just take clear photos of each page with my phone and save them in a dedicated folder. I strongly recommend going to the post office counter rather than using a dropbox, especially for tax documents. At the counter, you can get a stamped receipt with the tracking number. For something as important as your tax return, that extra confirmation is worth the few minutes in line.

This is actually correct! I work as a tax preparer and there should be an option to indicate you don't have last year's AGI. Which software are you using? I can tell you exactly where to look for this option.

I do have some substantial deductions - I own my home and have mortgage interest, plus I make regular charitable contributions. I also contribute the max to my 401k. Would all of these affect how I should fill out my W4? I'm not married and don't have kids, so I'm filing as single.

Yes, those substantial deductions are likely a big part of why you're getting such large refunds! The default withholding calculations don't account for itemized deductions like mortgage interest and charitable contributions. Your 401k contributions should already be excluded from your withholding calculations automatically since they're pre-tax, but the itemized deductions need to be handled separately on your W4. You should enter the approximate amount of your itemized deductions that exceed the standard deduction on line 4(b) of your W4. This will reduce your withholding to account for these deductions.

I tried that but found it confusing because you need to have so much info on hand - like exactly how much you've had withheld so far this year and projected income for different sources. It was accurate when I finally got through it, but took me like an hour to complete.

How do you separate the value of the land from the building for depreciation purposes? I've always been confused about that part. My property tax statement doesn't break it down clearly.

Your property tax assessment should actually have this breakdown. Check your property tax statement or look up your property on your county assessor's website - most will show the land value separately from the improvements (building) value. If it's not clearly stated, a common method is to use the ratio that other similar properties in your area use. Your tax professional can help with this, or you can look at comparable properties with known land/building breakdowns.

This is a really good point. My rental in the high-tax suburb has appreciated WAY more than my rental in the low-tax area. After 5 years, the difference in appreciation has completely dwarfed any tax deduction differences.

Did you ever call the IRS or do anything special to get it moving? Or did it just suddenly update on its own?

It just updated on its own. I checked the "Where's My Refund" tool religiously every morning and one day it finally showed a deposit date. I never called or did anything special to move things along. I've heard from friends that calling doesn't usually speed things up anyway - they just tell you to keep waiting unless there's an actual issue with your return that needs to be addressed. So unless you think there might be a specific problem, it seems like waiting is unfortunately the only option.

I've noticed something similar! My husband and I filed separately (complicated situation) but on the same day. He got his refund after 3 weeks (no kids/CTC on his return) and mine took 6 weeks (claiming our daughter and the CTC). Definitely seems like these get sorted into different processing queues.

Thank you so much for this suggestion! Would reporting them to the IRS interfere with my ongoing case with the department of industrial relations? I'm definitely going to call them about the W-2 issue.

Not at all - these are completely separate issues being handled by different agencies. The IRS is concerned with tax compliance (providing W-2s), while the department of industrial relations handles wage theft and payment issues. You should absolutely pursue both avenues simultaneously. In fact, the pressure from multiple agencies often motivates employers to resolve issues faster. The IRS penalties for not providing W-2s can be significant, which might get their attention in a way your individual requests haven't.

This is good advice. I actually took screenshots of all communications with my former employer when they wouldn't give me my W-2. The IRS never questioned my Form 4852, but I was prepared just in case.