I've been following this thread and wanted to add my perspective as someone who dealt with a very similar LTR 916C situation. The frustration you're feeling is completely understandable - these notices are poorly written and don't explain the IRS's reasoning clearly. One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is that sometimes the issue isn't with your Form 8379 at all, but with how your original joint return was processed. I discovered that the IRS had incorrectly entered some of my W-2 information when they processed our return, which threw off the entire injured spouse calculation. They allocated income to my husband that was actually mine, making it look like I deserved a smaller portion of the refund. The key for me was getting a wage and income transcript (different from the account transcript) which shows exactly what W-2 and 1099 information the IRS has on file for both you and your spouse. You can request this online at the same time you get your account transcript. Compare this to your actual tax documents - if there are discrepancies, that could be the source of your problem. Also, don't be afraid to escalate if the first IRS representative you speak with can't help. Ask to speak with a supervisor or someone in the injured spouse unit specifically. The regular customer service reps often don't understand these complex allocation issues as well as the specialists do.

I've been reading through this entire thread and I'm amazed at how helpful everyone's experiences have been! As someone who's currently dealing with my own LTR 916C nightmare, seeing all these different perspectives and solutions has been incredibly valuable. What strikes me most is how common this issue seems to be with injured spouse claims, yet the IRS notices are so poorly written that they leave you completely in the dark about what went wrong. The two-stage processing system explanation makes so much sense - no wonder we get refunds and then confusing "overpayment" notices weeks later. I'm taking notes on all the suggestions here: requesting both account transcripts AND wage/income transcripts, checking for income allocation errors, verifying dependent claiming issues, and making sure tax credits were split correctly. The tools and services people have mentioned (taxr.ai, Claimyr) also sound worth exploring if I can't get anywhere with the IRS directly. The most encouraging thing is seeing how many people have successfully challenged these calculations and gotten them corrected. It's given me the motivation to fight this instead of just accepting what feels like an unfair determination. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - this thread should be required reading for anyone dealing with injured spouse claim issues!

I know everyone's focusing on the 401k withdrawal, but don't forget about that HSA issue! If those were qualified medical expenses for childbirth, you should NOT be taxed on that distribution. Make sure you have documentation for all those medical expenses and include that with your amended return too.

Benjamin, I feel for you - this situation is stressful but definitely fixable! Everyone's given you great advice about the amended return and Form 8915-E. I went through something similar and here are a few additional tips: 1. When you file your amended return, make sure to clearly mark it as "COVID-related distribution" on Form 8915-E. This is crucial for getting that 10% penalty removed. 2. For the HSA withdrawal, gather EVERYTHING - hospital bills, doctor visits, prescription receipts, even parking receipts if you kept them. The IRS wants to see that every penny was for qualified medical expenses. 3. Consider making estimated tax payments while your amendment is being processed. This shows good faith and can help reduce interest charges. 4. Don't panic about the timeline - you're well within the 3-year window for amending. The IRS is actually pretty reasonable when people come forward to fix honest mistakes like this. The key is acting quickly and being thorough with your documentation. You caught this before it got worse, which is really important. Keep us posted on how it goes!

Check if you have any existing disputes or alerts on your credit report that might be blocking the verification. Also, make sure your name and address in TurboTax exactly match what's on your credit file - even small differences like "St" vs "Street" can cause failures. You might need to call TurboTax support directly since this seems to be affecting multiple people.

I went through this exact same thing last month! What finally worked for me was temporarily unfreezing all three credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion) for 24 hours, then trying the Credit Karma account creation again. The verification process needs to ping all of them and if even one is frozen it'll fail. Also double-check that your SSN, DOB, and address in TurboTax match exactly what's on your credit reports - no abbreviations or nicknames. Good luck!

One trick that worked for me: look at the amounts on those mystery 1099Bs. If they're for small amounts (like under $10), they might be from fractional share dividends or micro-investments. I found that Acorns, Robinhood and some dividend reinvestment plans generate separate 1099s with different TINs than the main investment platform.

Another angle to consider - if you've done any cryptocurrency trading, those mystery 1099Bs might be from crypto exchanges or their payment processors. Many crypto platforms use third-party companies for fiat transactions, and these often have completely different TINs than the main exchange. I had this exact situation with Coinbase - turns out they use different entities for different types of transactions, and some of my crypto-to-USD conversions showed up as separate 1099Bs with TINs I didn't recognize. Check if any of the amounts or dates align with crypto activity you might have forgotten about. Also, don't overlook employer stock purchase plans or 401k brokerages - these often use specialized clearing firms that report separately from your main retirement account provider.

I went through the exact same situation last year! What really helped me was understanding that a tax refund isn't actually "free money" - it's just getting back your own money that you overpaid throughout the year. Your coworker is essentially giving the government an interest-free loan with every paycheck. Here's what I'd recommend: First, use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator online to figure out your ideal withholding amount. Second, consider increasing your 401(k) contributions - even bumping from 3% to 6% could significantly reduce your taxable income. Third, make sure you're claiming all eligible deductions like student loan interest if you have it. The goal shouldn't necessarily be getting a big refund - ideally you want to break even or owe just a small amount, which means you kept more of your money in your pocket throughout the year instead of lending it to the IRS for free. Once I adjusted my W-4 and increased my retirement contributions, I went from owing $600 to getting back about $150, which is pretty much the sweet spot.

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I just want to add one more perspective that might help Sofia and others in similar situations. Beyond withholding and deductions, timing of income can also affect your tax situation. If you received any bonuses, overtime pay, or had other irregular income throughout the year, your employer might not have withheld the correct amount on those payments. Bonuses especially are often under-withheld because they're taxed using a flat rate method that might not match your actual tax bracket. Also, don't forget about state taxes if you live in a state with income tax! Sometimes people focus so much on federal taxes that they forget their state withholding might also be off. I'd recommend running through both the federal IRS withholding calculator and your state's equivalent if available. The silver lining is that now you know about this issue early in the year, so you have plenty of time to adjust your W-4 and avoid owing again next year. Many people don't realize there's a problem until they file in April!