have u tried setting up a payment plan for the 2018 balance? might help

I had this exact same issue last year! The Treasury Offset line is notoriously unreliable - it often shows no debt even when you actually owe money. Your transcript is definitely the more accurate source. If it shows a 2018 balance, there's a good chance they'll take part or all of your refund to pay it off. I'd suggest calling the IRS directly (not the offset line) to get the real story and see if you can work out a payment plan before they automatically take your refund. The wait times are brutal but at least you'll get accurate info.

better safe than sorry - put that refund money aside until you know for sure whats going on

This happened to me too! My transcript showed $0 but I kept getting notices. Turns out there was a penalty assessment that hadn't updated on the transcript yet. I'd definitely recommend getting a tax professional to help sort this out, or try one of those transcript analysis tools people are mentioning. Don't ignore it though - they can definitely offset your refund even if the transcript looks clean right now. Better to deal with it upfront than lose your refund later!

This is such valuable information from everyone! I'm dealing with something similar - inherited my grandmother's property 6 months ago and have been putting off the appraisal thinking I could handle it later. After reading about Dylan's family's experience with the audit, I'm definitely getting one done ASAP. One thing I'm curious about - for those who got retrospective appraisals, how did you find qualified appraisers who were experienced with inheritance valuations? I called a couple local appraisers and they seemed unsure about doing a valuation for a past date. Want to make sure I find someone who really knows what they're doing for this specific situation.

I've been following this thread and wanted to share something that might help others avoid the stress I went through. When my grandfather passed last year, I was in a similar boat - inherited his duplex property and wasn't sure about the appraisal timing. What really helped me was getting connected with an estate planning attorney who specialized in inherited property. They explained that beyond just the step-up basis issue, there are also state-specific rules that can affect your tax situation. In my state, for example, there were additional inheritance tax considerations that I would have completely missed if I'd just focused on the federal requirements. The attorney had a network of appraisers they regularly worked with who were experienced in estate valuations, which saved me the headache of trying to find someone qualified on my own. The whole process ended up being much smoother than I expected, and having professional guidance gave me confidence that I was handling everything correctly. For anyone feeling overwhelmed by this stuff - don't try to navigate it all alone. Sometimes spending a few hundred on professional advice upfront can save you thousands in mistakes later.

FYI the IRS has a huge backlog this year. They're still catching up from pandemic staffing issues and the new tax law changes are slowing everything down. My tax guy told me to expect delays for everyone this season.

I'm in a similar situation! Filed Feb 16th with Chime and also claimed EIC. Been checking WMR obsessively and it's driving me crazy that it just says "still processing" with no updates. Reading through these comments is actually really helpful - I had no idea about the PATH Act delay for EIC claims. That explains why we're all waiting so long! Sounds like early to mid-March is realistic based on what others are sharing. Thanks everyone for the timeline examples, it's reassuring to know I'm not alone in this waiting game. Fingers crossed we all get our deposits soon! 🤞

I've had good luck with FaxZero for one-off IRS documents. It's completely free for up to 3 pages (perfect for most tax forms) and you don't need to create an account. Just upload your PDF, enter the IRS fax number, and hit send. They email you a confirmation once it goes through. The only downside is there's a small ad on the cover page, but the IRS doesn't seem to care about that. I've used it multiple times for amended returns and CP notices without any issues. For security, they automatically delete your documents from their servers after transmission. If you need more than 3 pages, their premium service is only $1.99 for up to 25 pages, which is way cheaper than driving to find a fax machine or setting up a monthly subscription somewhere.

I've been using FaxBurner for IRS communications and it's been solid. It's app-based which I prefer over browser services, and you get 5 free fax pages per day which covers most tax document needs. The interface is really intuitive - just snap a photo of your document or upload a PDF, enter the fax number, and send. What I like most is that they provide detailed delivery reports showing exactly when the IRS received your fax, down to the minute. This has saved me twice when dealing with deadline issues. They also store your sent faxes in the app for easy reference later. For sensitive tax docs, they use bank-level encryption and automatically purge documents after 30 days. If you need more than the daily free pages, you can buy credits pretty cheaply. Definitely worth checking out if you prefer mobile apps over web-based services.