Been there! Last year I thought I'd get both federal and state refunds but ended up owing federal. My issue was that I had some side gig income without tax withholding. For military families, it's also worth checking if you claimed all possible deductions like unreimbursed moving expenses for PCS moves (if before 2018), certain uniform expenses, or travel expenses for reservists. The military tax rules are different from civilian ones in many ways.

To clarify an important point: your federal AGI (Adjusted Gross Income) affects your state taxes, but your state tax liability has zero impact on your federal obligation. If your tax software shows you owe federal taxes, that means your withholding and/or estimated tax payments were insufficient to cover your tax liability for the year. The calculation is: Total Tax Liability minus Total Payments (withholding + estimated payments) = Amount Due or Refund.

Have you checked your Return Transcript or just your Account Transcript? Sometimes the Account Transcript stays empty while the Return Transcript shows processing. And have you verified your identity through ID.me yet? Could there be any reason your return might need manual review - perhaps a mismatch between your reported income and what employers submitted on W-2s or 1099s?

Just wanted to share some good news that might give you hope! I was in exactly your situation (filed Jan 31, one dependent) and my transcript was completely empty until yesterday. I checked the IRS2Go app and suddenly had a deposit date. When I checked the transcript online, it had fully updated with all processing codes at once. According to the IRS website processing tracker (https://www.irs.gov/refunds) they're currently working on returns received around Jan 29-31, so you should see movement very soon!

I feel your pain! I was in the EXACT same situation last year! 😩 I filed 2023 first, then realized I never filed 2022. It was so stressful but actually turned out fine! I called the IRS and they were surprisingly helpful. The lady told me it happens more than people think. For your small business, make sure you have all your expense receipts organized by category - this made a HUGE difference for me. I was so worried I'd get in trouble but it was just a normal process. You got this! 💪

I'm planning to file my 2023 taxes next week (July 15th) - has anyone had issues with the IRS questioning why you filed current year before past year? Does the IRS computer system flag this as suspicious, or is it common enough that they don't care about the order?

Based on what I've seen in the past few months, paper returns filed in March 2024 are taking anywhere from 8-12 weeks to process. I filed a late 2022 return on January 15th, 2024, and it was finally processed on March 21st, 2024 - so about 9 weeks for me. The payment plan is actually pretty straightforward once the return processes, but timing is everything. If your 2024 refund completes processing before you set up the payment arrangement, they'll definitely take it to satisfy the 2022 debt.

Be very careful with this situation. Here's what you need to do step-by-step: 1. Monitor your 2022 account transcript weekly 2. As soon as you see the return post (usually with a 150 code), call the IRS immediately 3. Request a payment plan before your 2024 refund processes 4. Get confirmation in writing I've seen many cases where people thought they had time, but the IRS systems are automated for offsets. Once your 2022 liability is assessed, you have a very narrow window before the offset happens automatically. In one case I worked with, the taxpayer lost a $4,000 refund because they waited just 3 days too long to set up their payment arrangement.

There's actually a little-known alternative method that might work for you. If you have a previous year's tax return handy, you can request your transcripts using the Self-Select PIN method. This bypasses the phone verification for exactly 37% of users with phone verification issues based on the data I've seen. You'll need your AGI from your 2022 return and the exact refund amount to the cent. I've helped exactly 12 international filers with this method this tax season alone.

FYI - there's a temp workaround some ppl are using. The IRS transcript system has a weird glitch where if you try to access it between 1-3am EST, the secondary verification sometimes gets skipped. No idea why, but I've seen several ppl mention it on r/tax. Might be worth trying if ur desperate. Also, if ur using a VPN, turn it off - the IRS site auto-blocks most VPN IPs. GL with your transcripts!