Has anyone had this happen but with state taxes? I filed both my 2023 and 2024 MI state returns together but only got my 2024 refund. It's been 12 weeks now and nothing for 2023.

I'm dealing with something very similar right now! Filed my 2023 and 2024 returns together in March, got my 2024 refund within 3 weeks, but my 2023 return seems to have vanished. The "Where's My Refund" tool for 2023 gives me the same error message you're getting. What I've learned from calling around is that late-filed returns (like our 2023 taxes) go into a completely different processing queue that's mostly manual. They prioritize current year returns during tax season, so prior year returns can take 3-6 months to process. The automated tracking systems often don't work properly for these returns until they're fully processed. For penalties, if you owed money for 2023, you'll definitely get hit with late filing penalties (5% per month up to 25% max) plus interest from the original April 2024 due date. If you're getting a refund, they might still charge a late filing penalty but will just deduct it from your refund. My advice: try to create an account on IRS.gov to view your tax transcripts - this sometimes shows more info than the refund tracker. And honestly, don't stress too much about the lack of communication yet. It sounds like your return is just sitting in the manual processing queue, which is totally normal for late-filed returns.

I've been through a couple IRS audits over the years (nothing dramatic - just some business expense questions), and I can share what I learned about their timing. For my first audit in 2019, they only went back 2 years from when they contacted me. The second one in 2021 went back the full 3 years, but that was because I had some rental property income they wanted to verify. From talking to the agents, it seems like they rarely go beyond 3 years unless there's a red flag or they find something suspicious during the initial review. For regular W-2 folks with standard deductions, 3-4 years is probably fine, but I personally keep 7 years now just because those audits were stressful enough without worrying about missing documents! One tip - if you do get audited, having everything organized digitally makes the process SO much easier. I spent hours digging through paper files the first time, but the second audit was much smoother because I had scanned copies of everything organized by year and category.

This is such a timely question! I just went through this exact dilemma last month when cleaning out my home office. After reading through IRS Publication 552 and talking to my CPA, I settled on keeping 7 years for peace of mind. One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet - if you're self-employed or have a business, the rules can be different. The IRS recommends keeping employment tax records for at least 4 years after the tax becomes due or is paid, whichever is later. And if you have employees, you need to keep those records even longer. For disposal, I ended up doing a combination approach - took the really old stuff (10+ years) to a community shred event like Seraphina mentioned, and for the more recent ones I'm transitioning to digital storage first, then shredding the originals after scanning. That way I have the convenience of digital access but still meet the retention requirements. The community shred event was amazing by the way - they had industrial shredders that could handle a banker's box in about 30 seconds. Much better than my home shredder that would have taken me weeks!

You might wanna check if someone claimed you as a dependent maybe? My cousin had something similar happen and it turned out her parents had claimed her on their taxes even though she was filing independently. Could be worth asking family members?

Wow, that's a perfect example of how these small debts can spiral out of control! A $75 parking ticket growing to over $4,000 is absolutely insane but unfortunately very common with municipal collections. For anyone else reading this thread, this is why it's so important to address any tickets, fines, or government notices immediately - even if they seem small. Once they go to collections, the fees and interest can multiply the original debt by 10x or more. Omar, you might want to contact the original issuing agency (probably your city or county) to see if they have any hardship programs or payment plans. Sometimes they'll reduce the collection fees if you can pay the original amount plus reasonable costs. It's worth a shot since $4,000 for a parking ticket is pretty excessive. Also, make sure to get documentation of the payment once you resolve this so it doesn't happen again next year!

Back on March 15th, I called the IRS Business & Specialty Tax Line about this exact issue. They confirmed that the 14-digit control number is assigned during the e-filing process and appears on your acknowledgment receipt after successful submission. The community consensus here is correct - this isn't something you need to obtain before filing. Focus on getting your 1099s submitted before the April 30th deadline instead!

Just went through this exact situation last week! I was panicking about the same thing with my freelance income reporting. After reading through all these responses, I can confirm what everyone is saying - you literally cannot get this number ahead of time because it doesn't exist until you actually submit your forms. I was about to spend hours on hold with the IRS before I realized this. Your tax software (whether it's TaxAct, TurboTax, or whatever) will handle this automatically during the e-filing process. The control number shows up on your confirmation receipt after successful submission. Don't stress about it - just focus on getting all your contractor information entered correctly and hit submit before the deadline!

dont forget to check wmr too. sometimes it updates b4 transcripts

Just went through this same thing last week! The DLN is usually formatted like XXXXXXXX-XXX-XX and you'll see it right after the filing date. For EIC filers, make sure you also look for the 766 credit code - that's your earned income credit showing up. The transcript can be overwhelming at first but once you know what to look for it gets easier!