Jessica, I can really feel your stress through your post! As someone who recently went through a very similar situation, I want to reassure you that this confusion is more common than you'd think, and it's absolutely not your fault. Everyone here has given you excellent advice, and I want to emphasize the key points: This classification should NOT be your decision to make. Your employer is legally required to determine whether you're exempt or non-exempt based on specific Department of Labor criteria - your job duties, how you're paid, and your salary level. Here's what I'd do in your shoes with that tomorrow deadline: **Tonight:** Send a polite but direct email to your supervisor and HR (if you have one) saying: "Hi, I'm completing my payroll setup and want to ensure I select the correct exempt/non-exempt classification. Since this affects my pay structure and overtime eligibility, could you please confirm which classification applies to my specific role? I want to make sure everything is set up correctly from the start." **If you get no response:** Choose "non-exempt" as your default. This is the safer option because most employees are non-exempt, and it's better to potentially receive overtime pay you weren't supposed to get (which can be easily corrected) than to miss overtime pay you were legally entitled to. **Document everything:** Keep copies of your emails requesting clarification. If there are any issues later, this shows you tried to get proper guidance. Remember, asking for clarification actually makes you look MORE professional, not less. It shows you understand the importance of employment law compliance. Any reasonable employer will appreciate that you're being thorough rather than just guessing on something that affects your legal rights and pay structure. This can absolutely be corrected later if needed, so try not to let it stress you out too much. You're going to do great at your new job!

Jessica, I completely understand your panic - being asked to make this choice without proper guidance on your first week is really stressful! As someone who's been through similar confusion with employment classifications, I want to echo what everyone else has said: this really shouldn't be your decision to make. Your employer is legally required to determine your exempt/non-exempt status based on specific criteria under the Fair Labor Standards Act - your job duties, salary structure, and level of independent decision-making authority. The fact that they're leaving this up to you suggests either a poorly designed onboarding system or a gap in their HR knowledge. Since you have that deadline tomorrow, here's my practical advice: 1. **Check your hiring documents first** - Your offer letter or job description might already specify whether you're hourly/salaried or even state your classification directly. 2. **Send an email tonight** - Reach out to your supervisor and HR saying something like: "I'm completing my payroll forms and want to ensure I select the correct exempt/non-exempt classification. Could you please confirm which applies to my position as [job title]? I want to make sure everything is compliant and accurate from day one." 3. **If you must choose without guidance** - Go with "non-exempt" as the safer default. Most employees fall into this category, and it's better to potentially get overtime pay you weren't supposed to receive (easily correctable) than to miss overtime pay you're legally entitled to. 4. **Document your efforts** - Save any emails showing you tried to get clarification but were required to choose without proper guidance. Don't worry about seeming inexperienced by asking - this actually shows you're detail-oriented about compliance issues, which any good employer will appreciate. This can be corrected later if needed, so try not to let it keep you up at night. Focus on doing great work in your new role - that's what really matters!

Has anyone used TurboTax to handle reporting a vacation home sale? I'm dealing with this exact situation now and wondering if I need to pay for a CPA or if the software can handle it properly.

Great question! Yes, you'll definitely owe capital gains tax on that $175,000 profit since it's a vacation home, not your primary residence. The good news is that since you've owned it for over a year, you'll pay the lower long-term capital gains rate (likely 15% or 20% depending on your income level). A few things that could help reduce your tax bill: - Document ALL improvements you've made over the 8 years (new appliances, flooring, roof repairs, deck additions, etc.) - these get added to your original $195k purchase price - Don't forget closing costs from when you bought it originally - You can deduct selling expenses like realtor commissions and closing costs from the sale Since you're planning to retire to Florida soon, the timing might actually work in your favor if your retirement income will be lower - that could potentially put you in the 15% capital gains bracket instead of 20%. Definitely worth running the numbers or consulting with a tax professional given the size of the gain!

I've been following this thread religiously since I'm in the exact same boat - filed in February and still stuck with that maddening "still processing" message! After reading everyone's success stories, I'm feeling much more hopeful about actually getting through to someone. The consensus seems really clear: try the payment line approach at 7am Eastern on a weekday (preferably Wednesday or Thursday), have your SSN, last year's AGI, and expected refund amount ready, and be polite but direct about needing help with refund status even though you called the payment line. What really gives me confidence is seeing so many people confirm that this actually works - not just one person getting lucky, but multiple success stories with similar approaches. The 15-25 minute wait times through the payment line versus hours on the refund line is just night and day. I'm planning to try first thing Monday morning at 7am sharp. My refund is about $2,800 that I desperately need for car repairs, so I'm willing to set that early alarm if it means finally getting some real answers instead of automated runaround. Thanks to everyone who took the time to share what worked for them - this thread has been more helpful than anything I've found on the official IRS website! I'll report back if I have success with the strategies discussed here.

I've been lurking on this thread for a while and finally decided to create an account just to say thank you to everyone who shared their experiences! I was in the exact same situation - filed in February, stuck with "still processing" for months, and getting absolutely nowhere with the phone system. After reading through all the advice here, I tried the payment line approach yesterday morning at 7:10am Eastern. I was honestly skeptical it would work, but I got through to a real person in just 18 minutes! The representative was incredibly helpful and discovered that my return was held up because I had claimed the Child Tax Credit and they needed to verify some information. She was able to see that all my documentation was actually correct and released the hold immediately. She said I should see my refund ($4,100) within 2-3 weeks, and she put detailed notes on my account about our conversation. What really struck me was how straightforward it was once I actually got to talk to a human being. All those weeks of stress and wondering what was wrong, and it turned out to be a simple verification issue that took 5 minutes to resolve once someone could actually look at my account. For anyone still struggling - the strategies shared in this thread absolutely work. Have your last year's AGI ready (that was the main thing she asked for to verify my identity), call early in the morning, and don't be afraid to use the payment line approach. These people genuinely want to help once you can reach them!

Just to add another perspective - I made this exact mistake my first year filing taxes! I was using my net income from my final paystub because I thought that was my "actual" income. Ended up having to amend my return when I realized the error. The key thing that helped me understand it: your paystub shows net pay because that's what you take home, but the government needs to know your total earnings (gross) to calculate what you should owe in taxes. The taxes already taken out of your paycheck are just prepayments - like making installments on a bill. So definitely use your W-2 Box 1 for wages, and don't overthink it. The form is designed to walk you through the process step by step once you have the right starting numbers.

This thread has been super helpful! I'm a newcomer to filing taxes myself (my parents used to handle everything), and I was making the same mistake of looking at my net pay and trying to figure out how that related to my taxes. Reading through all these explanations, especially about how pre-tax deductions work and why Box 1 on the W-2 is the number that matters, really cleared things up for me. I had no idea that my 401k contributions were already reducing my taxable wages before they even got to my tax return. One question though - if I have both a regular job with a W-2 AND did some freelance work with a 1099, do I still start with my W-2 Box 1 amount and then add the 1099 income on top of that? Or is there a different process when you have mixed income types?

Did you file married filing jointly? Sometimes if you're the secondary person on the return it goes to the primary person's account only.

I'm going through the exact same thing with Commerce Bank! My transcript shows refund sent on May 8th and still nothing in my account. Called Commerce twice and they keep saying no pending deposits, but based on what everyone's saying here it sounds like we just need to wait a few more business days. The timing with weekends really throws everything off. I'm trying not to panic but when you're counting on that money it's so stressful. Let me know if yours shows up - I'll do the same!