Do I have to use the address on my W2 form when filing taxes?

But what about the county tax savings they mentioned? Would changing the address affect that? And would that raise any red flags if they're suddenly paying less taxes than before?

The county tax savings would be legitimate if you actually live in a different county now. You report your current address on your tax return, and that's what determines your local tax rates. This wouldn't raise any flags since people move all the time, and the IRS expects this. Just make sure you're honest about when you moved - only claim the new county rate for the portion of the year you actually lived there. If you moved in August 2023, you'd calculate partial year taxes for each location based on your time at each address.

How exactly does this work? Does it just give advice or does it actually help with the filing process? I'm in a similar situation but also changed jobs mid-year so I have two W2s with different addresses.

Sounds interesting but I'm skeptical... how is this any different from what the free tax filing services tell you? They also let you input your current address regardless of what's on your W2.

It goes beyond just basic advice. It analyzes your tax documents (you can upload your W2s) and helps identify potential issues or savings opportunities based on your specific situation. It actually pointed out that I needed to file a split-year return for state taxes since I moved between counties. The difference from regular tax software is it focuses specifically on analyzing your documents for inconsistencies and errors before you file. With multiple W2s and address changes, it would definitely help ensure everything is correctly handled for your specific situation.

How does this actually work? Do you pay them to call the IRS for you? I've been on hold for hours trying to get through to ask about my amended return.

Yeah right. Nobody gets through to the IRS in 15 minutes. I've been trying for THREE WEEKS to talk to someone about my missing refund. This sounds like a scam to me.

They don't call for you - they basically hold your place in line in the IRS phone system. When they reach an agent, they call you and connect you directly. It's kind of like a priority pass for the phone system. I had the same skepticism initially. I waited on hold for over 2 hours the week before trying this. The service alerts you when they're about to connect with an agent so you don't have to sit there listening to the hold music for hours. It worked exactly as advertised for me.

Thanks for the Form 8822 tip! I wasn't aware of that form. Do I need to file it before submitting my tax return, or can I do them at the same time?

You can submit Form 8822 any time, even after filing your return. It's just an extra precaution to make sure the IRS has your current address on file for all correspondence. If you've already filed your tax return with your current address, the IRS will generally update their records based on that. Form 8822 is helpful if you move after filing or if you want to ensure the address change is noted separately from your tax filing.

It's not the end of the world, especially if your parents can forward any IRS mail to you. The main issues would be if you're missing out on county tax savings with your new address, or if you're concerned about not receiving important IRS notices.

This is really helpful to hear from someone who went through the exact same situation! I'm curious - when you calculated the local taxes proportionally, did you do it based on the number of days you lived at each address, or did you just split it by months? I moved in August so I'm trying to figure out the most accurate way to calculate this. Also, did you need to provide any documentation to prove when you moved, or did the IRS just take your word for it on the tax return?

@Aurora Lacasse I calculated it by the exact number of days since that s'the most accurate method. I moved on September 15th, so I counted the days from January 1st to September 15th for my old address taxes, and September 16th to December 31st for my new address taxes. Most tax software can help you with this calculation if you input your move date. As for documentation, the IRS didn t'ask for any proof during normal processing. However, I kept records just in case - things like my lease agreement, utility bills, and voter registration change. The IRS generally trusts taxpayers to report accurately unless there s'a reason for them to question it. Since you moved in August, you d'want to calculate based on your exact move date for the most precise allocation.

This is really reassuring to hear from everyone! I was so worried about this discrepancy but it sounds like it's totally normal. @Jamal Harris, your explanation about prorating the county taxes by days makes a lot of sense. I moved on August 15th specifically, so I'll calculate it based on that exact date. One more question - should I mention anywhere on my tax return that I moved during the year, or does the IRS just figure that out from the address I provide? I don't want to overcomplicate things but also want to make sure I'm being completely transparent about the situation.

@Luca Esposito You don t'need to specifically mention that you moved on your tax return - the IRS will understand this from the address you provide and how you calculate your local taxes. The tax return itself doesn t'have a specific field for I "moved during the year explanations." What s'important is that you re'consistent: use your current address on the return and calculate your local/county taxes accurately based on your August 15th move date. The IRS processes millions of returns from people who moved during the tax year, so this is completely routine for them. If you re'using tax software, it might prompt you about residing in multiple locations during the year when you re'entering local tax information, but that s'just to help with the calculations. Keep your documentation lease, (utility bills, etc. for) your records, but you won t'need to submit anything extra with your return. You re'being appropriately transparent by using your correct current address and calculating taxes based on actual residency periods.

Thanks for sharing your experience @Ava Martinez! It's really comforting to hear from so many people who've been through the same thing. I'm feeling much more confident about using my current address now. One thing I'm still a bit uncertain about - when you say to calculate county taxes "proportionally," do most people do this manually or does tax software typically handle this automatically once you input your move date? I'm using TurboTax and want to make sure I don't miss anything important in the process. Also, did you file Form 8822 like @Ana Rusula mentioned earlier, or was updating your address on the tax return sufficient? I want to make sure I cover all my bases here.