Pro tip: if u got federal student loans check the studentaid.gov website first. they usually know b4 the irs transcript updates

Check your transcript for code 898 (Treasury Offset Program) - that's the big one that shows if they're planning to take your refund. Also look for any negative amounts with future dates. The codes can be confusing though, so don't panic if you see something weird without understanding what it means first. You can also call the Treasury Offset Program at 1-800-304-3107 to see if you have any debts that might cause an offset. Better to know now than get surprised later!

Great question! I dealt with this exact situation last year. The key thing to understand is that whoever's SSN is listed as the primary on the account will receive the 1099-INT and is technically responsible for reporting it. However, since it's genuinely your kids' money, you have a few options: 1. **Keep status quo**: You report the interest on your return, then you can gift that tax amount back to your kids (staying under annual gift limits) 2. **Change primary SSN**: Contact Ally to switch the primary SSN to your children's. This needs to be done before year-end to affect the current tax year's reporting 3. **Remove yourself entirely**: Since they're adults, you could remove yourself from the accounts completely - this is probably the cleanest long-term solution 4. **Assignment of income**: Create documentation showing you have no beneficial interest in the accounts, then your kids report the interest (though this requires careful documentation) I'd recommend option 2 or 3 since it eliminates the complexity going forward. The interest rates at Ally are definitely worth keeping - just make sure the tax reporting matches who actually owns the money!

This has been such a helpful discussion! I'm in a nearly identical situation with my 25-year-old son's high-yield savings account at Marcus (Goldman Sachs). Reading through everyone's experiences has really clarified the options for me. I think the consensus here is spot-on - for relatively small interest amounts (under $500), it's not worth overthinking the documentation or assignment of income approaches. The simplest path forward seems to be either keeping status quo for this tax year and then removing yourself from the accounts, or just removing yourself now if you want to clean things up immediately. What's really valuable about this thread is seeing real experiences from people who've actually dealt with audits, called the IRS, or worked with tax professionals on this exact issue. It's reassuring to know that joint account situations like this are common and the IRS isn't going to scrutinize a few hundred dollars in interest income. For anyone else reading this thread later: the key takeaways seem to be 1) whoever's SSN is primary gets the 1099-INT, 2) consistency is crucial whatever approach you choose, and 3) removing yourself entirely is probably the cleanest long-term solution once your kids are financially independent adults. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - this kind of practical, real-world advice is so much more valuable than trying to decode IRS publications on your own!

One thing to consider - if you filed amended returns through a CPA, there may have been a substantial change in your reported income or deductions that triggered additional scrutiny. The certified mail could be related to that. I had this happen with my 2018 taxes when my CPA found significant deductions I'd missed. The IRS sent certified mail requesting documentation to verify those deductions. It wasn't an audit exactly, but they wanted proof before accepting all the changes.

Don't panic! Certified mail from the IRS is concerning but not necessarily catastrophic. The future date you're seeing (12/16 when today is 12/5) is actually normal - their system generates transcript entries before the physical notice is mailed. Given that this relates to your 2019 amended return and shows a $12,350 liability, this is most likely a CP2000 notice or similar correspondence about adjustments they've made based on your amendment. The $90 is probably a small penalty or interest charge. Here's what I'd recommend: First, don't stress too much until you actually receive and read the letter. Second, have all your 2019 tax documents ready along with anything your CPA filed for the amendment. Third, contact your CPA immediately when you get the letter since they're familiar with your situation. Most importantly, whatever the letter says, there are almost always options - payment plans, penalty abatements for first-time issues, or the ability to dispute if there are errors. The key is responding within the timeframe they give you (usually 30-90 days depending on the type of notice).

Something important that hasn't been mentioned yet - don't forget about self-employment taxes! If you do make your woodworking a legitimate business, you'll pay an additional 15.3% on your profits for Medicare and Social Security taxes. This is on top of income tax. This is one reason why an S-Corp can eventually make sense (after you're profitable), as you can pay yourself a reasonable salary (subject to SE tax) and take the rest as distributions (not subject to SE tax).

Just went through this with my pottery business! My advice: start as a sole proprietor (Schedule C) first, not an S-Corp. Way simpler and lower compliance costs. You'll need to be careful about what you deduct. For equipment, anything over $2,500 typically needs to be depreciated rather than expensed entirely in year one (though Section 179 and bonus depreciation might help). For home workspace, you can only deduct space used EXCLUSIVELY for business. If your workshop doubles as storage or family space, you'll run into problems.

Has anyone else noticed that TurboTax seems to be having more technical issues this year? This is the first time I've had problems with them in years of filing.

I'm experiencing the exact same issue! Filed through TurboTax on Tuesday and it's now Friday with no acceptance notice. Reading through these comments has been really helpful - sounds like this is much more common this year than in previous filing seasons. I'm going to wait the full 5 days before taking any action, but it's reassuring to know that the transmission confirmation from TurboTax is the important first step. The information about new IRS fraud detection systems causing delays makes a lot of sense too. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences!