Just filed my Federal tax return

[SecondCor521]

Why do so many Forum members have refunds? I can't ever remember getting a Federal refund. I usually try to pay in just enough to avoid an underpayment penalty.

My Roth conversion calculations indicate that it was best for me to have $0 federal tax liability. So I did that.

I have two refundable credits (AOTC and ACA PTC additional amount) so those result in a refund.

I'm trying to get my ACA PTC to work out to $0, but this year my premium is $541 and my subsidy is $542. If I had been more clever I could have upgraded my policy to a more expensive one, but I didn't want or need it so I didn't.

I'm a bit weird in that my total tax picture includes state income tax, ACA PTC, and FAFSA effects. So federal income tax is not the only thing for me to consider.

 

[FloridaJim57]

UPDATE: Since I started this thread, I thought I would given an update. For poops and giggles I checked on the status of my refund through the where's my refund app. As of today, 2/15 it read "your return processing has been delayed beyond the normal timeframe". Next time I owe the government money I will send them that note and see what happens.

 

[Gumby]

Having read about all the problems the IRS was having with a paper tsunami last year, I thought this would be the year I would finally do everything electronically, so I can do my part to ease their burden. I started by trying to enroll in EFTPS, so that I can pay estimated taxes this year. So far, I've been rejected three times because "the information does not match". Nothing more than that cryptic phrase. After spending hours running down the rabbit hole of the automated phone menu, I finally found a number to speak to a person - who could not do anything but tell me "the information does not match". Given this experience, I am having serious second thoughts about trying to file electronically. Who knows what black hole that could lead me into?

I really don't understand these guys. They whine about how much paper they have to deal with, but they are useless in helping me to ameliorate that burden just a little. I can keep filing by paper forever if need be, and they can keep pushing the paper.

 

[harllee]

Gumby, have you tried using Turbotax? I found it relatively easy to file my federal return electronically with TT tax, it was accepted in a few hours and I will pay electronically though TT too. I have never had any problem doing that.

 

[Gumby]

Gumby, have you tried using Turbotax? I found it relatively easy to file my federal return electronically with TT tax, it was accepted in a few hours and I will pay electronically though TT too. I have never had any problem doing that.

Thanks for the suggestion, but it's not really the tax preparation program that concerns me. I have used HRB for many years to prepare my returns, but I have always printed them out and mailed them in. I have never had a problem with a paper filed return.

My concern with now trying to file electronically for the first time stems from the fact that, in rejecting my attempts to enroll in EFTPS, the IRS apparently does not recognize me. I have no idea how that feeds into the regular IRS tax filing system, but I am reluctant to suddenly get caught in a bind where the IRS won't take my return and won't help me fix any problem.

In light of that, I am inclined to keep filing on paper, because at least that way has always worked for me. I got a refund last year. It took about 4 months, but I got it. I owe this year, but at this point, I just don't trust the IRS not to drop the ball entirely.

It's a shame, really, because I'm sure I'm not the only one who gets a cryptic notice and has no way to fix the problem or even find out what it is. If they want to get less paper from people, then they should work to make that possible.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

I don't know if this would address your concerns, but you can also pay electronically directly at irs: https://www.irs.gov/payments. There are some things that you can do at EFTPS that you cannot do there (like schedule a payment), but for a once-a-year payment, it seems fine.

 

[Live Free]

Filed thru Turbo Tax on Feb 11, got an email that they were accepted by the Feds on Feb 11, and the refund is in my bank account this morning on 2/16. That is in record time.

 

[Montecfo]

I think I owe a small amount for fed and a good bit for state.

I will probably file on paper as it seems safer and I'm not worried about a refund.

But I'm away for now so won't touch it till mid March. Which probably is about the time I will get my amended 1099B.

 

[eytonxav]

Return was transmitted a little while ago and it was almost immediately accepted by IRS. I thought it would take several hours if not the next day to be accepted.

 

[John Galt III]

Just mailed my return in, snail mail. No 'return receipt requested'. Didn't owe anything, and no refund. Made xeroxes of all forms of course. Not sweating it.

 

[RunningBum]

No fed refund for me yet after about 2 weeks (est is 1-3 weeks) and I wanted to check the status. The IRS2GO app seemed like the easiest way. You have to give your full SSN, filing status (single, MFJ, etc) and refund amount. I got a scheduled refund date of 2/16, and they noted I have an I Bond coming as well, about 3 weeks after the refund.

Refund came yesterday, so a day earlier than they projected. Now the mailbox watch for the I Bond.

 

[mn54]

I can't even complete my return until 2/18 bc of trades in my brokerage. Thats when Schwab said my 1099 composite could be downloaded

fidelity says forms won't be available till 2/27. filled most of information on TT. waiting for fido to finish and file.

 

[W2R]

I filed mine electronically (via TurboTax) on February 4th, and got acceptances for both federal and state returns almost immediately.

Now I'm eager to get my refunds, which have not yet arrived. I checked online, and they said sometime by February 25th. I don't crave the money so much as I crave the feeling that everything is done and I can put it behind me.

 

[donheff]

This thread prompted me to look at the bank account and I see the Feds sent my refund over a week ago. DC always takes longer.

 

[aja8888]

I filed mine electronically (via TurboTax) on February 4th, and got acceptances for both federal and state returns almost immediately.

Now I'm eager to get my refunds, which have not yet arrived. I checked online, and they said sometime by February 25th. I don't crave the money so much as I crave the feeling that everything is done and I can put it behind me.

I'm guessing "accepting" the return electronically means all of ID stuff matches up. I would guess that the computers that accept it may have the ability to run other checks to see if you fit the mold for a scheduled audit which you would be notified at a later date. But don't worry, audits are rare for good, law abiding folks like us here!

 

[W2R]

I'm guessing "accepting" the return electronically means all of ID stuff matches up. I would guess that the computers that accept it may have the ability to run other checks to see if you fit the mold for a scheduled audit which you would be notified at a later date. But don't worry, audits are rare for good, law abiding folks like us here!

I hope so! An audit sounds like a total nightmare, to me anyway. As far as I know I did everything correctly but the idea of an audit is still pretty scary.

 

[swakyaby]

fidelity says forms won't be available till 2/27. filled most of information on TT. waiting for fido to finish and file.

Wish I had paid attention to this. Turbotax e-file federal and state 3 days ago. That evening, I received a Fidelity 1099-DIV. Looked to see if I could file an amended tax return, but was informed that form 1040X is not yet available. Looks like it will be quite awhile before I see my refunds from fed and state. Live and learn.

 

[aja8888]

Wish I had paid attention to this. Turbotax e-file federal and state 3 days ago. That evening, I received a Fidelity 1099-DIV. Looked to see if I could file an amended tax return, but was informed that form 1040X is not yet available. Looks like it will be quite awhile before I see my refunds from fed and state. Live and learn.

If you are lucky, the IRS computers will recalculate the correct amount and adjust your refund or send you a bill. The state, IDK?

 

[niven]

I e-filed the federal return on 2/4, and got my small refund in the bank a week later on 2/11. Great!

But I ran into something interesting on the state filing. Before the end of last year, I did withholdings from a Fidelity IRA withdrawal to cover my tax liability (with a little extra) for federal and state. I basically only pulled enough from Fidelity to cover both, with the state withholding being about 30% of the withdrawal.

I did this since Vanguard will not withhold for my state (Virginia). The problem is H&R Block said since the state withholding on that 1099-R was more than 25% of the withdrawal, I needed to file the state by mail. I did so and am waiting to see if there are any issues.

I'm not sure where this requirement comes from - the state or a federal regulation. I googled for a while but couldn't find where this originated.

My state refund was completed today, 2/17. So even though I had to mail it, that was still a quick turnaround.

 

[Walt34]

I hope so! An audit sounds like a total nightmare, to me anyway. As far as I know I did everything correctly but the idea of an audit is still pretty scary.

I think it depends on how complicated your return is. From what you've posted in the past yours is probably pretty simple - SS, small federal pension, some dividend and interest income, and Thrift savings and/or IRA withdrawals. There's nothing there that the IRS doesn't already know, so there's not much point in auditing you unless you just paid cash for a Gulfstream G700 private jet. They might be a bit curious about that.

BTW, my return would be about the same level of complexity, just different sources.

 

[W2R]

I think it depends on how complicated your return is. From what you've posted in the past yours is probably pretty simple - SS, small federal pension, some dividend and interest income, and Thrift savings and/or IRA withdrawals. There's nothing there that the IRS doesn't already know, so there's not much point in auditing you unless you just paid cash for a Gulfstream G700 private jet. They might be a bit curious about that.

BTW, my return would be about the same level of complexity, just different sources.

That's exactly what my return is like. Same every year except for the exact amounts of dividends and so on. No Gulfstream private jet for me this year!

 

[timekeepr]

I work at the IRS in IT, I have not been there very long. Don't know much about the tax end of things other than how to do my own taxes. People tell me they have been short of staff and budgets cut back for 15+ years. They are working on modernizing some of the systems but it takes time and $$.

Here's a video on how the paper forms are processed by hand.


https://www.irsvideos.gov/Professional/IRSWorkProcesses/SubmissionProcessingPipeline


Commissioner Charles Rettig recently said:


"While more than 90% of the over 160 million individual returns are filed electronically, the remaining people who file on paper lead to millions of time-intensive, manually processed paper returns."

 

[gauss]

I’m stuck arguing for a corrected 1099-R from a small Roth401k distribution that listed about 2/3 of the distribution as “taxable”. I’m 64 and I’ve had the Roth in my company 401k way more than the five years required for a qualified distribution. I was managing our MAGI for ACA reasons so drew a small down payment for a new SUV.
Plan administrator in first contact just said yeah it’s taxable because it’s in Box 2a. Duh that’s the mistake I’m trying to fix so had to elevate the ticket.
Has anyone else had a Roth 401k or IRA distribution listed as partially taxable?

I think I may have, but I was under 59 1/2 at the time of the distribution so it wasn't a "qualified distribution" so this made sense.

I may be able to comment further if you share some additional information:

1) Is box 2b - 'taxable amount not determined' checked or unchecked?
If it is checked then I am not sure you can necessarily use the figure in box 2a
2) What codes are listed in box 7 (ie any numbers or letters listed)?
3) Is there an entry in box 5? - if so, is it the difference between boxes (1) and (2a)?

4) Are there any entries in boxes 10 or 11?


-gauss

 

[aja8888]

Filed mine electronically yesterday.

Schwab is filing the 990 T form by 7/15/2022 for the UBI (usually none) for my MLP in my IRA as they are the custodian.

 

[arch57]

I think I may have, but I was under 59 1/2 at the time of the distribution so it wasn't a "qualified distribution" so this made sense.

I may be able to comment further if you share some additional information:

1) Is box 2b - 'taxable amount not determined' checked or unchecked?
If it is checked then I am not sure you can necessarily use the figure in box 2a
2) What codes are listed in box 7 (ie any numbers or letters listed)?
3) Is there an entry in box 5? - if so, is it the difference between boxes (1) and (2a)?

4) Are there any entries in boxes 10 or 11?


-gauss

Thanks for replying. Here are some answers...

1) Box 2b is NOT checked

2) Code in box 7 is "B" - Designated Roth Account Distribution (text according to HR Block Tax software)

3) Yes there is an entry in box 5 and yes, it is the difference between 1 and 2a. note: I recall that the amount in box 5 is about how much I put into the Roth 401K back in 2008

4) No entries in boxes 10 or 11 However, looking at box 11 I am surprised it empty and should be 2008 as that is when I put some money in a Roth 401K for awhile but stopped as our tax bracket rose

So hopefully that sheds some light but I cannot see how this is taxable. Maybe the Box 11 needs to be populated to prove I had this more than the 5 years?