I think there might be some misunderstanding about how SantaBarbara works. It's primarily a professional tax software that preparers use, not necessarily the company pushing the advances. The advances are usually offered through partner banks or financial institutions. In my experience working with tax clients, SantaBarbara is actually fairly reliable, but the financial institutions handling the advances can sometimes cause delays, especially if there's any kind of verification issue with your return.

Have you tried checking your e-file status directly? Sometimes the WMR tool doesn't update properly but your return is actually processing normally. There's also the IRS2Go app which sometimes shows different status info than the website. Another option is to create an account on IRS.gov and check your transcript - that usually shows processing steps before they appear on WMR.

I'm curious about how you might prove the support requirement for your grandchild. In most cases, you would potentially need to show that you provided more than 50% of the child's support for the year, which might be somewhat complicated to calculate for a newborn who's only been with you for a month. Do you perhaps have documentation from the child's parent(s) releasing their claim to the child as a dependent? This could be relevant if they're planning to file their own tax returns.

I went through almost this exact situation on April 12th last year. Here's what I learned: the $2,000 Child Tax Credit isn't limited to just three children - that's a common misconception. Each qualifying child under 17 can get you the full $2,000 credit (with up to $1,600 being refundable). Your 17-year-old aged out of the full CTC and only qualifies for the $500 Credit for Other Dependents. Your 1-month-old grandchild, assuming you have legal custody as of December 31, 2023, should qualify for the full $2,000 CTC. Make sure you have documentation showing when you obtained custody. When I filed on February 3rd this year, I included a note explaining my custody situation and had zero issues with my refund.

I just went through this exact situation last year! Here's what you need to do step-by-step: 1. First, determine your residency status for each state. For Michigan, you'll file as a part-year resident. 2. Gather all income documents and sort them by state. 3. Download Michigan's MI-1040 form and Schedule NR (Non-Resident/Part-Year Resident). 4. For Texas income, you won't need to file a state return since they don't have income tax. 5. On the Michigan return, you'll report ALL income for the year on the main form. 6. Then use Schedule NR to calculate what portion is actually taxable in Michigan. 7. Include documentation showing your moving dates (lease agreements, utility bills). 8. Most tax software can handle this, but double-check their multi-state capabilities. The key is properly allocating income based on when it was earned in each state!

So if husband's W-2 shows income from both states, do we need to calculate exactly how much was earned in each state? What if the employer didn't break it down that way? And for your business income, does that get allocated based on where you were physically located when providing services? I'm dealing with something similar and trying to make sure I understand the process correctly.

I understand how overwhelming the education credits can be! I've claimed them for three years now, and here's what I learned: First, determine if you're eligible for AOTC (first 4 years of college) or LLC (any level, including grad school). Second, gather your 1098-T plus receipts for books and required course materials. Third, complete Form 8863 carefully - the worksheet helps calculate your qualified expenses. Fourth, if you received scholarships, you may need to allocate them between qualified and non-qualified expenses. I saw my refund increase by about $2,000 with AOTC, which really helped with next semester's expenses.

AOTC was a lifesaver for me tbh. Got back $2.5k last yr when I needed it most. Make sure ur actually eligible tho - must be degree-seeking, at least half-time enrollment, and within 1st 4 yrs of post-secondary ed. Also can't have felony drug convictions (weird rule but w/e). The refundable portion ($1k max) comes back to you even if u have zero tax liability. Def worth the extra paperwork IMO.

Wait, so the Liberty Tax portal isn't directly connected to the IRS system? It's like ordering pizza online but the restaurant doesn't actually update the tracker - you have to call them to find out if your pizza is in the oven or already out for delivery. Is that right? I'm confused about why we pay for tax preparation if we still need to do all the tracking work ourselves through the IRS tools.

I experienced this exact issue with Liberty last year and the year before. Their system typically takes 3-5 business days to reflect IRS acceptance, even though the IRS usually accepts/rejects within 24-48 hours. In 2022, my return was actually processed and my refund was pending direct deposit before Liberty's portal even updated to show IRS acceptance! Your best bet is to use the IRS tools directly - they're more accurate and timely than Liberty's portal.