Given your situation with multiple jobs totaling around $40k, I'd recommend taking a conservative approach to avoid owing taxes next April. Since your new full-time position will be your primary income source, that's where you should make your withholding adjustments. Here's what I'd do: On your new job's W-4, check the multiple jobs box AND add $35-45 extra withholding per paycheck on line 4c. This should cover the tax liability from all three jobs without drastically overwithholding. Keep your Target and bartending W-4s simple - just mark single with no other jobs. Since the bartending income is unpredictable and relatively small, don't stress too much about it. The extra withholding from your main job should provide a good buffer. The key advantage of this approach is flexibility. If you do end up quitting the bartending job, you won't need to scramble to update multiple forms. And if your Target hours fluctuate, the buffer from your main job withholding should still cover you. You can always use the IRS withholding estimator mid-year to fine-tune things once you have a better sense of your actual income patterns. Better to get a modest refund than face penalties for underwithholding!

I've been in a similar situation with multiple jobs and want to emphasize something important that hasn't been mentioned yet - make sure you're tracking your income throughout the year, especially with those variable bartending shifts. Since you mentioned you might only work the restaurant 1-2 times per month for around $150 per shift, that could still add up to $1,800-3,600 annually depending on tips. The unpredictable nature of service industry income makes it tricky for any withholding calculator. My recommendation would be to take a middle-ground approach: Use your full-time job's W-4 to handle the heavy lifting by checking the multiple jobs box and adding about $35 per paycheck on line 4c. This should cover your base tax liability from all sources. Then, set aside about 20-25% of your bartending earnings in a separate savings account as you go. If you end up owing a little at tax time, you'll have that cushion. If you don't need it, great - you've got some extra savings! This strategy has saved me from both overwithholding stress and tax-time surprises. Also consider doing a mid-year check-in around July to see how your actual income is tracking against your estimates. You can always submit a new W-4 to adjust if needed.

I went through this exact same situation about 8 months ago and it was so stressful! That "TAX REFUND PROC for RFND DISB" description is completely unhelpful - it's just the standard Treasury wording that shows up on everyone's tax refund, whether you get the full amount or not. The missing $1,100 definitely sounds like an offset, and I hate how the IRS Where's My Refund tool gives you zero warning about this. Mine showed the full expected amount right up until the day the money hit my account, then boom - I was short $1,400 with no explanation. What saved me tons of time and stress was calling the Treasury Offset Program at 800-304-3107. It's an automated system where you just enter your SSN and it immediately tells you which agency took money from your refund and how much. No waiting on hold, no confusing paperwork - just straight answers. In my case, it turned out to be an old state tax debt from when I moved across the country. I had completely forgotten about it because they'd been sending notices to my old address. Once I knew what agency to contact, I was able to call them directly and work out a payment plan that actually qualified me for a partial refund of the offset amount. Don't give up on that missing money! A lot of people in similar situations have been able to get at least some of it back when there were errors in the collection process or when they qualified for hardship programs. The key is finding out who took it first, then you can decide your next steps.

Hey Kyle, I totally feel your frustration! I went through the exact same thing a few months back - got hit with that confusing "TAX REFUND PROC for RFND DISB" description and was missing about $900 from my expected refund. It's such a punch to the gut when you're counting on that money! Everyone here has given you solid advice about calling 800-304-3107 - that Treasury Offset Program hotline is definitely your fastest bet to find out what's going on. I used it and found out within 2 minutes that I had an old overpayment from unemployment benefits during COVID that I'd completely forgotten about. One thing I'd add is to not panic if it turns out to be a legitimate debt. Even if the offset is valid, many agencies have programs that can help. In my case, I was able to get about half of my offset refunded because I qualified for a financial hardship waiver. It took some paperwork and a few phone calls, but I got $450 back about 6 weeks later. The "TAX REFUND PROC for RFND DISB" part is totally normal - that's just Treasury's standard description for ALL tax refunds. The real issue is that missing $1,100, but at least you'll have answers soon once you make that call. Keep us posted on what you find out!

I worked for the IRS for 6 years and can tell you that notices related to payments and confirmation of filing are among the items that CAN typically be paperless if you've opted in. Items that CANNOT be paperless usually include certified letters, certain collection notices, and initial examination notifications. Based on what you described, if you have a straightforward return with a scheduled payment, you should receive electronic notification when the payment processes. But if anything irregular is found in your return, you might get physical mail within 2-8 weeks of filing.

I've been in a similar situation and understand how stressful this can be! From my experience, the key things that still come by physical mail despite paperless settings are legal notices, collection letters, and certain audit-related correspondence. For your specific situation with a straightforward e-filed return and scheduled payment, you should be fine with electronic notifications. However, I'd strongly recommend setting up USPS Informed Delivery as mentioned earlier - it's free and gives you a preview of incoming mail each morning via email. Also, consider that if you're this concerned about privacy, you might want to proactively get a small PO box for the next few months. It's relatively inexpensive and gives you complete control over when and how you receive any potential IRS correspondence. Just remember to officially update your address with the IRS using Form 8822 if you go that route. The timing window to watch for any potential mail would be roughly 3-8 weeks after filing, so you have a specific timeframe to be extra vigilant about mail interception if you choose not to get a PO box.

For property insurance payouts specifically, one solution is to keep track of ALL expenses related to the incident, not just direct replacement costs. Did you hire cleaners? Pay for storage while repairs were happening? Have to stay in a hotel? Buy meals out because you couldn't cook? All these can be considered part of your "loss" and offset any potential gain from the payout. My accountant helped me document everything when my basement flooded, and we ended up with no taxable amount even though the initial payout seemed higher than the obvious replacement costs.

I went through something very similar with a water damage claim last year. The key thing to understand is that the IRS looks at whether you had a "gain" - meaning did you receive more than what your property was worth to you (your "basis"). For most of your payout, you're probably fine since it's going toward actual repairs and replacements. The tricky part is that $7,000 where the insurance valued your old furniture higher than replacement cost. Here's what I learned: if your old couch cost you $800 twelve years ago and the insurance paid you $1,200 for it, but you can replace it with something equivalent for $400 today, you potentially have an $800 taxable gain ($1,200 payout minus $400 replacement cost). But if you can show the couch actually cost you $1,200 or more originally (accounting for inflation), then there's no gain. My advice: document EVERYTHING. Keep receipts for all repairs and replacements. If you end up spending that extra $7,000 on additional flood-related expenses (which often happens - there are always surprise costs), then you may not have any taxable gain at all. Also consider getting Form 1099-MISC from your insurance company showing exactly what they reported to the IRS, so you know what they're expecting to see on your return.

I've been an escrow officer for 15 years and I see this confusion all the time. Here's what actually happens: At closing, we calculate a prorated amount of taxes based on who owns the property on which days. This appears on your settlement statement. But that's just an adjustment between buyer and seller - it doesn't change what each of you actually PAID to the tax authority. For tax deduction purposes, you can only deduct property taxes YOU actually paid to the tax authority (usually through your mortgage company). If your Box 10 shows $5000, but your settlement statement shows the seller credited you $2000 for their portion of taxes, your actual deduction should be $3000. The IRS cares about economic burden - who actually bore the cost of the tax, not who physically sent the money to the tax collector.

This is exactly the kind of situation that trips up so many homeowners! You're right to question the "just use Box 10" approach - it's often not that simple when you buy mid-year. From what you've described, it sounds like you need to go with your second option: calculate (total tax bill) - (seller paid taxes at closing) = your deductible amount. The key principle is that you can only deduct property taxes that represent YOUR economic burden. Since you mentioned the seller-paid portion at closing was less than it should have been based on their ownership period, you essentially overpaid for their portion. But that doesn't change the fact that you can only deduct what you're actually responsible for as the property owner. Here's what I'd recommend: Look at your settlement statement for the property tax adjustment line. If it shows the seller credited you money for taxes, subtract that from your Box 10 amount. If it shows you paid the seller for prepaid taxes, add that to your Box 10 amount. The goal is to arrive at the total amount you actually paid that corresponds to your period of ownership. Don't worry about prorating based on days - focus on the actual financial transactions and adjustments that occurred.