I'm dealing with a similar WEP overpayment situation right now and this thread has been incredibly helpful! One thing I wanted to add - if you're having trouble getting clear answers from Social Security about exactly how much you've repaid and what documentation you'll receive, try requesting a "benefit verification letter" from your my Social Security account online. This letter shows your complete payment history and can help you track exactly what you've repaid so far. I found this really useful when trying to figure out if I should amend previous years' returns or take the current year deduction. Having the exact numbers made it much easier to calculate which approach would save me more money. Also, for anyone still struggling with the IRS phone system - I can confirm that calling early in the morning (right when they open at 7 AM) seems to have better success rates than calling later in the day, though it's still frustrating. The automated system is brutal but persistence does sometimes pay off.

I've been following this thread closely because I'm in a very similar situation - Social Security overpaid me due to incorrect WEP calculations and I'm now repaying through their installment plan. What's been most helpful from reading everyone's experiences is understanding that there are really two main approaches: taking the itemized deduction on Schedule A for the current year, or filing amended returns for the years when you received the overpayments. One thing I wanted to add that hasn't been mentioned yet - if you're married filing jointly and the Social Security overpayment pushed your household into a higher tax bracket in previous years, the amended return approach becomes even more attractive. In my case, the extra Social Security income in 2021 pushed us from the 12% bracket into the 22% bracket for part of our income. By filing an amended return to remove that overpayment, we're getting back taxes that were paid at the higher rate. Also, for anyone still trying to get through to the IRS by phone - I found that calling the practitioner priority line (if you have a tax professional helping you) tends to have shorter wait times. If you don't have a tax pro, some of the online services mentioned in this thread might be worth trying, especially if you're dealing with a time-sensitive situation like I was when Social Security threatened to increase my monthly withholding. The documentation aspect cannot be overstated - I've been keeping copies of everything, including screenshots of my online Social Security account showing the repayment schedule. This has been invaluable when trying to calculate the tax implications of each approach.

Just wanted to add something that might help with future planning - since you mentioned you're 27 and have time to rebuild. Consider setting up automatic contributions to your new Roth IRA to take advantage of dollar-cost averaging as you recover from this setback. Also, if you find yourself in another financial emergency, look into other options before touching retirement accounts again. Some alternatives include: personal loans (which might have lower effective costs than the 10% penalty plus taxes), borrowing from a 401k if your new employer's plan allows it (you pay interest to yourself), or even a 0% APR credit card for temporary relief. The compound interest loss you mentioned is real - that $12,000 could have grown to around $150,000+ by retirement age. But you're young enough that consistent contributions going forward can still put you in great shape for retirement. Don't let this one mistake derail your long-term financial planning!

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is the timing of when you'll actually receive your 1099-R form. Since your withdrawal happened in February, you should definitely receive the form by January 31st of next year, but keep in mind that some financial institutions are slower than others with their reporting. I'd recommend checking with your 401k provider in early January to make sure they have your current address, especially since you mentioned you were switching jobs around the time of the withdrawal. The last thing you want is for the 1099-R to get lost in the mail and delay your tax filing. Also, just to echo what others have said about the tax impact - with a $12,000 withdrawal plus your $20,000 Roth conversion, you're looking at $32,000 in additional taxable income for the year. Depending on your regular salary, this could potentially bump you into a higher tax bracket, so you might want to consider making estimated tax payments if you haven't already to avoid any underpayment penalties when you file. It sounds like you learned from this experience, which is the most important thing. We all make financial decisions we later regret, but you handled a tough situation and now you know what to avoid in the future.

One thing that might help you budget better is understanding exactly what gets taken out of your paycheck. You mentioned they "take out taxes" but there are actually several different things being withheld: 1. Federal income tax (this is what you'll get back since you're under the standard deduction) 2. FICA taxes - Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%) - these you won't get back 3. Possibly state income tax depending on your state 4. Maybe state disability insurance in some states So when you look at your paystub, make sure you're only counting the "Federal Income Tax" or "Fed Tax" line when calculating what you might get back. The FICA stuff (sometimes shown as "OASDI" and "Medicare") totals about 7.65% of your gross pay and that's gone forever, even for low-income earners. This way you can set realistic expectations for your refund and budget accordingly for next year's tuition and books!

Great question! I was in a similar situation when I was in college. You should definitely get back most or all of your federal income tax withholding since your income is well below the standard deduction threshold. One thing I'd recommend is keeping really good records of all your education expenses throughout the year - tuition payments, required textbooks, lab fees, etc. These can qualify you for education credits that could actually get you more money back than what was withheld from your paychecks. Also, since you mentioned your parents aren't claiming you as a dependent this year, make sure you file your own return! Don't assume they're handling it. You'll need to file to get any refund, and filing as an independent gives you access to the full standard deduction. The timing matters too - file as soon as you get your W-2 in January so you can get your refund money in time to help with spring semester expenses. Every dollar counts when you're paying for school!

Just an FYI - I use QuickBooks Self-Employed to track my business expenses and it has a feature specifically for tracking mileage and usage of vehicles/equipment. It might be helpful for logging your boat usage, especially since it timestamps everything. You can categorize each trip as business or personal.

This is a great question and I've been in a similar situation with mixed-use business assets. One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is the importance of establishing the business purpose BEFORE you purchase the boat. The IRS looks more favorably on deductions when you can demonstrate that the purchase was primarily motivated by business needs rather than personal desires. I'd recommend documenting your current boat rental expenses and showing how purchasing would be more cost-effective for your business. Also consider getting quotes from multiple boat rental companies to establish a baseline of your current costs. This creates a paper trail showing legitimate business justification. For the 60/40 split, you'll want to be conservative in your estimates. It's better to slightly underestimate business use than to be aggressive and risk an audit. And definitely keep every receipt - not just for the boat itself, but for insurance, maintenance, fuel, dock fees, everything. The business portion of all these ongoing expenses will be deductible too. Have you considered whether there are any local or state tax implications as well? Some states have different rules for business asset depreciation that might affect your decision.

I'm also new to this community but have been closely monitoring this thread as I'm experiencing the exact same delay. Filed jointly in late January, AGI $82k, last name starts with B. According to the original alphabetical schedule, I should have been among the very first to receive the payment, but here I am still waiting like so many others. Reading through all these responses, there's definitely a clear pattern - joint filers in the $75-85k income bracket are systematically delayed regardless of where our last names fall alphabetically. I've been checking my FTB online account multiple times daily, but like everyone else, it only shows my standard 2023 return with no MCTR status information. What's particularly frustrating is the lack of transparency from FTB about these delays. @Amara Nwosu's information about additional verification requirements for joint filers is the most helpful explanation I've seen anywhere. Has anyone tried reaching out to their state representatives about this systematic delay affecting what appears to be thousands of joint filers? At this point, it seems like we need more official communication about the actual timeline for our specific situation.

I'm also new to this community and experiencing the exact same delay pattern as everyone else here. Filed jointly in early February, AGI $77k, last name starts with A - so according to the original alphabetical schedule, I should have been literally first in line to receive the MCTR payment. But like so many others in this thread, I'm still waiting despite being well within that A-M timeframe that was supposed to wrap up by October 21st. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful in understanding what's happening. The pattern is crystal clear: joint filers in the $75-85k income bracket are systematically delayed regardless of alphabetical placement. @Amara Nwosu's explanation about additional verification requirements for joint filers really seems to be the key insight here - it explains why virtually everyone sharing their delay story fits this exact profile. I've been checking my FTB online account daily since October 1st, but like everyone else, it only shows my standard 2023 return information with no MCTR status updates. What's particularly frustrating is that FTB hasn't provided any official communication about these delays affecting what appears to be a significant population of joint filers. Has anyone tried calling FTB recently to get an updated timeline specifically for joint filers going through this verification process? It would be helpful to know if there's at least an estimated completion date for whatever additional review they're conducting. Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences - it's really reassuring to know this is a widespread processing issue rather than individual problems with our returns.