Congratz on making it thru! Been stuck since February myself, might have to try that number u posted

Wow, 8 months from filing to refund - that's brutal but glad you finally got through it! Your transcript tells quite a story with all those adjustments. The fact they gave you interest (776 code) is at least something for all that waiting. I'm curious about that cycle code change from 20241305 to 18254-661-06944-4 - did you notice any pattern with when those updates happened? Also wondering if the amended return on June 4th was something they requested or you had to figure out on your own? Thanks for sharing all the details, this is super helpful for those of us still navigating the IRS maze! 🙏

The "free" tax prep industry is such a scam. Most of these companies actively lobbied AGAINST the IRS creating its own free filing system for years. They make their interfaces deliberately confusing to upsell you on premium features. I switched to paper filing with the official IRS forms a few years ago and never looked back. Yes, there's a learning curve, but once you understand the basic forms, it's not that complicated for most people. Plus, you actually learn how taxes work instead of just plugging numbers into boxes without understanding why.

I've been dealing with this same frustration! Last year I got hit with a $25 amendment fee from TaxAct after they advertised "free filing." It's so misleading when they only mention the fees buried in the fine print. One thing that helped me was using the IRS's own Free File Fillable Forms for my amendment this year. It's completely free but you're basically filling out the raw Form 1040-X yourself without much guidance. The interface is pretty bare-bones but if you have your original return handy and the corrected information, it's manageable. The key is being extra careful since there's no error-checking like the commercial software. I printed out the IRS instructions for Form 1040-X and followed them step by step. Took me about 2 hours but saved me the $20+ fee. For next year, I'm planning to be more methodical about gathering ALL my tax documents before I start filing to avoid amendments altogether. Maybe make a checklist of all possible income sources from the previous year.

I literally just went through this last week! For Line 4 (tax liability), I just used my 2022 tax return and found the line that said "total tax" (I think it was line 24 on the 1040). For line 5, I added up all the federal taxes from my paystubs for 2023 (look for "Fed Withholding" or similar). Line 6 was just the difference, and for line 7, I paid about half of what I owed just to be safe.

I completely feel your frustration! I was in the exact same boat last year - staring at Form 4868 like it was written in hieroglyphics. Here's what helped me understand it: Think of "tax liability" as your final grade on a test, and "payments" as all the homework points you already earned throughout the year. Line 4 is asking "what do you think your final tax grade will be?" and Line 5 is "how many homework points (tax payments) have you already earned?" Since you don't have your W-2 yet, here's a quick workaround: Look at your last paystub from December 2023. It should show your year-to-date federal tax withholding - that's your Line 5 number. For Line 4, if your income was similar to 2022, you can use last year's "total tax" from your 2022 return as a starting estimate. Don't stress too much about getting it perfect - the IRS knows these are estimates on extension forms. The key is making a reasonable good-faith effort. Once you get all your documents, you'll calculate the exact amounts on your actual tax return. Also, remember that filing an extension gives you until October to file your return, but if you owe money, you still need to pay by the original deadline to avoid interest charges. So it's better to overestimate a bit than underestimate!

Pro tip: sign up for informed delivery with USPS so you know exactly when that check hits your mailbox

Same thing happened to my friend - the IRS will automatically send a paper check to your last known address when the direct deposit gets rejected. Just make sure to keep checking your mail and maybe give it a few extra weeks. Also might want to call your old bank to see if they can tell you exactly when the account closed, that way you know if your refund got processed before or after the closure date.

I'm still traumatized from this happening to me last year! 😭 The worst part was that the IRS website never updated to show the direct deposit failed - it just kept saying "Your refund is being processed" for WEEKS! I literally checked every single morning. Then suddenly a paper check showed up in my mailbox with zero warning. What makes me nervous is that they mail it to whatever address they have on file, which might not be current if you've moved recently. Double-check that your mailing address is updated with USPS at the very least!

I went through this same situation two years ago and it was honestly less stressful than I expected once I understood the process. The IRS will attempt the direct deposit, it'll bounce back from your closed account, and then they automatically mail a paper check to your last known address. The whole process added about 2-3 weeks to my refund timeline. One thing I'd recommend is setting up mail forwarding with USPS if you've moved recently, just to be safe. Also, you can check your account transcript online to see the status codes - when the direct deposit fails, you'll see specific codes that indicate they're issuing a paper check. Don't stress too much about it, this happens more often than you'd think and the IRS has a standard procedure for handling it!