Does it handle casualty losses well? I had damage from the tornado in Kentucky and I'm worried about messing up the documentation.

Yes, FreeTaxUSA does handle casualty losses - they have a guided interview process for Form 4684 Casualties and Thefts. It asks all the relevant questions about your loss, insurance reimbursements, and fair market values. For tornado damage documentation, make sure you have before/after photos if possible, all repair receipts, insurance claim documents, and any FEMA assistance information. The software prompts you for all this, but it's good to have everything organized beforehand. I found their help articles very thorough on casualty loss requirements.

Thanks for the insight! Do you think it's worth paying a CPA $1000 vs H&R Block for my situation with the Florida casualty loss? I'm trying to decide if the extra cost is worth it.

For a significant casualty loss like yours ($200K), I'd absolutely recommend going with the CPA over H&R Block. While H&R Block has some good preparers, their training specifically on casualty losses is often limited compared to a CPA's education and experience. A good CPA will likely save you more than the $200-400 difference in fees through proper documentation strategies, timing considerations for your loss claim, and potentially finding additional disaster relief provisions you qualify for. They'll also provide better audit protection and assistance if questions arise later. With losses of that magnitude, the additional expertise is definitely worth the investment.

But doesn't entering all those zeros trigger some kind of flag with the IRS? I've heard that too many zeros can lead to an audit.

That's actually a common misconception. Entering legitimate zeros for amounts that genuinely are zero won't trigger an audit. The IRS is looking for inconsistencies and unreported income, not properly reported zeros. What can raise flags is if you have foreign accounts on an FBAR but don't report them on Form 8938 when required, or vice versa. Consistency across your filings is more important than avoiding zeros.

Thanks for pointing to the actual instructions - I just checked and you're right. On page 2 it says "report the value of specified foreign financial assets and any income, gain, loss, deduction, or credit..." So reporting the asset with zero income is correct.

Thanks for this info! I just checked my paystub and they did take out a small amount for federal taxes. So even though I made under $600, I should still file to get that money back? I didn't get a W-2 form yet though.

Yes, you should definitely file to get back any federal tax that was withheld! No matter how small the amount, that's your money being held by the government. Your employer is required to provide your W-2 by January 31st, so you should receive it soon if you haven't already. If you don't get it by early February, reach out to your employer. You'll need that form to file your return and claim your refund.

Exactly what I was thinking! Plus learning about taxes now when the situation is simple will make it easier when things get more complicated later. Took me until my 30s to really understand this stuff lol

I use Direct Pay all the time and its SO much better. You get instant confirmation and can print a receipt. Plus you can schedule payments in advance. No more certified mail costs or wondering if your check is lost! They even send a confirmation email.

I'm definitely going to use Direct Pay next time. This stress isn't worth it. Can you set it up to make quarterly estimated payments automatically, or do you have to manually make each payment?

Oh no, I didn't include a payment voucher! I did write my SSN and "2024 taxes" on the memo line though. Will this cause problems? Is there anything I can do now that it's already mailed?

As long as you wrote your SSN and tax year on the memo line, you should be fine. The payment voucher (Form 1040-V) helps streamline processing, but it's not absolutely required if you've included identifying information on the check itself. If you're concerned, you can always call the IRS after about 21 days to confirm they received and properly applied your payment. Having your SSN on the check is the most important part, which you did right!

Is this still true if the payroll service issued the W-2 under their own EIN rather than one they set up for me? I never got an EIN because the service said they'd handle everything.

That's an important distinction. If the payroll service is operating as a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) and issued the W-2 under their own EIN, then they're technically the employer of record, not you. In that case, you might not need Schedule H. Check your service agreement carefully and maybe call the service to confirm. Ask specifically if they're acting as a PEO or if they're just processing payments under your name as the employer. If it's the latter and they're using your SSN or an EIN they set up for you, then you still need Schedule H. The documentation from the service should clarify your specific arrangement.

I used TurboTax last year with a similar setup. It actually handles this pretty well! When you indicate you have household employees, it asks if you used a payroll service. Then it specifically guides you through Schedule H and asks for the amounts already paid. The key is to have your year-end summary from your payroll service ready - you'll need the total wages paid and taxes already remitted.