Small tip that saved me once - check your email from around the time you filed last year. Sometimes confirmation emails from Free Fillable Forms or the IRS have useful reference numbers or confirmation details that can help expedite getting copies. Also, if your refund was direct deposited, check your bank statements from that time period - the exact refund amount can sometimes help your tax preparer cross-reference and confirm your AGI.

Don't panic! You're definitely not alone in this situation. I made the exact same mistake a few years back with Free Fillable Forms - it's surprisingly common since they don't automatically save or email your completed returns. Here's the good news: your tax preparer likely doesn't need the actual return copies to complete your 2024 taxes. The main things they need are your prior year AGI (Adjusted Gross Income) and any carryover items like capital losses or charitable contribution carryovers. If you have your W-2s, 1099s, and other tax documents from last year, an experienced preparer can calculate your AGI pretty accurately. For the official documentation, definitely start with the free IRS transcript online at irs.gov/transcripts - it's immediate if you can verify your identity online. For DC, try MyTax.DC.gov first before calling. The April 15th deadline is definitely doable! Your preparer can work with what you have now and you can get the official transcripts for your records later. The key is having those income documents from 2023, which it sounds like you do have.

Has anyone considered if they actually filled out a 1099 form instead of a W4? Sometimes insurance companies mess up paperwork. If you filled out a W4, they should be giving you a W2, not a 1099. Might be worth calling them to clarify.

Thanks for the update Omar! That clears up the W-4/1099 confusion. Since the insurance company has confirmed you're classified as an independent contractor, you're definitely on the right track with Schedule C filing. One thing I'd suggest is requesting a corrected 1099-MISC if there were any periods where you should have been treated as an employee vs. contractor, especially if the classification change happened mid-year. This could affect your tax liability since employee wages have different withholding requirements. Also, make sure to set aside money for quarterly estimated taxes going forward if you continue this work - as a contractor, you're responsible for paying taxes throughout the year rather than having them withheld. The IRS expects quarterly payments if you'll owe more than $1,000 in taxes. Good luck with your filing!

Has anyone here ever had the IRS actually keep their overpayment? I accidentally double paid once (about $2,300) and despite numerous calls and a form I sent, they never refunded me. I eventually gave up and just counted it as paying ahead. The whole system is so frustrating!

You're definitely not alone in this - double payments happen more than you'd think! The key thing is to act quickly. If your direct debit is scheduled for Tuesday, call your bank first thing Monday morning to put a stop payment on it. Most banks can do this if you catch it before it processes. If both payments do go through, don't panic. The IRS will eventually recognize it as an overpayment. You have a few options: request a refund (which typically takes 6-8 weeks), apply it to future estimated tax payments if you have any, or even apply it to next year's taxes. Make sure to keep documentation of both payments - screenshot everything, save confirmation numbers, etc. This will be crucial if there are any questions later. And if you do need to contact the IRS, consider using one of the callback services others have mentioned here - waiting on hold for hours is nobody's idea of fun! The good news is that this is fixable, even if it's stressful right now. The IRS deals with overpayments all the time, so you're not stuck with losing that money permanently.

Just a heads up - make sure they're filing the right form. For services, they should file a 1099-NEC (non-employee compensation) NOT a 1099-MISC which is now used for other types of payments. I've seen companies mess this up and it causes matching problems with the IRS systems.

You're in good shape since you already reported the income correctly! The key thing is that you included that $2,700 as self-employment income on Schedule C, which is exactly what you should have done regardless of whether you received a 1099 form or not. When you fill out the W9 for your friend's bookkeeper, they'll likely issue you a 1099-NEC (the correct form for freelance services). The IRS will eventually match this against your filed return, but since you already reported the income, there shouldn't be any issues. Just make sure when you give them the W9 that you confirm they're reporting the exact amount you were paid ($2,700) and that they're using the correct 1099-NEC form rather than the older 1099-MISC. Small discrepancies in amounts or wrong form types can sometimes trigger automated notices, but since you were proactive about reporting the income, you should be fine. The fact that they're late with the 1099 is their problem, not yours - you did everything right by reporting the income when you filed.

Just a heads up that if you're from a country that has a tax treaty with the US, your situation might be different. I'm now in the UK and our tax treaty reduces the withholding on US dividends from 30% to 15%. Also, be aware you might have tax obligations in your new country for your US investments. For example, even if the US doesn't tax your capital gains as an NRA, your new home country probably will!

I went through almost exactly this situation when I moved back to India after my H1B expired. The key thing that helped me was understanding that your tax residency status is based on physical presence, not where your accounts are registered. Since you've only been gone a few months, you'll likely need to file a "dual-status" return for this tax year - treating part of the year as a US resident (when you were physically here) and part as a non-resident alien. This means different tax rules apply to income earned during each period. For your investments, here's what I learned: As an NRA, you generally won't owe US capital gains tax on stock/crypto sales (unless you hit that 183-day presence test), but you WILL still owe the 30% withholding on any US dividends. Your brokerage should handle the dividend withholding automatically. Regarding the address issue - I was terrified to update mine too, but most major brokerages like Charles Schwab and Fidelity actually have good processes for this. You'll need to fill out a W-8BEN form and provide some documentation, but they're used to dealing with people in your situation. The key is being proactive about it rather than waiting for them to discover it through IP tracking. Also, don't forget about potential tax obligations in your home country! Many countries will tax you on worldwide income once you become a resident there, which could include gains from your US investments.