Ugh I feel your pain! I had code 428 show up on my transcript about 3 weeks ago and was freaking out. Turns out it was just the IRS doing additional verification on my return - nothing scary, just their standard process for certain situations. Mine cleared up after about 2 weeks without me having to do anything. The waiting is the worst part honestly. I kept checking my transcript like every day lol. Have you gotten any letters or notices in the mail yet? That's usually the next step if they need something from you specifically.

Code 428 can definitely be nerve-wracking when you first see it! I went through this exact same situation about 6 months ago. In my case, it turned out the IRS was just doing a routine review because I had claimed some education credits and they wanted to make sure everything matched up with what my school reported. The good news is that most of the time these codes resolve themselves without you having to do anything major. I'd recommend checking your transcript every week or so to see if there are any updates, but try not to obsess over it (easier said than done, I know!). If you don't get any letters in the next 2-3 weeks, you might want to call the taxpayer advocate service - they're usually more helpful than the main IRS line and the wait times aren't as brutal. Hang in there, your refund will come through! 💪

Another thing to consider - make sure that promissory note is VERY detailed. My sister loaned me money for my house and we had a simple note, but our tax guy said it wasn't enough. He said we needed: 1) Fixed repayment schedule 2) Consequences for late/missed payments 3) Security/collateral details 4) Actual interest rate (even if small) Without these, he said the IRS might consider it a gift rather than a loan regardless of our intentions. We had to create a much more formal document later which was a huge hassle.

Just wanted to share my experience as someone who went through this exact situation last year. I loaned my son $180K for his house purchase with what I thought was a proper promissory note, but I made the mistake of not including any interest rate. Come tax time, I got hit with the imputed interest rules everyone's mentioning here. The IRS calculated that I should have charged about 4.2% interest (the AFR rate at the time), which meant I had to report roughly $7,500 in phantom income I never actually received. My son couldn't even claim the interest deduction because he never actually paid any interest. The lesson learned: always include at least the minimum AFR interest rate in your family loan, even if it's just 2-3%. It saves both parties from tax complications and makes the loan look legitimate to the IRS. I wish I had known about these rules beforehand - would have saved me a lot of headaches and unexpected tax liability.

My 2023 amended return was finally processed after 7 months!!! A few tips that might help others: 1) If you're using the "Where's My Amended Return" tool, try entering your info with slightly different formats. Sometimes it wouldn't work if I used dashes in my SSN but would work without them. 2) Amended returns seem to move in batches. My friend and I both submitted around the same time and both got processed within the same week. 3) Paper checks for amended returns seem to take about 3 weeks after approval to arrive. Hope this helps someone. The waiting is torture but they ARE processing them!

I'm in the exact same boat! Filed my 2023 amended return in March for about $2,800 and it's been radio silence ever since. The "Where's My Amended Return" tool has been stuck on "being processed" for months now. Reading through everyone's experiences here is both reassuring and frustrating - at least I know I'm not alone, but wow, 6-8 months seems to be the new normal. I might try that early morning calling strategy someone mentioned, though I've already wasted so many hours on hold. Has anyone noticed if certain types of amendments (like claiming missed deductions vs. correcting income) get processed faster than others? Just wondering if the nature of the amendment affects the timeline at all.

Has anyone considered the possible legal implications beyond just taxes? Letting someone else use your account on gig platforms usually violates their terms of service. Could she get in trouble with the platform too?

This is a really tricky situation that I've seen cause headaches for people. The key thing to understand is that the IRS computer systems automatically match 1099s to Social Security Numbers, so if Sarah doesn't report that $13,500 on her return, she'll almost certainly get a CP2000 notice (basically an automated "you forgot to report this income" letter). Her dad's promise to "take care of the taxes" doesn't change the fact that the income is tied to her SSN. Even if he somehow managed to pay taxes on it through his own return, the IRS systems would still be looking for that income on Sarah's return. The Schedule C approach mentioned by Carmen is probably the most practical solution at this point - Sarah reports the income, then deducts the full amount as payments to her father for contract services. This way the IRS sees the income reported under the correct SSN, but the tax burden effectively passes to the person who actually earned it. Just make sure there's proper documentation of this arrangement in case of questions later. And definitely learn from this situation - sharing gig accounts creates way more problems than it's worth!

One other major advantage of W-2 that no one mentioned: retirement plans! Yeah you can do a SEP IRA or Solo 401k as 1099, but most agencies offer 401k matching for W-2 employees. Free money! If your agency matches even 3%, that's an extra $1,860 on your $62k that completely offsets the slight tax advantage of 1099. Plus health insurance, PTO, etc makes W-2 the clear winner imho.

Great analysis on the W-2 vs 1099 comparison! One thing I'd add that might help with your decision - have you confirmed whether the staffing agency actually offers any benefits with the W-2 option? Many staffing agencies provide minimal or no benefits for contract W-2 positions, so you might not get health insurance, PTO, or retirement matching that people mentioned. If there are no additional benefits, your calculations become even more important. The W-2 option still wins financially due to the employer paying half your FICA taxes, but the gap narrows if you can't take advantage of employer-sponsored benefits. Also, consider asking the staffing agency if there's any flexibility on the 1099 rate. Many contractors successfully negotiate 20-25% higher rates to offset the tax disadvantage. At $75/hour as a 1099, your take-home might actually exceed the W-2 option, especially if you can identify legitimate business deductions. One last consideration: if this contract has potential to extend or lead to direct hire, W-2 status might look better for that transition since you'd already be in their payroll system.