Patricia, I know how stressful this can be! Tax Topic 151 basically means the IRS is doing a manual review of your return - it could be for income verification, to check if your withholdings match what employers reported, or just a random compliance check. The good news is that most 151 reviews are resolved without any action needed from you. Since you have reference number 1242, definitely use that when you call. I'd recommend calling first thing Monday morning (7am) when the lines open - you'll have a better chance of getting through quickly. Also keep checking the "Where's My Refund" tool on IRS.gov weekly for updates. If you've been waiting more than 8 weeks since filing, they should be able to give you a more specific timeline when you call. Hang in there - these reviews are super common and usually work out just fine! 💪

Hey Patricia! I went through the exact same thing last year and I totally get how nerve-wracking this can be. Tax Topic 151 just means they're doing a routine review - it's not necessarily a bad thing! The IRS reviews millions of returns every year for various reasons like verifying income, checking deductions, or just random quality control. With reference number 1242, you should definitely call that number they gave you. Pro tip: call right at 7am when they open - the wait times are usually much shorter then. Have all your documents ready like they mentioned (your return, W-2s, any notices you've received). The 60-90 day timeframe is pretty standard, though it can feel like forever when you're waiting for your refund. Keep checking "Where's My Refund" on IRS.gov weekly for updates. Most of these reviews get resolved without any additional action needed from you. Don't stress too much - you've got this! Let us know how the call goes when you reach out to them. 👍

Just make sure you're actually considered a nonresident alien for tax purposes. The substantial presence test can be tricky - if you were in the US for too many days over the past 3 years, you might still be considered a resident for tax purposes even after moving away.

Great question! I went through this exact situation two years ago when I moved back to Germany but kept my US savings account open. A few additional tips that helped me: 1. Make sure you have Form 1042-S from your bank showing the interest paid - this will help you complete Schedule NEC accurately. 2. Since you're Canadian, definitely claim the treaty benefit on Schedule NEC. The US-Canada treaty typically eliminates tax on bank interest for Canadian residents, so you'll likely owe zero US tax. 3. Keep good records of when you left the US permanently in 2024 - you'll need this date for Schedule OI and it affects your filing requirements. 4. Don't forget that even if you owe no tax due to the treaty, you still need to file the 1040-NR to claim that benefit properly. The process is much simpler than it looks when you only have bank interest. Focus on the personal info, Schedule NEC for the interest income and treaty claim, Schedule OI for the residency info, and you should be good to go!

This situation is so confusing to me. My understanding was you can't claim kids that aren't yours? But then others are saying you can claim neices and nephews? what are the actual rules?? I'm getting ready to file for 2024 and my sister's kids live with me so i need to know.

This is a really tough situation your cousin is in, but there might be more hope than his tax preparer is suggesting. I went through a similar audit two years ago and learned a lot about how the IRS evaluates these cases. First, regarding the HOH status - the fact that his ex-wife is using the same address is definitely what triggered this audit, but if they're truly living in separate households (even at the same address), he might still qualify. The IRS looks at whether you're maintaining separate living spaces and financial responsibilities. If they're sharing the same physical unit, then unfortunately only one can claim HOH. For the dependents, he's right to focus on proving his son lived with him - that's his strongest case. The niece and nephew situation is much trickier. Even with Form 8332 from his brother, he still needs to prove they lived with him for more than half the year AND that he provided more than half their support. If the kids were just visiting frequently but not actually residing with him, those claims might not hold up. The financial impact of losing HOH and two dependents could be significant - potentially several thousand dollars. But if he can keep HOH status with just his son as a qualifying person, that would minimize the damage considerably. I'd suggest getting a second opinion from a CPA or enrolled agent who specializes in audit representation, not just a tax prep service.

Just wanted to add something important - don't forget about the Qualified Business Income deduction (Section 199A). Since you're self-employed with DoorDash, you can potentially deduct up to 20% of your net profit! Most of the free tax software should calculate this for you, but sometimes they miss it. On a $1050 income with expenses, it might not amount to much, but it's still free money!

Hey Yuki! I went through the exact same situation last year with my first DoorDash 1099-NEC. Here's what worked for me: I ended up using Cash App Taxes (completely free) and it handled everything perfectly. The interface is really user-friendly for beginners and walks you through each step. It automatically calculated my self-employment tax and even caught deductions I hadn't thought of. One thing I wish I had known earlier - start tracking EVERYTHING now for 2025! Not just mileage, but also: - Phone bill percentage (since you use it for the app) - Car maintenance and repairs - Any delivery bags or equipment - Even hand sanitizer if you bought it for work Also, don't stress too much about the self-employment tax calculation - the software does it all for you. With your income level, you're looking at about 15.3% SE tax on your net profit (after expenses), but then you get to deduct half of that SE tax, which reduces your overall tax burden. The whole process took me maybe 2 hours once I had all my documents ready. You've got this!

Thank you all for the detailed explanations! This has been incredibly helpful. I filed on March 7th with head of household and dependent care credits, so it sounds like I'm right in line with the typical timeline everyone has described. It's reassuring to know that "accepted" really is just the first step and that 2-3 weeks in that status is completely normal, especially with credits that need verification. Based on what Giovanni shared about their March 3rd filing getting approved after 19 days, I'm probably looking at another week or so before seeing any movement. I'll stop obsessively checking the Where's My Refund tool multiple times a day and switch to once every few days like Zainab suggested. This community has been so much more helpful than any of the official IRS resources for understanding what these status updates actually mean!

I went through this same confusion last year! "Accepted" definitely just means the IRS received your return and it passed their basic automated checks - like your SSN matches their records, the math is correct, and there are no obvious formatting errors. It's basically confirmation that your return made it into their system successfully. The actual review of your deductions, credits, and eligibility happens during the "processing" stage, which comes after accepted. Since you filed as head of household with dependent care credits, those will need to be verified during processing, which typically adds a few extra days to the timeline. I filed with similar credits last year and went from "accepted" to "approved with DDD" after about 21 days total. The IRS tends to batch process returns with certain credits together, so don't worry if it seems to sit in "accepted" status for a while - that's completely normal!