I'm in the exact same boat! Filed my CA state return in mid-January and still waiting on my refund too. The anxiety is so real when you're counting on that money! 😰 What's been really helpful for me is using that automated phone line others mentioned (1-800-338-0505) - you can check your status without the stress of trying to reach a human agent. I also found out that CA has been experiencing longer processing times this year due to increased fraud prevention measures and staffing issues. From what I'm seeing in this thread, 4-6 weeks seems to be the new normal, which is frustrating but at least we know it's not just us! I've been trying to check the status weekly instead of daily to save my sanity. Hang in there - sounds like we should hopefully see some movement soon based on everyone's timelines! 🤞

I'm going through the exact same thing! Filed my CA state return in early February and it's been such a stressful waiting game. What really helped calm my nerves was calling that automated line at 1-800-338-0505 that several people mentioned - you can get your refund status instantly without waiting on hold for hours. I also learned from this thread that CA is experiencing longer processing times this year (4-6 weeks seems to be the norm now) due to increased fraud prevention and staffing issues. It's frustrating but at least we know it's a systemic issue and not something wrong with our individual returns. I've switched from checking daily to weekly to preserve my sanity! Thanks for starting this thread - it's so comforting to know we're all in this together. Hopefully we'll all see some movement soon! 🤞✨

I'm going through this exact situation right now with property in Italy. My accountant says the key thing is the TIMING - you file Form 3520 in the tax year when you legally receive the property, not when the person died. So if Portugal's inheritance process isn't complete yet, you wouldn't file until it's done. Also, make sure you get a Form 8833 filled out to claim treaty benefits if the US has a tax treaty with Portugal. This can protect you from double taxation. My accountant is charging me $650 just to prepare these two forms!

This is such a complex area! I inherited a small apartment in France from my grandmother two years ago and made the mistake of not filing Form 3520 initially because I thought it only applied to cash gifts. The IRS eventually caught up with me through their automatic data matching systems. What saved me was being able to show "reasonable cause" for the late filing - I had documentation that I relied on incorrect advice from my original tax preparer. The key lesson is that Form 3520 applies to ALL foreign inheritances over $100k, including real estate, regardless of whether you plan to keep or sell the property. Since you're still going through Portugal's inheritance process, you have time to get this right. File Form 3520 for the tax year when legal ownership actually transfers to you (not when your father passed). Keep detailed records of the Portuguese inheritance proceedings to document the exact transfer date. And definitely get some form of valuation documentation - even if it's just comparable sales data from Portuguese real estate websites - to support whatever value you report.

Has anyone mentioned Schedule K-1 yet? When I handled my father's estate last year, I had to issue K-1s to all the beneficiaries for their portion of the estate income. That was the most confusing part for me!

I'm so sorry for your loss, Jayden. Dealing with estate taxes while grieving is incredibly difficult. From what you've described, you're on the right track with getting the EIN. Since your mom had minimal assets (house with mortgage and car), you may not need to file Form 1041 unless the estate generated over $600 in income after her death. This would typically come from things like interest, dividends, or rental income - not the assets themselves. For the SSA-1099, you'll need to determine if those Social Security payments were for periods before or after her death. Benefits for time periods when she was alive go on her final Form 1040 (covering January 1 to date of death). Any benefits received for periods after death should be returned to Social Security. A few key things to consider: - You'll likely need to file her final personal return (1040) in addition to potentially filing the estate return (1041) - The house and car are estate assets but don't create taxable income unless sold or generating rental income - Keep detailed records of all estate expenses (funeral costs, legal fees, etc.) as these may be deductible Don't feel bad about being confused - this is complex stuff even for professionals. Consider consulting with a tax professional who specializes in estate returns if your attorney isn't providing clear guidance on the tax aspects.

You might also qualify for the Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction, which lets self-employed people deduct up to 20% of their business income. Though with your income level and the self-employment tax situation, it probably won't zero out your taxes completely.

One thing that might help reduce your self-employment tax burden is to make sure you're deducting the home office expenses if you work from home. As a graphic designer, if you have a dedicated space in your home that you use exclusively for your design work, you can deduct a portion of your rent/mortgage, utilities, and other home expenses. You can either use the simplified method (up to 300 sq ft at $5 per sq ft, max $1,500) or calculate the actual expenses based on the percentage of your home used for business. This directly reduces your net self-employment income, which means less self-employment tax. Also don't forget about equipment depreciation - your computer, monitor, drawing tablet, software licenses, etc. can all be deducted either as current expenses or depreciated over time depending on their cost. Every dollar you can legitimately deduct as a business expense saves you about 15 cents in self-employment tax.

Reading through all these detailed responses has been incredibly helpful! I'm actually a tax preparer who works with clients on these exact situations regularly, and I wanted to add a few practical points that might help clarify some of the confusion I'm seeing. First, @Genevieve Cavalier, yes - adding your children as joint owners would absolutely trigger gift tax reporting requirements since you're exceeding the annual exclusion amounts. But as others mentioned, you likely won't owe actual taxes unless you've exhausted your lifetime exemption. One thing I haven't seen mentioned is the potential state-level implications. Some states have their own gift tax rules or lower lifetime exemption amounts that could affect your planning. Also, if you do go the joint ownership route, make sure your brokerage understands exactly what type you want - the default "joint tenants with rights of survivorship" is usually what people intend, but it's worth confirming. The TOD suggestions are spot-on for most situations. It's clean, avoids the immediate gift tax filing, preserves the step-up in basis for your kids, and keeps you in full control. The only downside is it doesn't provide any protection if you become incapacitated - your kids can't access the funds to help with your care like they could with joint ownership. For an account this size, it's definitely worth spending a few hundred dollars to consult with both a tax professional and estate planning attorney to make sure you're considering all angles before making changes.

As someone who just went through this exact decision process with my own investment accounts, I wanted to share what I learned that might help others here. After reading through all these excellent responses and doing my own research, I ended up going with a hybrid approach that addressed multiple concerns. I set up TOD designations on my main investment accounts (avoiding the immediate gift tax reporting) but also established a durable financial power of attorney naming my adult children as agents. This combination gives me the best of both worlds - my kids can step in to help manage the accounts if I become incapacitated, but I maintain full control while I'm able, and they'll inherit with the stepped-up basis advantage. The POA document was much less expensive than setting up a trust (cost me about $400 through an estate planning attorney) but provides the incapacitation protection that TOD alone doesn't offer. One thing I learned that hasn't been mentioned yet - some brokerages have specific requirements for how financial POAs need to be formatted or notarized before they'll honor them. I'd recommend checking with your broker about their POA requirements before having the documents prepared, just to make sure everything will be accepted when/if it's needed. The annual exclusion gifting strategy mentioned earlier is also worth considering as a complement to either approach - you could still gift up to $18,000 per child per year from other assets while keeping the main investment account structured with TOD to avoid complications.