Just wanted to share my experience since I had this exact same question a few months ago! In my case, "Medical EE - SR" stood for "Medical Employee - Standard Rate" which was my contribution to the company health insurance plan. What really helped me was requesting a detailed breakdown of all deductions from payroll. Most companies are required to provide this if you ask, even if it takes them a while to respond. They sent me a document that explained every single code on my pay stub, which was super helpful for understanding not just the medical deduction but also things like life insurance, disability, and other benefits I didn't even know I had. The $87.50 biweekly amount sounds about right for employee-only standard tier coverage. One thing I'd suggest is making sure you're actually using the benefits you're paying for - I discovered I was paying for dental coverage that I never used because I already had dental through my spouse's plan. Saved me about $30 per paycheck once I dropped the duplicate coverage during open enrollment. If your HR is slow to respond via email, try calling them directly or stopping by in person if possible. Sometimes a quick 5-minute conversation can clear up what might take weeks of back-and-forth emails to resolve.

I had this exact same confusion when I first started working! "Medical EE - SR" typically means "Medical Employee - Standard Rate" and represents your portion of the health insurance premium that gets deducted from your paycheck. The "EE" definitely stands for "Employee" to distinguish it from employer contributions. One thing that really helped me understand all my deductions was downloading my pay stub and looking at it alongside my benefits enrollment materials. Most companies provide a benefits guide during onboarding that breaks down all the different plan options and their costs. If you can't find yours, definitely ask HR for a copy - it should show exactly what "SR" means at your specific company (could be Standard Rate, Senior Rate, or even Single Rate depending on your employer). The $87.50 biweekly amount seems very reasonable for employee-only health coverage. That works out to about $2,275 annually, which is actually on the lower end for decent health insurance these days. Just make sure you're enrolled in the plan that makes the most sense for your healthcare needs - sometimes people pick the middle-tier option without really comparing what they'd actually use versus the cost savings of a basic plan. If HR is being slow, try giving them a call directly rather than email. In my experience, a quick phone conversation often resolves these questions much faster than waiting for email responses!

This is such a common source of confusion, and I completely understand your concern! The good news is that your $750 cash deposit from your brother's loan repayment will NOT trigger any IRS reporting from your bank. The $600 reporting rule specifically applies to third-party payment settlement entities like PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App - not traditional banks. Banks operate under entirely different reporting requirements and don't categorize or report your deposits as "income" to the IRS unless they exceed $10,000 (and that's for anti-money laundering purposes, not tax reporting). Since this was a personal loan repayment, it's not taxable income anyway - you're simply getting your own money back. The IRS doesn't consider loan repayments as income to the lender. My advice would be to keep some simple documentation of the original loan (even just a text message exchange) in case you ever need to explain the transaction, though for a $750 personal deposit it's extremely unlikely to be questioned. The key distinction to remember is: payment apps have the $600 threshold for 1099-K reporting, while traditional banks have much higher thresholds for completely different regulatory purposes. You can deposit that cash with confidence knowing it won't be mistakenly reported as taxable income!

This is a really important distinction that trips up a lot of people! The $600 reporting rule only applies to third-party payment networks like PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App - your regular bank won't report that $750 cash deposit to the IRS. Banks have completely different reporting thresholds - they only file Currency Transaction Reports for cash deposits over $10,000, and that's for anti-money laundering purposes, not tax reporting. Your brother's loan repayment is just that - a repayment of money you originally lent out, so it's not taxable income anyway. I'd recommend keeping some record of the original loan (text messages, notes, etc.) just in case, but for a personal transaction like this, it's very unlikely the IRS would ever question it. The key thing to remember is that traditional banking and payment app transactions operate under totally different regulatory frameworks - don't let the payment app controversy make you worry about normal bank deposits!

I'm going through the EXACT same thing right now! Filed my 2024 return about 12 days ago and woke up to that "Action Required" message this morning. My heart literally dropped when I saw it because I was counting on my refund to catch up on some bills. Like so many others here, I also claimed EIC which seems to be the common thread for most of us getting this status. Reading through everyone's experiences has been such a huge relief though - I had no idea this was so normal for early filers! The fact that the message specifically says they'll mail us if they actually need something gives me hope that this is just their standard verification process. It's just so hard not to panic when you see those words "Action Required" especially when you haven't done anything wrong. I'm definitely guilty of the obsessive WMR checking too 😅 Even though I know it's not going to change every few hours, I can't help myself! But hearing from people who went through this exact situation last year and had it resolve without any issues is keeping me somewhat sane. Fingers crossed we'll all be getting good news in the next few weeks! Thanks for posting this - it's amazing how much better it feels knowing we're not alone in this stressful waiting game! 🤞

I'm literally going through this exact same situation right now! Got the "Action Required" message for my 2024 return about 5 days ago and have been stressed out ever since. Also claimed EIC like so many others here, which definitely seems to be triggering these reviews. Reading through all these responses has been such a lifesaver for my anxiety! I had no idea this was so common during early filing season. The fact that so many people are experiencing the same thing with EIC claims makes me feel way less like I did something wrong on my return. The obsessive WMR checking is SO real 😅 I've been refreshing it multiple times a day even though I know logically it's not going to change that fast. But it's hard not to when you're depending on that refund! I keep reminding myself that the message says they'll mail us if they actually need information, and since I haven't gotten anything in the mail yet, that's probably a good sign. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - it's amazing how much better it feels knowing we're all in this stressful waiting game together! Hoping we all get good news soon 🤞

This has been a really informative discussion! As someone who's been dealing with similar confusion about capital assets, I wanted to add one more point that might help others. When people talk about "moving money around between different types of investments and accounts" like the original poster mentioned, it's important to remember that transfers between certain types of accounts (like 401k to IRA rollovers, or moving between different brokerage accounts) might not trigger taxable events even though you're dealing with capital assets. However, if you're actually selling investments in a taxable account to buy different investments, that's when the capital gains/losses come into play. The cash you temporarily hold between the sale and purchase isn't the issue - it's the actual sale of the capital asset that creates the taxable event. Just thought this distinction might be helpful for tax planning purposes since it sounds like that's what Chris was originally trying to figure out!

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm a newcomer to this community and was really struggling with understanding capital assets for my own tax situation. The clarification that cash itself isn't a capital asset but the investments you buy with cash ARE capital assets really cleared things up for me. I've been overthinking this whole concept. What I found most valuable was learning about the "exclusion" method - that everything is considered a capital asset except for the specific things listed as exceptions. That's much easier to understand than trying to memorize what IS a capital asset. Thanks to everyone who contributed, especially those who shared practical resources and experiences. As someone just starting to do more serious tax planning, this kind of community knowledge sharing is invaluable!

@Abigail Patel - I was in a similar situation when I started with gig work! Here's what I wish someone had told me right away: Since you're earning around $800 so far and expect to make $2500-3000 total, you'll definitely need to pay self-employment tax (15.3%) plus regular income tax. The good news is you have some time before the September 15th deadline. My advice: Start tracking your mileage RIGHT NOW if you haven't already. Every mile you drive while working (including driving to your first delivery and between orders) is deductible at $0.67 per mile. This can significantly reduce what you owe. For a rough estimate, take your gross earnings, subtract your mileage deduction, then set aside about 25-30% of what's left for taxes. You can use Form 1040-ES to calculate your exact quarterly payment. Don't stress too much - as a new gig worker, there are safe harbor rules that can help you avoid penalties even if you underpay slightly. The most important thing is to start tracking everything now and make your best estimate for the September payment. Also keep receipts for any work-related expenses like phone bills, hot bags, car maintenance, etc. - these are all deductible!

@Abigail Patel - Since you're just starting out with Doordash, here's a simple action plan for your situation: **Immediate steps:** 1. Download a mileage tracking app TODAY (Stride is free and works great) 2. Start tracking every mile while you're dashing - this will be your biggest tax deduction 3. Set aside 25-30% of your earnings in a separate savings account for taxes **For the September 15th deadline:** Since you've only made $800 so far, you likely won't owe a huge amount for this quarter. You can use the IRS Form 1040-ES worksheet to calculate your exact payment, but don't panic if you can't pay the full amount - there are penalty safe harbors for new self-employed workers. **Key deductions to track:** - Mileage (67¢ per mile in 2024) - Phone bill percentage used for work - Any supplies like hot bags, phone mounts, etc. **The 1099 situation:** You're right that Doordash will send you a 1099-NEC if you earn over $600, but it won't come until January 2025. Don't wait for it - you need to track your own earnings and make quarterly payments based on what you know you've earned. Since this is your first year, focus on getting into good tracking habits now rather than stressing about perfect calculations. The most important thing is starting that paper trail!