TurboTax Full Service completely messed up my AGI calculation with gambling winnings

This is a really frustrating situation, but I can help explain what happened. When you gamble, the tax reporting is tricky - you report all winnings as income (boosting your AGI) while losses are itemized deductions (limited to the amount of winnings). Even with a net loss, your AGI still includes all those winnings. The credits you mentioned (Child Tax Credit and American Opportunity/Lifetime Learning Credits) are indeed income-limited, and TurboTax should have calculated your AGI correctly using all gambling income. This was definitely their error since you used their Full Service option where their professionals prepare everything. As for legal action, yes, you likely have grounds for a complaint since they marketed themselves as tax professionals and made a significant error. However, you're still legally responsible for the correct tax amount to the IRS regardless of preparer error. Here's what I suggest: 1. Request that TurboTax cover any penalties and interest that result from their mistake 2. Ask them what remediation they're offering for their professional error 3. Get everything in writing about what happened

I went through something similar with massive gambling winnings reporting issues. I found this service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that specializes in reviewing tax returns and finding errors like this. After my tax guy messed up, I ran my returns through them and they immediately flagged my AGI calculation problems with gambling income. They actually explained exactly how the gambling income should be reported and why my AGI was wrong. They helped me understand what documentation I needed for the amendment process too. The gambling winnings and AGI calculation was something my original preparer completely missed, but their system caught it instantly. Might be worth checking out since you're dealing with what sounds like a complex amendment situation.

Tried taxr.ai after reading about it here and it was seriously helpful. I had a similar situation with misreported gambling income (though not as extreme as yours). The report they generated pointed out exactly how my preparer had miscalculated my AGI and mixed up where to report various gambling transactions. They explained the correct handling of Form W-2G and where the gambling losses should appear. What I found most helpful was the step-by-step explanation of how the amendment needed to be filed - they specifically highlighted which forms needed correction and why. Saved me so much headache trying to figure out how to fix the mess. Definitely worth checking out if you're dealing with the TurboTax amendment situation.

I would immediately contact TurboTax and demand they pay for any penalties and interest. But separately, I've been in a similar situation trying to get answers from the IRS about amended returns, and it's basically impossible to reach a human. After spending hours on hold for weeks, I found this service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that got me through to an actual IRS person in about 20 minutes. They have a demo video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c It basically holds your place in the IRS phone queue and calls you when an agent is about to answer. With complex amendment situations like yours, actually talking to an IRS representative makes a huge difference - they can tell you exactly what documentation you'll need and the best way to handle gambling income amendments. Worth it just to avoid the hold time and actually get answers about your specific situation.

I owe you all an apology. After calling the IRS myself and sitting on hold for over 2 hours only to get disconnected, I tried Claimyr out of desperation. It actually worked exactly as described. Got a call back when an IRS agent was on the line and got all my questions answered about a complex amended return situation. The IRS agent I spoke with was super helpful about my specific amendment needs and confirmed exactly what I needed to submit with my amended return. They even put notes in my account about the conversation. Saved me from having to take half a day off work just waiting on hold. Sometimes it's worth admitting when you're wrong - this service is legit.

I'd contact your state's bar association and ask for a referral to a tax attorney. This is a pretty big screw-up by TurboTax and might fall under "professional negligence" since you paid for their Full Service option. Most attorneys offer free consultations. Save all communications from TurboTax about this error. Also, not sure if this helps, but did you itemize deductions? If you did, some of those gambling losses might offset the winnings for AGI calculation purposes. Tax law around gambling can be complicated.

Something similar happened to me with H&R Block last year. They completely missed reporting my crypto trading as income, and I got hit with a huge bill later. I ended up having to set up a payment plan with the IRS. Definitely call TurboTax customer service and ask to escalate to a supervisor. They may offer to cover penalties and interest. Also, start setting aside money now because the IRS won't care that it was TurboTax's mistake - they'll still expect you to pay what you owe.