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I think everyone is missing something important here. OP, you said your dad died in 2021 and mom filed MFJ that year, then filed as qualifying widow for 2022 and 2023. That's correct procedure. But to qualify as a surviving spouse (widow), there's a two-year limit after the year your spouse died. So if your dad passed in 2021, she could use qualifying widow status for 2022 and 2023 tax years, but not for 2024 (which would be filed in 2025). Has the IRS specified which tax year they're disputing? If they're challenging her 2022 or 2023 returns, then the student status of your sister is probably the issue as others mentioned. But if they're saying she can't file as qualifying widow for her upcoming 2024 return, that would actually be correct - the two-year period is ending.
They're disputing her 2023 return (the one we filed earlier this year). And you're right about the timeline - dad passed in 2021, so she filed MFJ for 2021, then qualifying widow for 2022 and 2023. According to what others are saying, it seems the issue is definitely about my sister not being a full-time student.
Thanks for clarifying! Then yes, it does sound like the issue is about your sister's status as a qualifying child. Since she was over 19 and not a full-time student, she wouldn't meet the qualifying child definition for this purpose, even though she's still a legitimate dependent. The distinction between "qualifying child" and "qualifying relative" dependents trips up a lot of people. For the surviving spouse filing status, you specifically need a qualifying child dependent, not just any dependent.
Sean Kelly
Just want to add that your mom should definitely respond to the IRS rather than ignoring the letter. The $6,300 they're asking for might actually be negotiable. If this is her first time having an issue, she might qualify for first-time penalty abatement, which could reduce some of the amount. Also, was your sister enrolled at least half-time in college? There's a difference between "not full-time" and "less than half-time" for various tax purposes. If she was at least half-time, it might be worth mentioning in your response to the IRS.
Zara Malik
ā¢This is good advice. I work with tax resolution cases, and the IRS will often work with taxpayers who are proactive. Even if the filing status determination is correct, there are options: 1) Payment plans (as mentioned) 2) Penalty abatement (can reduce the bill significantly) 3) In some cases, partial dispute of the assessment Don't just pay the full amount without exploring these options!
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Don't overlook the fact that you may be able to sue the tax preparer for damages! If they represented themselves as qualified and competent, and clearly weren't, you might be able to recover some of the penalties and interest through a lawsuit. I had to do this years ago and recovered about 60% of what I had to pay the IRS. Keep all communications with them, gather any advertising they did claiming expertise, and consult with an attorney. Many will take these cases on contingency if the amount is significant enough.
Ally Tailer
ā¢How much did that cost in legal fees though? Was it worth the hassle compared to just paying and moving on?
The attorney took 35% of what we recovered, but I didn't have to pay anything upfront. It was definitely worth it since I recovered about $8,500 after the attorney's cut, and I only had to participate in a couple of meetings and a deposition. The case never went to trial because the preparer's insurance company decided to settle once they saw the evidence. The whole process took about 6 months. Not a huge hassle considering the money recovered, and it felt good holding the preparer accountable.
One thing no one has mentioned yet - report this tax preparer to the IRS using Form 14157 (Complaint: Tax Return Preparer). This won't help your immediate situation but could prevent others from being hurt by this person. If they prepared a lot of bad returns, the IRS might take a more sympathetic view of all the affected taxpayers.
Yes! Absolutely do this. My neighbor reported a bad preparer and it actually helped her case because the IRS was already investigating them for multiple issues. They were more willing to work with her on penalties.
Thanks for the suggestion about Form 14157! I hadn't even thought about reporting the preparer, but that makes total sense. I'll definitely do that. My CPA actually mentioned that they've seen other clients who used the same person with similar issues, so it seems like this person has a pattern of preparing inaccurate returns.
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Jamal Harris
Another option that nobody's mentioned is that you can create an online account on the IRS website and access your tax records that way. Go to IRS.gov and look for "View Your Account." You'll need to create an ID.me account or login.gov account if you don't already have one. The verification process is kind of a pain (you need to upload ID and do a video selfie), but once you're in, you can see your tax records for multiple years. That's how I get mine without dealing with TurboTax's fees.
Mei Chen
ā¢The ID.me verification is actually why I couldn't get my transcript online! They couldn't verify my phone for some reason and I got stuck in this endless loop. Has anyone found a workaround for the ID.me verification issues?
Jamal Harris
ā¢The ID.me system can definitely be frustrating. If you're having trouble with the automated verification, try their "video chat verification" option. It lets you speak with a human representative who can manually verify your identity. It takes longer (sometimes there's a waiting room), but it usually works when the automated system fails. Another option is to use the login.gov pathway instead of ID.me if it gives you that choice. Some people have better luck with one system versus the other.
Am I the only one who thinks it's ridiculous that we have to jump through all these hoops just to get copies of OUR OWN tax returns??? The tax prep companies charge us to prepare the returns, then charge again to access them later, and the IRS makes it incredibly difficult to get copies directly from them. The whole system seems designed to be as frustrating as possible!
Amara Okafor
ā¢It's not just you! The tax system in the US is deliberately complicated because tax prep companies lobby to keep it that way. Many other countries have simple tax filing systems where the government pre-fills your forms and you just verify them. But companies like H&R Block and TurboTax literally spend millions lobbying to prevent simplification because it would hurt their business model.
I had no idea about the lobbying thing, but it makes total sense. I lived in Sweden for a few years and filing taxes there took like 5 minutes - they sent me a pre-filled form and I just confirmed it was correct by text message. Coming back to the US tax system was a huge shock. I'm definitely going to be more careful about saving copies of everything from now on. Lesson learned the hard way!
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Olivia Kay
Another option to consider: If you're using accounting software like QuickBooks, you can actually record this properly there first and it'll flow correctly to your tax forms. Here's how: 1. Record the purchase of the new laptop at full price ($1,450) 2. Record the trade-in as a "sale" of the old asset for $325 3. Make sure your old laptop has the correct remaining book value in your system The software will handle the calculations and depreciation correctly. This is what I do for all my business equipment, and it makes tax time so much easier.
Does this work the same way if I use FreshBooks instead of QuickBooks? I find the asset tracking in FreshBooks a bit confusing for trade-ins.
Olivia Kay
ā¢FreshBooks handles fixed assets a bit differently than QuickBooks. In FreshBooks, you'll need to create a new expense for the full amount of the new laptop, then create a "credit" entry for the trade-in value. It's not as automated for calculating the remaining book value, so you'll need to know the remaining undepreciated value of your old laptop. If you're using FreshBooks, I'd recommend creating a simple spreadsheet on the side to track your fixed assets, their original purchase prices, accumulated depreciation, and current book values. This makes it much easier at tax time and ensures you're reporting everything correctly when you have trade-ins or sales of business equipment.
Jibriel Kohn
Just to add a real-world example - I just went through this with my 2023 taxes. I traded in my old business MacBook ($2,100 original cost, depreciated to about $840 book value) for a new one that cost $2,300. Got $750 trade-in. The IRS considers this a "like-kind exchange" of business property. I deducted the full $2,300 for the new laptop, and had to recognize a small gain since my trade-in value ($750) was more than my remaining book value ($840). My accountant said as long as you have good records showing the original cost, depreciation taken, and the trade-in value, you're fine. The only tricky part is if you used the old laptop partially for personal use - then you have to allocate.
Thanks for the example! Did you handle this with regular depreciation or did you use Section 179 to expense the whole thing in the first year? Also, did you have to fill out any special forms for the "like-kind exchange" part?
GalacticGladiator
Have you considered TaxAct? Their interface is much more direct than TurboTax. You can go straight to forms you need with minimal clicking. I've used it for my single-member LLC for years and it's way less frustrating than TurboTax's hand-holding.
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NebulaNinja
ā¢I haven't tried TaxAct. How's the pricing compared to TurboTax? And does it let you jump directly to Schedule C without going through personal info you've already entered a million times before?
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GalacticGladiator
ā¢The pricing is definitely better - usually about half what TurboTax charges for the same features. For 2023 tax year I paid $65 total for federal and state with business income, compared to around $140 with TurboTax. Yes, you can jump directly to Schedule C and other forms! They have a forms-based navigation option where you can select exactly what you want to work on. You still need to complete basic personal info once, but after that you can move freely between different sections without following their sequence. It's much more efficient if you know what you're doing.
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Omar Zaki
I'm surprised nobody's mentioned doing it by hand with PDF fillable forms from the IRS website. If you know what you're doing and it's just a single Schedule C, it might take less time than fighting with any software. That's what I do for my consulting business - takes about 30 minutes total.
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Chloe Taylor
ā¢I tried the PDF forms route but got nervous about math errors. Don't the software programs check calculations and look for red flags? I'm always worried I'll miss something and get audited.
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