Don't forget that different states handle gambling income and losses differently too! Some states don't allow gambling loss deductions at all, while others follow federal rules. For example, I live in New Jersey and they don't allow you to deduct gambling losses on your state return even though you can on your federal return. So I ended up paying state tax on my full gambling winnings with no offset. Check your state's rules before counting on getting back both federal AND state taxes on that lottery win.

Just wanted to add a practical tip for organizing all those losing lottery tickets - I use a simple monthly envelope system. Each month I put all my losing tickets in a labeled envelope with the month/year, and I keep a running tally on the outside of total losses for that month. At the end of the year, I add up all the monthly totals to get my total gambling losses. This makes it much easier than trying to sort through hundreds of random tickets later, and if you ever get audited, the IRS will appreciate the organized approach. Also, don't forget to include the cost of tickets that won small amounts too! If you bought a $5 scratch-off and won $2, your net loss is $3 and that counts toward your deductible gambling losses. A lot of people forget to track these smaller net losses, but they can add up over the year. One last thing - start keeping a simple log going forward. Even just notes in your phone with date, location, game type, and amount lost. It takes 30 seconds but makes documentation so much easier than trying to reconstruct everything from tickets alone.

Has anyone actually calculated how much tax would be owed on $6500 of unreported dividends? If your income is $190k, you're probably in the 32% or 35% tax bracket, so we're talking about maybe $2000-$2300 in taxes, plus maybe 20% penalty, plus interest. That's not nothing, but also not something to lose sleep over if the alternative is filing amended returns and potentially triggering more scrutiny.

As someone who went through this exact scenario last year, I'd strongly recommend filing amended returns rather than waiting it out. I had about $4,800 in unreported dividends from 2021 that I completely forgot about, and I was in a similar income bracket to you. The IRS definitely does automated matching on dividend income - it's one of the most reliable income sources they cross-check because the 1099-DIV forms are filed electronically by brokerages. The fact that you haven't received a notice yet doesn't mean much; I've seen people get CP2000 notices 18+ months after filing. I ended up filing a 1040-X after consulting with a tax professional, and it was honestly the best decision. The additional tax was around $1,500 plus about $200 in interest, but no penalties since I voluntarily corrected it. If I had waited for them to catch it, I would have faced the 20% accuracy penalty on top of everything else. The peace of mind alone was worth it - no more wondering when that notice might show up in the mail. Plus, showing good faith by correcting your own mistake generally keeps you off their radar for future scrutiny.

Also - be super careful about carrying large amounts of cash around! Anything over $10k that gets discovered (like during a traffic stop) can be subject to civil asset forfeiture in many places. The cops can literally just take your money and you have to prove it's not drug money or something to get it back. Super messed up but it happens all the time.

Just wanted to add something important that hasn't been mentioned yet - make sure you keep detailed records of the original loan transaction too. Since you withdrew $50K in cash from your bank, that withdrawal should be documented on your bank statements. This creates a clear paper trail showing the money left your account and then returned, which helps establish the legitimacy of the loan arrangement. Also, regarding the 15% interest rate you charged - that's actually quite reasonable and well above the current Applicable Federal Rates (AFR), so you shouldn't have any issues with the IRS questioning whether this was a legitimate loan versus a disguised gift. The AFR for short-term loans is currently much lower, so your 15% rate clearly shows this was a commercial-style transaction. One more thing to consider: if you plan to make similar loans in the future, you might want to consider having your friend write you a check for the interest portion instead of paying in cash. This creates better documentation and avoids the complications others mentioned about carrying large amounts of cash.

I'm in the exact same boat! Filed in March 2024 and just noticed the 420 code on my transcript this week. No letter yet but WMR still says "processing." Reading through everyone's experiences here is both reassuring and terrifying - seems like it could be anywhere from a few weeks to several months. I'm definitely going to check my wage and income transcript like some of you suggested to see if there's an obvious mismatch. Really hoping it's something simple that gets resolved quickly since I was also counting on this refund for some necessary expenses. Thanks for sharing your timelines everyone - at least now I know I'm not alone in this waiting game! 🤞

Filed 1/29 got the 60 day letter 3/10 and called every month no updated no issues is what I was told then 9/18 got the 424 code

these clowns at SBTPG had me waiting 3 weeks just to send a check when I asked for direct deposit smh 🤡

That envelope you got sounds like it could be a prepaid debit card from SBTPG! The "Do Not Bend" and "Member FDIC BANK" markings are typical for card mailings. The "Immediate Response Requested" probably means you need to activate the card once you get it. I'd definitely open it - if it's your refund card, you'll need to activate it to access your money. SBTPG sends cards when you don't have direct deposit set up or if there was an issue with your bank info.