r/TaxQuestions

Hey guys - I’m trying to figure out a new strategy to use while filling out my W-4 for a new sales job with a new employer, and just really need some guidance. Im single, no dependents, annual base salary of $85k, but have a variable (commission) of $148k - so total OTE of $233k/yr. I want to minimize withholding so I can invest the extra money in each paycheck to allow my own funds to make money, rather than give the government an interest-free loan. I’m afraid of owing a shit ton of money though in April. What should I claim on my W-4? I have heard that I can technically claim 1-3ish dependents on there, but idk what to expect or what that would do. Please help :) OH - if this helps, I live in TX, have no more student loan debt, and am also apparently doing it all wrong with benefits (such as 401k/ Roth IRA) to maximize my money. Any/all advice is advised - I don’t have a mentor in my life that would truly give solid helpful advice with things like this and don’t have a father figure or anyone to really go to about this…..and I spent hours looking for YouTube videos on this specific situation and have also asked AI agents who have refused to give solid advice :-/

Like the title says….
Sorry no TDLR!

My husband and I filed MFJ through FreeTaxUSA on 03/15/2026. Federal refund was accepted by the IRS the same day. I have:
- IRS acceptance confirmation
- Submission ID
- Refund tracker screenshots
- Refund amount
- Direct deposit info confirmation

At first, “Where’s My Refund?” actually showed my return and gave me an estimated refund date around March 30th. Then the DAY BEFORE the expected refund date, the tracker disappeared and switched to:

“We cannot provide any information about your refund.”

Since then:
- transcripts say “No tax return filed”
- no notices
- no audit
- no freeze codes
- no letters
- no refund
- no answers

I’ve called weekly for months and keep getting generic “still processing” answers. I already filed Form 911 with TAS twice due to hardship.

FreeTaxUSA literally confirms the IRS accepted the return, but the IRS transcript system says the return doesn’t exist.

Has anyone seen this happen before where the IRS accepted a return, the tracker existed, then the entire thing basically vanished from the system?

I’m trying to figure out if this is:
- a failed posting issue
- manual processing limbo
- identity verification issue with no notice
- IRS system failure
- or something else entirely

At this point I’m escalating to congressional constituent services because I’m out of ideas.

Im a small business owner. I ,purchased Supplemental Health Insurance with taxes included. Im wondering what section I should put this decution.

This is an update to a previous post/question I'd asked this page about whether U.S. gamblers (especially sports bettors) are paying taxes on both the wager AND the profit of their bet. TurboTax today on their Instagram says YES, you are paying taxes on both the wager AND the profit (contrary to what I've seen on tax forums on Reddit). Here's their full response:

"You can't subtract the cost of gambling from your winnings. For example, if you win $620 from a horse race but it costs you $20 to bet, your taxable winnings are $620, not $600 after subtracting your $20 wager. You are not permitted to "net" your winnings and losses. So, in your example, when you bid $100 but win $50, the $150 is your taxable amount, because when you are bidding, you are forfeiting that amount in hopes of winning."

This is going to be a huge shock for many people, given the current state of sports betting/gambling in the U.S. and how widespread it is.

I've been looking this up for the past 30 minutes and I'm just as confused as when I started researching. (Screw the American school system, I barely even know what taxes are)

I'm 17, I'll be 18 in October. I've started putting money into cash apps savings and I'll be earning annual interest. It's 3.25 APY? So like, a dollar a year. I'm confused if I'll even have to file taxes at all when tax season comes and this is making it even more confusing for me. The money comes from freelancing, not a job with an employer. I feel like since it's only a dollar this isn't going to matter at all but I also want to be sure because I do not want to mess something up and cause myself problems later.

What do I need to know transitioning between 17 and 18? Can my mom just add my interest gaining to her taxes? I saw something about that..

What if the APY goes up? I don't even know if that can happen in my situation!!! Mad at the school system right now

Sorry if these are stupid questions..

Suppose you took a capital gains loss of $15k in a given year; with the cap set at $3k per year, you have an additional 4 years to carryover the remaining $12k in losses.

How is this remaining $12k "balance" tracked? Is there a specific form or worksheet where each year it updates the balance, and this specific field is refenced in subsequent tax returns?

Or are you as the individual responsible for keeping track of it, and then required to show some form of proof each year? This could get messy as you'd have to go back to taxes from a few years back, and potentially show each year where you claimed a deduction.

Okay so this might be a tad long but bear with me.
I filled on February 29th by march 30th I got a letter stating that additional information was needed. They needed my 2022 & 2023 tax forms because I never filed 2022 & 2023 it was miscalculating or something for that year. That year was halted & I never received money for that year. I provided that on march 30th at the irs location so that’s counted as a paper file. I was advised by the clerk at the irs place to basically re-file by handing them my 2022 & 2023, not a 1040-x form but file regular. I haven’t received any notices since & no updates can some explain to me what might be going on. Also when I go to check my refund for 2025 it showing 0 as my expected refund amount when it was never 0 before & the amount I owe shouldn’t bring my refund to 0.

I incorporated a Delaware C-Corp in 2023 for a startup project that never went anywhere. The company had no revenue, no payroll, no business activity, and basically just opened a bank account.

I ended up dissolving the company in Delaware in late 2024, but realized I never formally dissolved it in California. The California entity is still active, and I got an FTB notice saying my 2023 Corporate Tax Return is Late/says I’ll be fined 2k for it. I also noticed that the Delaware Franchise Tax for 2024 is still open.

I’m trying to understand what do I have to do next? Is it paying off my California taxes and then dissolving the company? I’m feeling a bit stressed and overwhelmed by this since I thought I already cleanly shut down the startup. Would really appreciate advice from anyone who has dealt with this before.

When I trade stocks I pay for software, without having an LLC (for various reasons) can I deduct those payments on a Schedule C for April 2027?

Not sure if this is true but AI, and I think reddit I saw you can no longer deduct software or discord subscriptions for trading?

When I was filing my taxes this year I didn't see anywhere to put down software of misc. expenses?

Hi. I have a question about my BF's taxes... He hasn't filed them in 5 years going on 6 and he's "self employed". I would like to get a better grasp of what this means for us in the future. He makes $26/hr ish 40-70 hours a week. Says he didn't work nearly as much in the first 1-4 years due to the business growing.

Could I get an estimate on how much his debt is going to be? Is this enough for the IRS to start seizing stuff? He has been working on getting them filed but he says he doesn't have enough money to put money away for taxes this year, so I'm worried whatever payment plan they give him isn't going to work. I'm worried about the fact we might not be able to get married and he's super sensitive about talking about it, so I'd like to know more before seriously approaching the topic. Any input is appreciated

I’m selling RSUs to pay for a down payment. According to my calculations, I’ll owe around 20K from the sale. If I’m selling in June, do I make the 20K payment immediately or wait until April of next year?

So I apparently messed up my 2024 taxes for federal and claimed a tax benefit I didn't qualify for. After getting that situated I received a LTR 4800c proposing a change to my return which I immediately agreed to taking my initial refund of $4,339.00 down to $2,007.00. I approved of that January 17th 2026 via the document upload tool the irs recommend.

Come March 30th 2026 I received a LTR3219c notice of deficiency. The deficiency amount is $0.00 and the paper said I'd be getting a refund of my $2,007.00. once again I agreed to the assessment and collection and signed the paper and sent it in vias the irs document upload tool.

It's now may 15th with no update. I called today but the guy I spoke with didn't answer any questions and essentially told me to wait.

I've agreed to all changes and adjustments and made the corrections. What now? What should I do? Will I get my refund? No updates on transcript.

I filed my taxes end of January and have yet to see my federal return. I have gotten my state return no problem, but I have gotten two letters from the IRS saying my taxes have been delayed for review for 6 weeks two times now. This has also happened to 3 other people at my job who are all expecting refunds. I really don’t think it was an issue with our W2s as the rest of my coworkers have received their returns already.

I’m just wondering if anyone else is experiencing this or if my place of work is somehow being targeted for some reason?

Hi guys, i'm struggling to figure this out. I've got a prize winning, from consistent raffling throughout the year. The prize was 15000 in value.

They issued a 1099-MISC. In Turbotax, they dont allow me to diretly edit the schedule A to put in gambling losses. The only way to do losses is to fill the W2G field, but, I also need to note "didnt recieve W2g" and enter both the income AND deductions.

I am worried if I dont file the 1099-MISC form, it will raise a flag.

I've spoken to Turbotax, and even paid for help with "CPAs" on Fiverr, no one has a answer. Heck, Turbotax said to tie the 1099-MISC to a business (gambling monthly to earn income), and write off a much as i can there.

Anyone know?

I had some trouble getting my paperwork from my previous employer so i wasn’t able to submit my taxes until the last day it was due (april 15). i used turbo tax and i owe money. it said my taxes got approved but on irs.gov it said it’ll take like 20 days to process. it’s now a full month later and it still says my account balance is not available. I know how much i owe because of turbo tax and i payed part of it already, but i don’t want to make any more payments until i can see it. i tried calling irs but its an automated call and i couldn’t continue bc they were asking for a refund amount and im not getting a refund so i don’t know what to do. i also requested to make a payment plan on the irs website and that also says it’s still awaiting approval.

So I moved from California to Wisconsin four years ago. In that time I have never received any notices in regards to my taxes other than my W2s. I've filed every year, and there hasn't been any issue regarding my taxes until this year. I happened to check my bank account and noticed that the CA Franchise Tax Board has withheld my tax returns. How do I go about figuring out why and fixing it?

Edit: Clarifying things here, since my post was made in a bit of a hurry. I have not lived in or earned income from California in four years. When I checked my bank statement, I saw a charge for $347 titled "order to withhold CA Franchise Tax Board", followed by a string of numbers. There was also another charge called "order to withhold fee" for $125.

Keeping things vague for the sake of anonymity, but my parent is seeking to employ me as an assistant to their small business. This is an on-the-books company. They create the work hours and I will be paid an hourly wage, and be a part time employee. Should I be getting a W2 or 1099? Which one would be more beneficial for me financially to where I’d have to pay less taxes? And is there one option that’s “legal” here or are they both? Thank you in advance!

Edit: Thank you for the responses everyone! Seems like W2 is absolutely the right option here.

Can someone explain this to me like I am five? If I’m a part-time photographer who is not making enough to owe on taxes, and still getting a refund (especially from claiming a child) Will writing off editing expenses give me a higher refund? I am trying to justify spending $30 per shoot for editing fees. I know that that’s not a lot. But you know that that’s $3000 for 100 shoots. Thank you in advance!