As someone who recently went through a similar farm inheritance situation, I'd strongly recommend getting a qualified agricultural tax professional involved sooner rather than later. Farm inheritance taxation has so many specialized rules and exceptions that general tax preparers often miss important opportunities or make costly mistakes. One thing I learned the hard way is that the timing of cattle sales after inheritance can impact your tax liability. If you sell immediately after the date of death, you'll likely have minimal taxable gain due to the stepped-up basis. But if you hold the cattle and continue feeding them for months before selling, any weight gain or market appreciation becomes taxable income. Also, don't forget to consider the estate's tax year. If your grandmother passed away in 2024, the estate might need to file its own tax return (Form 1041) for any income earned between the date of death and final distribution to heirs. The cattle sales might need to be reported on the estate return rather than individual returns, depending on who technically owns them during the sale period. Keep detailed records of everything - feed costs, veterinary bills, sale prices, dates, and any expenses related to maintaining or selling the cattle after inheritance. These details will be crucial for properly calculating any taxable gain and taking advantage of all available deductions.

Just went through this exact situation with my family's dairy farm inheritance last year. One crucial detail that hasn't been mentioned yet - if your grandmother was claiming depreciation on any farm buildings, equipment, or breeding livestock over the years, there could be depreciation recapture taxes when those assets are eventually sold, even with the stepped-up basis. The stepped-up basis applies to the fair market value, but any depreciation previously claimed by your grandmother may need to be "recaptured" as ordinary income rather than capital gains. This especially applies to things like tractors, barns, milking equipment, etc. if they get sold as part of settling the estate. For the cattle specifically, if they were breeding stock that your grandmother held for more than 24 months, they might qualify for capital gains treatment rather than ordinary income, which could save you significantly on taxes. But if they were raised for sale (rather than breeding), different rules apply. I'd recommend gathering all of your grandmother's tax returns from the past few years, especially the Schedule F forms, before meeting with a tax professional. They'll need to see what depreciation was claimed and what accounting method was used to properly advise you on the cattle sale tax implications.

Tax preparer here. This is really common! Most likely the software is making different assumptions about your filing status or eligibility for certain credits based on your children. Did you answer the same "interview" questions on all platforms? Sometimes one platform will ask "Did you provide more than half the support for your child?" while another assumes this based on other answers. Or one platform might qualify your kids for the Child Tax Credit while another is qualifying them for the Credit for Other Dependents instead.

This happened to me two years ago and it was incredibly frustrating! The key thing is that even though you uploaded the same W2s, the platforms are making different assumptions about how to apply various tax laws based on your family situation. Since you mentioned you have kids, here's what's likely happening: each platform is automatically calculating child-related credits (Child Tax Credit, Additional Child Tax Credit, etc.) differently based on their initial questionnaires. They might also be handling your state taxes completely differently - some states have complex interactions with federal calculations that each software interprets slightly. My advice: pick the two platforms that seem most reasonable (I'd probably eliminate the one showing the most extreme result) and complete your entire return on both. Don't just stop at W2 entry. Enter all your deductions, any 1099s, childcare expenses, education credits - everything. Then compare the final results line by line. Most platforms will show you a detailed tax summary or Form 1040 preview before you file. Look specifically at: - How they calculated your Child Tax Credit - State income tax deduction vs. state taxes owed - Any automatic deductions they applied The differences will probably become much clearer once you have the complete picture rather than just the W2 portion.

Have you tried checking with your bank? If you had direct deposit set up with this employer, your bank statements might show the company's full legal name and sometimes additional identifying information that could help you track down their EIN through business databases. Also, if you're still struggling to find the EIN after trying all these suggestions, remember that you can actually file Form 4852 without the EIN initially - just put "UNKNOWN" in that field and include a note explaining that the employer is unresponsive. The IRS will work to identify the employer based on the other information you provide (company name, address, your employment dates, etc.). While this might add some processing time, it's better than missing the filing deadline entirely. You can always amend your return later once you get the correct EIN, but at least you'll have filed on time and avoided any late filing penalties.

One more option that saved me when I was in this exact situation - check if your former employer filed any employment verification documents with E-Verify or similar systems. If you're able to log into your state's unemployment benefits portal (even if you never filed for unemployment), sometimes they'll show historical employer information including EINs for wage reporting purposes. Also, if you still have access to any employee benefits portals from that job (health insurance, 401k, etc.), the EIN might be listed in the plan documents or summary descriptions. I found mine buried in my old health insurance enrollment documents that I had saved as PDFs. Don't give up! I know it's incredibly frustrating to deal with unresponsive employers, but you have way more options than you might think. The key is being persistent and trying multiple avenues. And honestly, once you get that EIN and file Form 4852, you'll probably get your refund faster than if you were still waiting around for them to send the W2!

My advice - file electronically through the software if you're confident, but pay the extra fee for audit protection. Most tax software offers this now for like $40-50 extra, and it gives you representation if you do get audited. Way cheaper than hiring a CPA now and the software is pretty good at handling all the forms you mentioned. Just make absolutely sure you double check all your entries before submitting!

I've been through a similar situation and wanted to share what worked for me. Your audit risk is genuinely low - the combination of factors you described (multiple W-2s, reasonable business expenses relative to income, proper quarterly payments) actually shows good tax compliance rather than red flags. That said, I'd strongly recommend doing a final review of your return before filing. Whether that's through one of those AI tax services people mentioned, a quick consultation with a CPA, or just methodically going through each form line by line depends on your budget and comfort level. The most important thing is having solid documentation for every business deduction. Since you mentioned keeping receipts digitally, make sure you also have a clear business purpose documented for each expense. For mixed personal/business items, only deduct the business portion and keep notes on how you calculated that percentage. Your income jump from adding contractor work is actually pretty normal and explainable, so don't stress too much about that aspect. The IRS sees career changes all the time, especially with the gig economy boom.

Has anyone tried calling the IRS directly about this? I've been getting rejected for a similar issue and every tax preparer I talk to gives me different answers!

I work as a tax preparer and can confirm what others have said - the IRS definitely tightened their validation systems starting with 2023 tax year returns. What worked before may not work now because the automated checks are more sophisticated. For your specific situation, the rule is clear: only the parent claiming the child as a dependent can claim the Child and Dependent Care Credit. This is stated in IRS Publication 503. The fact that your ex pays for daycare doesn't change who's eligible to claim the credit. Your best options are: 1) You claim both the Child Tax Credit and Child Care Credit, then work out the financial arrangement privately with your ex, or 2) If you have multiple children, split them so each parent claims one child as dependent along with that child's care expenses, or 3) Your ex could claim the child as dependent (you'd need to sign Form 8332) and then he could claim both credits. The reason you're getting different answers from preparers is that some may not be up to date on how strictly these rules are now being enforced by the IRS systems.