Something important nobody's mentioned yet - if your mom normally doesn't file taxes because she's only on Social Security, you need to check if this 1099-C income will push her over the filing threshold. For 2023 taxes (filing in 2024), the threshold for a single filer over 65 is $14,700. So if her Social Security is her only income, and it's not taxable, you'd need to compare that $6,700 in cancelled debt to the $14,700 threshold. If it's under, she might not even need to file a return. But definitely double-check this with a tax professional, because there are different rules depending on her exact filing status and other factors. The last thing you want is an unexpected notice from the IRS later.

I'd strongly recommend having your mom file a return even if the cancelled debt might not push her over the filing threshold. Here's why: the IRS has a copy of those 1099-C forms and their computer systems will flag her SSN if they don't see a corresponding tax return that addresses the cancelled debt. Even if she qualifies for the insolvency exclusion or falls under the filing threshold, filing Form 982 (Reduction of Tax Attributes Due to Discharge of Indebtedness) along with a basic return creates a paper trail showing you properly handled the situation. This can prevent those confusing IRS notices months later asking why the cancelled debt wasn't reported. Also, make sure you have documentation ready to support any insolvency claim - bank statements, asset valuations, and debt balances as of the date each debt was cancelled. The IRS can request this information if they decide to review the return. Since you're managing this for your elderly mom, having everything organized upfront will save you both stress later.

For anyone dealing with this issue in the future: always keep copies of your fee agreements. Unlike H&R Block or TurboTax which have transparent fee tracking, Liberty's system is less intuitive. Their customer service improves dramatically after April 15th. If you're filing next year, consider asking about their fee tracking options before choosing them as your preparer. Most importantly, calculate your expected refund amount before fees so you can verify if the correct amount was deducted.

As a newcomer to this discussion, I want to add that if you're still having trouble accessing the MyLiberty portal or the Documents section mentioned by others, there's another way to verify your fee payment status. Check your original Liberty Tax paperwork - they should have given you a copy of the "Refund Transfer Agreement" when you filed. This document contains a confirmation number that you can use to track your fee payment status by calling their automated line at 1-800-REFUNDS (1-800-733-8637). The automated system is available 24/7 and often has more current information than their website. Just have your SSN and confirmation number ready when you call.

Has anyone used the capital gains harvesting strategy? Where you sell investments that have gains up to the 0% capital gains bracket limit? I heard you can essentially realize gains tax-free if your income is low enough.

Great question about capital gains harvesting! Yes, you do need to be careful about other income limits when using this strategy. While you might keep your total income within the 0% capital gains bracket, those same gains still count toward your AGI and MAGI, which can affect eligibility for things like: - Premium Tax Credits (ACA/Obamacare subsidies) - American Opportunity Tax Credit - Lifetime Learning Credit - Student loan interest deduction - IRA contribution deductibility The key is to model out your entire tax situation before harvesting gains. I usually run the numbers in late November to see exactly how much I can harvest without losing other valuable credits or deductions. Sometimes it's worth paying a small amount of capital gains tax to preserve a larger tax credit! Also remember the wash sale rule doesn't apply to gains harvesting like it does to loss harvesting, so you can immediately buy back the same investment if you want to maintain your portfolio allocation.

I've been following this thread and just wanted to add one more potential source of Box 1 discrepancy that hasn't been mentioned yet - educational assistance benefits! If your wife's employer provided any tuition reimbursement, student loan payments, or other educational assistance over $5,250 during the year, the excess amount becomes taxable income that gets added to Box 1. Also, if she received any achievement awards, length of service awards, or other employee recognition gifts worth more than $1,600 total for the year, those would also be included as taxable income. These types of benefits often don't show up clearly on regular pay stubs but can significantly impact the Box 1 calculation. Given all the complexity everyone has outlined here, I'm definitely in the camp of using the tools mentioned (taxr.ai for calculation, Claimyr for IRS contact) rather than trying to manually figure this out. Your wife's employer sounds incredibly unprofessional, and you shouldn't have to put your tax filing on hold because they can't do basic administrative tasks. Good luck getting this resolved!

I had almost the exact same situation with a former employer who was being completely unresponsive about my W2! After reading through all these responses, I want to echo what others have said about using the tools mentioned here. I ended up using taxr.ai to calculate my Box 1 from my final pay stub, and it was incredibly helpful in identifying all those hidden components that affect the calculation. The tool actually flagged several things I would have missed - like imputed income from my employer-paid life insurance and the taxable portion of some fringe benefits. What really struck me about your situation is how many different factors can impact Box 1 beyond just the obvious payroll deductions. Reading through everyone's comments about moving expenses, parking benefits, disability premiums, educational assistance, and various other taxable benefits really shows why manually calculating this is so error-prone. Given how unresponsive your wife's employer has been (and the fact that it's now well past the January 31st deadline for providing W2s), I'd strongly recommend going straight to Form 4852. You've given them more than enough chances to provide the document, and at this point you're just delaying your own tax filing for their incompetence. The IRS is very understanding about situations like this where employers are being unreasonable. Hope you get this resolved quickly - dealing with disorganized former employers is incredibly frustrating!

Does anyone know if CashApp Taxes actually generates the Form 8962 Part IV correctly behind the scenes? I've been using TaxAct and it shows the actual form with the allocation percentages, but when I helped my daughter with CashApp I couldn't tell if it was doing it right.

Based on what you've described, it sounds like you handled the allocation correctly. The key things the IRS looks for are: (1) the total allocation across all returns equals 100%, which you've coordinated at 20/20/60, and (2) everyone uses consistent allocation percentages for both the premiums and SLCSP amounts throughout the year. Since CashApp accepted your return, that's a good initial sign. The software does generate Form 8962 Part IV correctly behind the scenes, even though it doesn't show you that specific section during the filing process. One thing to keep in mind for next year - make sure you and your sister file before your parents if possible, or at least coordinate the timing. Sometimes when the primary policyholder (usually the parents) files first, it can create confusion for the other filers about what allocation percentage to use. If you're still worried, you could always request a copy of your actual filed return from the IRS to verify that Form 8962 Part IV was completed correctly, but honestly it sounds like you did everything right.