I'm an accountant and just want to clarify something here - you absolutely CANNOT deduct CDL training on your taxes as a W-2 employee anymore. That was eliminated in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Education credits are your only option, and even then you need to make sure the school qualifies and your income isn't too high.

@Rajiv Kumar - I went through this exact same situation with my CDL training expenses last year. Since you're a W-2 employee, the Lifetime Learning Credit is really your only option now. The key thing is making sure your CDL school is eligible - they need to have a Federal School Code and be able to receive federal student aid. I'd recommend calling your CDL school directly and asking if they're eligible for federal financial aid programs. If they are, you can claim up to 20% of your qualified education expenses (up to $10,000 in expenses, so max $2,000 credit). Just make sure your adjusted gross income is under the phase-out limits - it starts phasing out at $59,000 for single filers. Also keep all your loan documents and receipts from the school. The IRS may want to see proof that the expenses were for qualified education that maintained or improved your job skills. Good luck!

Has anyone actually received their money faster from SBTPG? I keep seeing complaints but wonder if there are success stories too. I've been looking at their BBB page and the complaints are pretty consistent about the delays. But are these just the vocal minority?

I can share a success story! My refund went through SBTPG last month and it was actually pretty quick. They received it on a Wednesday morning around 10am (I checked their portal obsessively) and I had the money in my Chime account by Thursday at 3pm. So about 29 hours total, which matches what others have said about the 24-48 hour window. I think the key is that it was mid-week with no holidays - I've heard weekends and federal holidays can add extra delays. The waiting is still nerve-wracking when you're expecting that money, but at least in my case they delivered within their stated timeframe.

Just a heads-up for anyone applying for a trust EIN - make sure you're clear about what type of trust you have before starting the application. I messed up and had to call to get it fixed. Estate trusts, living trusts, and testamentary trusts are all handled differently. Double check your paperwork first!!

Thanks everyone for all the helpful responses! I ended up going with the online application route after reading through all your advice. @Sophia Gabriel your direct link was exactly what I needed - I had been getting lost in the general IRS website maze. I made sure to gather all my trust documents beforehand and set aside a solid 30 minutes without interruptions. The 15-minute timeout is real, so definitely don't start unless you're ready to finish! For anyone else doing this, the key info you'll need ready is: trust name, date the trust was established, trustee's full name and SSN, and the trust's address. Got my EIN instantly once I submitted the application. The whole process took about 10 minutes once I actually found the right page. Really appreciate everyone sharing their experiences - it made this so much less stressful!

I'm also in this same boat and finding this thread incredibly helpful! Filed 3/2, completed ID verification on 3/25, and just got the 570 code yesterday with an as-of date of 5/15. No 971 notice here either. Reading through everyone's experiences, it's clear this post-verification 570 pattern is happening to a lot of people this tax season. The consistency of the timelines (verification completion → 2-3 week gap → 570 without 971) really does suggest this is part of their automated review process rather than individual return problems. @Yuki Tanaka - I really appreciate you laying out your timeline so clearly. It helps put my own situation in perspective. The fact that you've already got congressional support lined up is smart planning, and your May 6th date is coming up soon. Fingers crossed for good news! What's giving me the most hope is how many people have shared that this resolved automatically within their as-of date timeframe. The explanation about automated income matching makes so much sense - they're probably just verifying our reported income against W-2s and 1099s in their system. One thing I'm wondering - for those who have been through this before, do you typically see any movement in your transcript in the days leading up to your as-of date, or does it usually update all at once? Trying to figure out if I should be checking daily or just wait until my 5/15 date. Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences - this community support makes the waiting so much more manageable!

I'm going through almost the exact same situation! Filed 2/22, completed ID verification on 3/19, and got my 570 code on 4/16 with an as-of date of 5/3. Like everyone else here, no 971 notice. This thread has been incredibly reassuring - the consistency of all our timelines really does suggest this is just part of their automated review process this year. The 2-3 week gap between verification completion and the 570 appearing seems to be standard, and the explanation about income verification makes so much more sense than panicking about major return errors. @Yuki Tanaka - your proactive approach with congressional contacts was smart, especially since your May 6th date is so close. The fact that you already have that support in place gives you good backup options if needed. What's giving me hope is how many success stories people have shared about these resolving automatically within the as-of date timeframe. The pattern seems to be: panic when you see the 570, stress for 2-3 weeks, then relief when it resolves on schedule. I'm trying to resist the urge to call before my 5/3 date based on the advice here about avoiding multiple calls creating conflicting notes. Has anyone else found it helpful to set up transcript monitoring through the IRS app, or is checking manually better for catching updates quickly? Really grateful for this community - dealing with IRS issues alone is so much more stressful than having others who understand exactly what you're going through!

Just to add to all the great information here - I went through a very similar situation with my daughter last year. One thing I learned that might be helpful: make sure to keep detailed records of the exact dates involved, especially if the stock price was volatile around the gift transfer date. Even though you mentioned the price didn't change between gift and sale, the IRS will want to see documentation of the fair market value on the actual gift date for their records. I used the closing price on the date of transfer and kept a screenshot of the stock quote from that day. Also, since your son immediately put the proceeds into CDs, that's actually a smart move tax-wise. The capital gains tax will be due on his return for this year, but the CD interest going forward will be taxed as ordinary income in future years when the CDs mature. Just something to keep in mind for his future tax planning. The good news is that since you stayed under the annual gift tax exclusion, this is a pretty straightforward transaction from a documentation standpoint. Your son just needs your original purchase price and date, plus proof of the gift transfer.

This is a great thread with lots of helpful information! I just wanted to add one more consideration that might be relevant for future planning: if you're thinking about gifting more appreciated assets to family members, you might want to consider the timing strategically. Since your son immediately sold the stock and invested in CDs, it sounds like he needed liquidity rather than wanting to hold onto the specific stock. In cases like this, sometimes it can be more tax-efficient to sell the appreciated stock yourself (especially if you're in a lower tax bracket than the recipient), pay the capital gains tax, and then gift the cash proceeds instead. This way, you control the timing of when the capital gains are realized and can potentially take advantage of lower tax rates or offset gains with any losses you might have. Of course, this depends on your respective tax situations and bracket differences. The approach you took is perfectly fine and legitimate - just something to consider for future gifts if tax optimization is a priority. The annual gift tax exclusion applies either way, so you have flexibility in how you structure these transfers.