Just a heads up - make sure you communicate clearly with your son about who's claiming who. My daughter and I had a huge mess last year because she filed her taxes first and claimed herself without telling me, then I tried to claim her as a dependent. We both got letters from the IRS and had to file amended returns. The IRS does check for this!

This is such a common situation with college graduates! Based on what you've described, it sounds like you should be able to claim your son as a dependent. The key factors working in your favor are: 1. He was a full-time student for nearly half the year (through May) 2. You likely provided more than half his total support for the year (tuition, housing, food through May vs. his earnings from June onward) 3. Dorm time counts as living with you for the residency test One important thing to keep in mind - since he earned $35,000 from his new job, definitely run the numbers both ways as someone mentioned. Sometimes the family comes out ahead when the child claims themselves, especially if there are education credits involved from his final semester. Also, make sure you coordinate with your son before either of you files! You don't want to both claim/not claim him and trigger IRS letters. Been there with my own kids and it's a headache to fix. The IRS has a helpful interactive tool called the "Interactive Tax Assistant" on their website that can walk you through the dependency tests if you want an official confirmation before filing.

I'm dealing with a similar situation with my restaurant's ERC claim. Paid 28% to a firm that promised "specialized expertise" but it turned out they just had me fill out basic forms and submit payroll records. The whole process took them maybe 3 hours total for a $45,000 claim. What's really frustrating is that I later discovered my CPA could have handled the entire filing for a flat $2,500 fee, but the ERC company made it sound like it required some kind of specialized tax law knowledge that only they possessed. I'm definitely interested in exploring legal options, especially after reading about the class action mentioned here. Has anyone found success getting partial refunds from these companies outside of lawsuits? I'm wondering if it's worth trying to negotiate directly with them first before going the legal route.

I'm in a very similar boat with my accounting practice - I've been helping several clients navigate the aftermath of working with these ERC mills. What I've seen consistently is that legitimate ERC claims typically require 8-15 hours of work when done properly, including eligibility analysis, documentation review, and form preparation. The problem is many of these contingency firms were essentially running claim factories, processing hundreds of applications with minimal individual attention. A 25% fee on a properly vetted claim might be reasonable, but not when they're just plugging numbers into software and hoping for the best. One thing I'd strongly recommend is getting a second opinion on your claim's legitimacy before your refund comes through. With the IRS crackdown, they're auditing a significant percentage of ERC claims now, and if your original firm cut corners on documentation, you could face penalties that far exceed any contingency fee dispute. I've been referring clients to services like taxr.ai for post-submission reviews to make sure everything is properly documented. Better to identify potential issues now than during an audit later.

What tax software are ppl using to track all this mileage stuff? I tried using the free version of TurboTax but it kept trying to upsell me to the business version when I entered anything about mileage.

Great question! As someone who's been through several IRS audits for my consulting business, I can confirm that the home office rule makes a huge difference for mileage deductions. Since your tax home is your home office, almost any business trip away from there should qualify for full round-trip mileage deduction. The overnight vs. same-day distinction doesn't really matter for the deduction itself - what matters is the business purpose. However, if you're staying overnight, make sure to keep receipts for lodging and meals too, as those can often be deducted as well (meals at 50%). One tip that saved me during my audit: create a simple spreadsheet with columns for date, destination, business purpose, odometer start/end readings, and total miles. The IRS examiner was impressed with my documentation and it made the whole process much smoother. Also consider taking photos of your odometer readings at the start and end of longer trips - it's extra proof that's hard to dispute.

I've been in a similar situation and want to share what I learned from my tax professional. The key thing is that the IRS distinguishes between "negligence" and "fraud." Missing a small 1099 accidentally falls under negligence at worst, which typically just results in the additional tax owed plus minimal interest. For amounts under $100, the IRS often won't even pursue it unless it's part of a larger pattern. They have cost-benefit calculations too - it's not worth their resources to chase down $7 in additional tax from a $30 interest payment. One pro tip: if you're really worried, you can request transcripts from the IRS that show what 1099s they have on file for you. You can do this online through their website or by calling. This way you can double-check if you missed anything before they catch it through their matching system. The anxiety is worse than the actual consequences for honest mistakes with small amounts. Don't lose sleep over it!

I was in almost the exact same situation last year - total financial chaos and constantly worried I was missing something. Here's what I learned from experience: The IRS wage and income transcript request is a game-changer. You can get it online instantly through their website (irs.gov) if you can verify your identity, or by mail which takes about 10 days. It's completely free and shows you exactly what 1099s, W-2s, and other income documents they have on file for you for any given tax year. I discovered I was missing a tiny 1099-INT for $18 from an old savings account I'd forgotten about. Filed an amended return voluntarily and the whole thing cost me maybe $4 in additional tax. No penalties, no drama. The transcript request saved me months of anxiety. Now I do it every year before filing just for peace of mind. Highly recommend this approach if you're a fellow worrier like me!

Has anyone successfully e-filed with split W2s using TurboTax? I'm trying to avoid paper filing but running into the same issue.

I just went through this exact same situation last month! I was so confused when I got two W2s from my employer - one normal and one with only the state boxes filled in. After reading through all these comments, I tried the TurboTax "Special Situations" option that Beth mentioned and it worked perfectly. When you're entering the second W2 (the one with only boxes 18-20 filled), make sure to look for that checkbox that says "This W-2 has state information only" - it's kind of hidden but once you check it, TurboTax stops giving you the error about box 1 being blank. My return was e-filed successfully and I got my refund in about 10 days. Don't stress too much about it - it's more common than you'd think, especially if you moved states during the year or your employer changed payroll systems.