Has anyone considered the 24-credit rule? IRS also says a student is full-time if they're enrolled in enough credits to complete a typical 4-year degree program in 4 years. That's usually 24 credits in a year. So even if you don't meet the 5-month rule, you might still qualify as full-time if you took enough credits during those 4 months.

Don't stress too much about this! I had a very similar situation my freshman year. The key thing to understand is that the IRS looks at whether you were enrolled as a full-time student according to your school's standards for at least 5 months during the tax year. Since you mentioned you were taking 15 credit hours, your school definitely considered you full-time. The question is just whether you can get to 5 months of enrollment. Here's what often helps students in your situation: 1. Check if your school counts orientation week (even if it was just a few days in late August) as part of the enrollment period 2. See if finals week or any post-semester activities in January count toward enrollment 3. If you're continuing in spring semester, that would definitely put you over the 5-month requirement for the tax year I'd recommend getting an official enrollment verification letter from your registrar that shows the exact dates of your enrollment period. You might be surprised to find that your "4-month" semester actually spans 5 calendar months when you include all the official academic activities. Your parents should still be able to claim you as a dependent as long as you meet the other dependency requirements. The timing of your semester shouldn't affect that!

Has anyone tried just not reporting tiny W2s? I had a $50 one last year and just skipped it. Nothing happened.

I understand the frustration with small W2s from multiple states - been there myself! Here's what I learned from dealing with a similar situation: You absolutely must report ALL W2 income, no matter how small. The IRS receives copies of every W2 issued and their automated systems will flag any discrepancies. I've seen people get nasty letters years later for unreported income under $100. However, for state filing requirements, you might catch a break. Many states have minimum income thresholds below which you don't need to file a return. For example, some states only require filing if you earned over $300-500 from that state. Check each state's specific requirements - you might only need to file one or neither of those state returns. For the federal return, consider using the IRS Free File program if your total income qualifies. Several partners through that program allow multiple state filings at no cost, which could save you the expensive add-on fees from commercial software. The work timing doesn't matter - it's when you received the payment (2024) that determines which tax year to report it on, not when you performed the work.

This is such a common confusion! I made the same mistake for years. The key thing to remember is that tax brackets are ONLY for federal income tax - they have nothing to do with FICA taxes (Social Security and Medicare). Think of it this way: when you hear someone say "I'm in the 22% tax bracket," they're only talking about the federal income tax portion of their paycheck deductions. The Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%) taxes are completely separate flat rates that everyone pays regardless of their income level or tax bracket. So if you're trying to verify you're in the 22% bracket, you only look at your federal income tax withholding, not the total of all your tax deductions. Your coworker was absolutely right - they're separate things, even though they all come out of your paycheck at the same time. It's also worth noting that tax brackets are marginal, meaning only the income that falls within each bracket gets taxed at that rate. So being "in the 22% bracket" doesn't mean all your income is taxed at 22% - just the portion that exceeds the lower bracket thresholds.

I see a lot of great explanations here, but let me add one practical tip that might help you verify this on your own pay stub. Look at your year-to-date (YTD) totals and do this simple check: take your YTD federal income tax withholding and divide it by your YTD gross income. This will give you your effective federal income tax rate - which should be noticeably lower than your marginal tax bracket (your 22%) because of how the progressive system works. Then separately, you can verify the FICA taxes: your YTD Social Security should be exactly 6.2% of your gross (up to the wage base), and Medicare should be exactly 1.45% of your gross. These percentages will be the same regardless of whether you make $30k or $300k (well, except for the Social Security wage cap and high-earner Medicare surcharge). This helped me finally understand that my "tax bracket" was just one piece of the puzzle, not my overall tax burden. The FICA taxes are completely predictable flat rates, while only the federal income tax portion follows the bracket system everyone talks about.

Hey everyone! This thread has been incredibly helpful and encouraging. As someone who's about to start their first tax season at H&R Block, I can't thank you all enough for sharing your experiences and advice. A few things that really stood out to me from all your responses: 1. The importance of building strong client communication skills alongside technical knowledge 2. Keeping detailed notes and creating reference materials for unusual situations 3. Not being afraid to ask for help when needed - it's better to be cautious than to guess 4. The real value being in the practical experience rather than just the hourly wage I'm definitely going to implement several of your suggestions - the checklist for client interviews, keeping a notebook of interesting cases, and focusing extra attention on EITC and Child Tax Credit rules during training. It's also really reassuring to hear from so many professionals who either started at H&R Block or see real value in that experience. Sometimes I felt like I needed to defend this choice, but now I'm confident I'm making a smart investment in my future career. To those who mentioned useful tools like taxr.ai and Claimyr - I'll definitely look into these as resources that could help me provide better service to clients, especially when dealing with complex situations. Thanks again for making this newcomer feel welcome and prepared. I'll try to pay it forward by sharing my own experiences as I go through my first season!

This is such an inspiring thread! As someone who's been preparing taxes for small businesses for the past 5 years, I want to echo what everyone else has said - you're making an excellent choice starting at H&R Block. One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is how this experience will help you understand the "human side" of accounting that textbooks can't teach. You'll see how real people organize (or don't organize) their financial records, how life events impact tax situations, and how to work with incomplete information - skills that are incredibly valuable in any accounting role. A practical tip for your first season: create a simple "red flag" checklist for yourself. Things like unusually high charitable deductions, business losses that seem disproportionate to income, or clients who seem evasive about certain questions. Not saying these are always problems, but they're worth a second look or a quick consultation with your manager. Developing this kind of professional skepticism early will serve you well throughout your career. Also, don't be surprised if you find certain areas of tax law that really interest you - maybe business taxation, or working with specific types of clients. This experience might help you discover what direction you want to take your accounting career in after graduation. You're going to learn so much and build skills that will make you a stronger candidate for any accounting position. Wishing you a successful first season!

I just went through this exact situation with my refund last week! My DDD was Friday 3/1 and I was checking Cash App every hour like a maniac. The funds finally showed up Monday morning at 7:23am. What I learned is that Cash App processes ACH deposits during business hours only, so weekend DDDs always roll to the next business day. One thing that helped my anxiety was calling the IRS automated line (1-800-829-1954) to confirm my refund was actually sent - you can check this with just your SSN and refund amount. Also make sure you have notifications turned on in Cash App so you get alerted the moment it hits! The waiting is the worst part but it's totally normal for weekend deposits to be delayed.

I've been using Cash App for my tax refunds for the past two years and can definitely relate to the weekend anxiety! From my experience, Cash App is actually pretty reliable once you understand their processing schedule. If your DDD falls on a Friday, you'll almost certainly see the deposit Monday morning between 6-9am - I've never had it take longer than that. The key things to double-check: make sure your name on your Cash App account exactly matches your tax return, complete all verification steps including SSN verification, and ensure your account can handle the deposit amount. I also recommend screenshotting your transcript showing the DDD just in case you need it for reference. The wait is stressful but Cash App has never failed to deliver my refund, just sometimes a day or two after the official DDD due to weekend processing rules. You should be good to go Monday morning!