My husband and I just went through an IRS audit for exactly this situation! Big warning: we ran into trouble because we were renting out too much of our home. The IRS agent cited the "dwelling unit used as a home" rules and said we were treating it more as a rental property than a personal residence. The key is making sure your personal use days exceed the greater of: 14 days or 10% of the total days it's rented. So if you rent portions of your home for 300 days, you need to personally use it for at least 30 days during the year. For duplicate expenses, keep detailed records showing you're paying both housing costs (mortgage/utilities at your tax home AND temporary housing during assignments). The IRS was particularly interested in seeing that we maintained utility services in our name even during rental periods. Also, a lot of travel nurse agencies don't handle state taxes correctly! Double-check their withholding - ours completely missed withholding for two states which created a mess.

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm a travel PT who's been struggling with similar tax home issues. One thing I'd add based on my experience - document EVERYTHING about your intent to return permanently to your tax home. The IRS looks closely at whether you truly intend your travel assignments to be temporary. Keep records showing you're actively planning your return: renewal of professional licenses in your home state, maintaining voter registration, keeping your kids enrolled in local schools if applicable, continuing relationships with local healthcare providers, etc. Also, for the state tax filing complexity you mentioned - I learned the hard way that some states have "convenience of employer" rules that can trip up remote workers. New York is notorious for this. Your husband should definitely check if any of the states you'll be in have these rules, as they might try to tax his entire income even if he's just temporarily there with you. One last tip: consider getting a tax professional who specializes in itinerant workers BEFORE you start traveling. The upfront cost pays for itself when you avoid mistakes that could trigger an audit or penalties later.

I had a situation where I needed to liquidate estate assets to pay debts before distributing to beneficiaries. The executor fees and estate administration expenses can also be deducted on the 1041 as administrative expenses. Has your attorney discussed this with you?

Just want to add some clarity on the timing aspect that might be helpful. Since you mentioned the sale occurred in February 2023 and you're still working on the 1041, make sure you're aware that the capital loss from the selling expenses will be reported on the 1041 for the tax year when the sale occurred (2023), not when you file the return. Also, if this is the final 1041 for the estate, any unused capital losses will pass through to the beneficiaries on their K-1s. But if the estate continues beyond 2023, the losses would first offset any capital gains the estate might have in future years before passing through. One practical tip: when you prepare the K-1s for beneficiaries, make sure to include a statement explaining the nature of the capital loss so they understand it came from selling expenses on the residence. This helps them (and their tax preparers) properly report it on their personal returns.

I had almost exactly this situation with my husband last year! My return had some stock sales and his was just W-2 income. His refund came in 9 days, mine took 23 days. I called the IRS after 2 weeks of waiting and they told me returns with capital gains transactions go through a different processing pipeline. The agent said it's completely normal and nothing to worry about. By the time I got off the phone, my transcript had actually updated with a direct deposit date! Yours should update soon too.

I went through something very similar last year! Filed the same day as my roommate - her simple W-2 return was approved in 8 days while my return with some cryptocurrency trades took 26 days. The IRS processing centers have different workflows for different types of income, and investment transactions definitely get routed through additional verification steps. Your status code 570 just means they're doing their due diligence on the capital gains reporting - it's actually a good sign that the system is working as intended. I know the waiting is stressful when you see others getting their refunds faster, but 14 days is still well within normal processing time for investment income. Hang in there!

Has anyone noticed that the "As of date" on the Account Transcript is different from the one on the Return Transcript? Mine show different dates and I'm not sure which one I should be paying attention to when trying to figure out my amended return status.

The "As of date" essentially tells you when the IRS last updated your account in their system. It's not your filing date - that stays the same regardless. Think of it as a timestamp showing when they last processed any activity on your account. Since you filed an amended return in March, that definitely triggered updates to your account, which is why you're seeing the "As of date" change. During the amendment process, this date will update periodically as your return moves through different stages of review and processing. One thing that helped me understand my transcript better was looking at the transaction codes alongside the "As of date." Different codes tell you what type of processing is happening. For amended returns, you'll typically see codes like 976 (amended return received) and eventually 846 (refund issued) if you're getting money back. The 16-20 week timeframe is accurate for most amended returns, but your "As of date" will give you clues about progress. If it starts jumping forward more frequently or by larger increments, that usually means your amendment is moving through the final review stages.

I had a TC 971 with a notice date of 03/15/2024. The actual letter arrived on 03/22/2024 and was just informing me they adjusted my Earned Income Credit amount by $127. Your Account Transcript will show a specific Notice Number after the 971 code - something like CP12 or CP11. Each notice number corresponds to a specific type of communication. If you see 971 followed by CP12, it's almost always a minor math adjustment. If it's a CP05, they're requesting verification of certain items on your return.

Hey Lena! 👋 I totally get the stress - I'm a single mom of two and tax season always makes me anxious too! From what I've learned through my own experiences, Code 971 is usually not something to panic about. It just means the IRS is sending you a notice, but it could be anything from a simple math correction to a confirmation that everything's processing normally. The key thing is to look at what OTHER codes appear around the same date on your transcript. If you see a 570 code, that's a temporary hold (usually routine). If there's an 846 code coming after, that's your refund being issued. The scary codes to watch for would be things like 420 (examination) or 810 (freeze). Most of the time when us parents see these codes, it's related to credits like the Child Tax Credit or Earned Income Credit - they just want to verify the amounts are correct with three kids and all. The notice should arrive within a week of the date shown, so you'll know for sure soon! Try not to stress too much (easier said than done, I know!) - in my experience, if the IRS had a serious issue, there would be multiple codes and it would be pretty obvious something was wrong. 💙