Has anyone had issues with Tithe.ly showing the wrong organization name? I donated to my church through the app, but when I downloaded my annual statement, it shows the parent denomination instead of my specific church. Will this cause problems with the IRS since technically they're different organizations with different tax IDs?

This is a really common situation, and you're absolutely fine using just your Tithe.ly records! I work in tax preparation and see this all the time. The IRS doesn't care WHERE the documentation comes from - they just need to see that you have proper records showing the charitable organization, dates, amounts, and confirmation that no goods/services were received in return. Your Tithe.ly statements should include all of this information. The key things to verify on your downloaded statement are: 1) Your church's actual name appears (not just "Tithe.ly") 2) All donation dates and amounts are listed 3) There's language confirming these were charitable contributions I've had clients successfully use documentation from Tithe.ly, Pushpay, Givelify, and other giving platforms without any issues. The IRS has actually become more accommodating of electronic giving records as digital donations have become so common. You don't need to have any awkward conversations with your church. Just download your annual giving statement from Tithe.ly and you're all set for tax filing. Keep the electronic records for at least 3 years and you'll be fully compliant.

I'm confused about one thing - I've always heard that tax prep fees are only deductible if you itemize deductions, but most people take the standard deduction now that it's so high. So how does this work for normal people? Can regular folks who take the standard deduction still write off TurboTax?

Great question! The key distinction here is your employment status. Since you mentioned you're self-employed, you're in luck - tax preparation expenses are deductible as business expenses on Schedule C, regardless of whether you itemize or take the standard deduction. For regular W-2 employees, tax prep costs used to be deductible as miscellaneous itemized deductions, but those were eliminated by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act starting in 2018. However, self-employed individuals can still deduct these costs because they're considered ordinary and necessary business expenses. So your eBay TurboTax purchase would be fully deductible on your Schedule C, along with any other legitimate tax prep expenses like professional fees, tax books, or software. Just make sure to keep good records of your purchases!

Does anyone know if church employees can opt out of paying Social Security taxes altogether? I heard some religious workers can file for exemption.

I work as a church bookkeeper and handle payroll for our staff, so I can confirm what others have said. The key is looking at your W-2 - if boxes 4 and 6 show Social Security and Medicare taxes withheld, you're all set to file as a regular employee. Our church participates in FICA, so all our non-ministerial staff get regular W-2s with standard withholding. They file just like any other employee. However, I've worked with churches that opted out of FICA, and those employees do need to pay self-employment tax on Schedule SE even though they receive W-2s. Since your church is already withholding FICA taxes from your paychecks, you don't need to worry about self-employment taxes. Your friend likely works for a church that elected out of FICA participation, which is why their situation is different from yours.

Wait, I'm confused about something else on this form. Why would the IRS be sending a 1099-INT in the first place? I got a refund last year but didn't get any 1099-INT from them.

Thanks everyone for the helpful responses! I just wanted to update that I successfully filed my taxes using the Federal Identification Number from my 1099-INT form. The tax software accepted it without any issues when I entered it as the Payer's TIN. For anyone else dealing with this - it really is that straightforward. The "Payer's Federal Identification Number" on the 1099-INT is exactly what you need to enter when the software asks for the TIN. Don't overthink it like I did! Got my filing submitted with plenty of time before the deadline. Really appreciate this community for clearing up the confusion so quickly. Makes me feel more confident about handling tax questions in the future.

I tracked my refund exactly through this process last month. IRS issued my refund on March 3rd at 12:01am (according to my transcript). SBTPG received it on March 4th at 9:42am. They processed it and sent it to my bank by 4:15pm that same day. My bank posted the funds at 2:27am on March 6th. So exactly 3 days, 2 hours and 26 minutes from IRS issuance to money in my account. SBTPG took $39.95 for the refund transfer fee plus my preparation fees of $219. The rest came through without issues.

Thanks for all the detailed responses everyone! This really helps clarify the process. So just to make sure I understand - when WMR shows "refund issued" that means it's going to SBTPG first, not directly to my bank account. Then I should expect an additional 2-4 business days for SBTPG to process and transfer to my actual bank. I'll check my tax preparer's website to see if they have an SBTPG tracking option like some of you mentioned. Really appreciate the step-by-step breakdown and the real timeline examples!