Just a heads up - if you adjusted your W4s for this year, DOUBLE CHECK them again. My husband and I did the "two earners/multiple jobs" worksheet and still ended up owing. The worksheet is outdated and doesn't account for higher incomes properly. We finally figured out we needed to add about 12% extra withholding beyond what the worksheet suggested. Basically take your combined income, figure out your tax bracket, and make sure you're withholding at least that percentage across both jobs.

I'm going through the exact same thing right now! My wife and I owe $6,200 this year and we're both W-2 employees. It's so frustrating because we thought we were being responsible by having extra withholding, but apparently not nearly enough. One thing that helped me feel less panicked was realizing that owing taxes doesn't mean you did anything wrong - it just means the withholding system isn't great for married couples with two incomes. The IRS actually prefers that you owe a little bit rather than getting a big refund (since a refund means you gave them an interest-free loan all year). I'm planning to set up a payment plan too. From what I've researched, as long as you file on time and set up the payment plan quickly, the penalties aren't too bad. Just make sure you file by the deadline even if you can't pay the full amount right away - the failure-to-file penalty is much worse than the failure-to-pay penalty. Hang in there! This is way more common than you'd think, especially with all the tax law changes over the past few years.

Has anyone actually been audited for crypto? I'm curious what they actually look for. I'm doing summary reporting too but I'm always paranoid I'm doing something wrong.

Thanks everyone for the detailed responses! This has been super helpful. I was getting really stressed about whether I was doing this correctly, but it sounds like the summary approach is the way to go. @Adrian Connor - Your perspective as a former tax preparer is especially reassuring. The comparison to stock transactions makes a lot of sense. I think I'll stick with the summary reporting in FreeTaxUSA and just make sure I keep all those transaction records from my exchange well organized. Seven pages of transactions seemed overwhelming to enter manually, and now I know I don't need to put myself through that. For anyone else in a similar situation - it sounds like the key takeaways are: 1) Summary reporting is acceptable, 2) Keep detailed records for at least 3 years, and 3) The "SEE STMT" notation doesn't require you to actually attach anything to your return. Really appreciate this community helping ease my tax anxiety!

Be careful with Head of Household filing status! My ex and I had a similar situation and I got audited because we BOTH filed as Head of Household. Make sure only the parent who has the kids for more than half the year (the custodial parent) uses this status. Also, take advantage of the increased Child Tax Credit for 2025! It's up to $2,000 per qualifying child now. And don't forget about the additional child tax credit which is refundable up to $1,600 per qualifying child.

I went through a similar divorce tax situation two years ago and want to share some practical advice that might help. First, don't panic about your ex threatening to file first - that's mostly an intimidation tactic that doesn't actually work the way she thinks it does. Since you have the kids Monday-Friday, you're almost certainly the custodial parent in the IRS's eyes. The key test is who the children lived with for more than half the nights during the tax year. Weekend visits typically don't tip the balance unless there were extended vacation periods. Here's what I recommend: 1) File your taxes accurately claiming both children as planned, 2) Keep detailed records of your custody arrangement and any documentation showing the kids' primary residence is with you (school records, medical records, etc.), and 3) If you both end up claiming the same child, be prepared to mail in a paper return with supporting documentation. The IRS will eventually sort it out using their tiebreaker rules, which heavily favor the custodial parent. Yes, it might delay your refund by several months, but you'll likely prevail if you truly have them more than half the time. And yes, you should be able to file Head of Household since they live with you primarily. Don't let the stress of this situation pressure you into giving up credits you're legally entitled to!

5 I'm gonna go against the grain here. I've used both TurboTax and a CPA, and ended up going back to TurboTax. The CPA I worked with charged $400 and didn't find anything additional that TurboTax hadn't already identified for my situation. TurboTax actually has improved a lot with their interview process for education credits and dependent benefits. If you take your time and answer every question thoroughly, you might be surprised how comprehensive it is. The Premier version has handled my W2s, college tuition, HSA, and childcare expenses without issues.

I've been going through this same decision process! After reading all these responses, I'm leaning toward trying a CPA for the first time this year. My situation sounds similar to yours - W2s, one dependent, education expenses, and an HSA. What's really caught my attention from this thread is how many people mention that CPAs ask questions that software doesn't prompt for. I've always wondered if I'm missing something with the education credits especially, since the rules seem to change and there are different types (American Opportunity vs Lifetime Learning). Has anyone here worked with a CPA who does a consultation first before you commit to having them prepare your full return? I'd love to get a sense of whether they think they could find additional savings before paying for the full service.

In my experience as a beneficiary on my grandmother's accounts, you should focus on working with the IRA custodian directly rather than just the bank. Contact the IRA provider, notify them of the death, and ask specifically about any pending distributions. They can usually redirect any pending RMDs directly to the beneficiaries or halt them entirely. Don't just rely on the trust attorney or bank - they're looking at the whole estate, not necessarily advocating for proper handling of the IRA beneficiary designations.

I'm sorry for your loss. This is such a complex situation that many people face but few understand clearly. Based on what you've described, the timing is crucial here - since your mom passed on the 14th and the RMD is scheduled for the 20th, you still have a window to act. The key principle is that IRA beneficiary designations generally supersede will and trust provisions. If that RMD gets deposited into her frozen account, you'll likely need to work with both the estate attorney and the IRA custodian to document that this specific deposit came from an account where you and your brother were the named beneficiaries. I'd recommend three immediate steps: 1) Contact the IRA custodian today with the death certificate to try to stop or redirect the pending RMD, 2) Document all your communications for the estate attorney, and 3) Make sure the estate attorney understands that IRA assets and their distributions should be handled separately from general estate assets. The sooner you act, the stronger your position will be to keep that distribution with the rightful beneficiaries rather than having it get mixed into the trust assets.