I'm a little late to this convo but fyi - TurboTax has a known glitch with scholarships!! When you enter the 1098-T information, it doesn't automatically connect the scholarship amounts from Box 5 with the qualified expenses. You have to manually tell it that the scholarship was used for qualified expenses by entering those details in the scholarship/grant section. I had to call their support line to figure this out after it kept saying we owed taxes on my son's full scholarship amount. Super frustrating but fixable!

Great to hear you got it sorted out! For anyone else dealing with this, I'd also recommend keeping detailed records of what qualified expenses your scholarship covered. The IRS defines qualified education expenses pretty specifically - tuition, required fees, books, and required supplies/equipment for courses. Room and board, transportation, and personal expenses don't qualify, even if they're listed on your student bill. Also, if you're claiming education tax credits like the American Opportunity Credit, you can't "double dip" - the same tuition dollars can't be both tax-free (from scholarship) AND used to claim a tax credit. One more tip: if your child has multiple scholarships or grants, you might have some flexibility in how you allocate them between qualified and non-qualified expenses to optimize your tax situation. It can get complex, so definitely worth consulting with a tax professional if the amounts are significant!

I'm so glad I found this thread! I've been dealing with the exact same blank screen issue for the past few days and was starting to think there was something seriously wrong with my computer. After reading through everyone's solutions, I tried the Microsoft Edge approach first (I was using Chrome before), and that alone got me about 75% of the way there - I could see the login page but the actual test content was still blank. Then I followed Chloe's advice about the combination approach and disabled hardware acceleration in Edge. That finally did it! I'm now able to access all the VITA Link and Learn tests without any issues. What a relief! I was getting really stressed about the approaching deadline for my volunteer site. One small addition to all the great advice here - if you're using a work computer or laptop managed by your employer, you might need to contact your IT department to make some of these changes, especially the Windows Defender exclusions. I initially couldn't modify those settings on my work laptop and had to switch to my personal computer to get everything working. Thank you so much to everyone who shared their experiences and solutions. This community has been incredibly helpful!

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I've been struggling with this exact same blank screen issue for almost two weeks now. I tried calling the IRS directly multiple times but kept getting transferred around with no real help. Based on all the solutions shared here, I'm going to try the Microsoft Edge + hardware acceleration disable approach first, since that seems to work for most people. If that doesn't work, I'll also try the Windows Defender exclusion method that Amina suggested. It's really reassuring to know this is such a common problem with actual solutions, rather than just something wrong with my setup. The combination approach that Chloe outlined makes a lot of sense - I was probably making the same mistake of trying fixes one at a time instead of addressing multiple potential causes together. Quick question for anyone who's gotten through this - after you fixed the blank screen issue, did you notice any other quirks with the VITA tests? I want to be prepared for any other potential glitches once I get the main loading problem resolved. Thanks again to everyone for sharing such detailed troubleshooting steps. This community support is amazing!

Been having the same issue since yesterday! The "exceeded daily limit" error is so misleading because I haven't even successfully checked once. What's really frustrating is that this happens every tax season - you'd think the IRS would have learned by now to scale up their servers when they know millions of people will be checking refunds. I ended up switching to the desktop website which worked better, but even that was super slow. Really wish they'd invest some of those tax dollars into actually functional technology for taxpayers 😒

New to this community but dealing with the exact same frustrating issue! The IRS2Go app has been completely unusable for me since yesterday. Keep getting that "exceeded daily limit" error even though I haven't successfully checked my refund status even once. It's honestly ridiculous that during the busiest time of tax season, their systems can't handle basic traffic. I filed my return three weeks ago and just want to know where my refund stands. Really appreciate everyone sharing workarounds here - going to try the website and phone number options mentioned. This kind of technical failure from a major government agency is just unacceptable 😤

Based on everyone's experiences here, it sounds like the key is figuring out if your situation is complex enough to justify the fees. I'm dealing with about $12,000 in back taxes from 2021-2022, but it's pretty straightforward - just didn't have enough withheld due to some freelance work. After reading through all these responses, I think I'm going to try the DIY approach first. Going to check out that taxr.ai tool to see what options I actually qualify for, and if I need to talk to the IRS directly, I'll use the Claimyr service to avoid sitting on hold all day. Really appreciate everyone sharing their real experiences - both good and bad. It's exactly what I needed to hear before potentially spending thousands on something I might be able to handle myself. Will update if I learn anything useful along the way!

I actually work for the IRS (in the Taxpayer Advocate Service) and wanted to chime in with some official perspective on this discussion. A lot of great advice has been shared here already. First, you're absolutely right to be cautious about tax relief companies. While some are legitimate, many charge substantial fees for services you can often handle yourself. For straightforward cases like yours, Connor, I'd definitely recommend trying the self-help route first. A few key points: - The IRS has payment plan options available online at irs.gov for debts under $50,000 - First-time penalty abatement can be requested if you've been compliant in prior years - Our Taxpayer Advocate Service is free and can help if you're experiencing financial hardship The tools mentioned in this thread (taxr.ai for analysis, claimyr for phone assistance) seem to be helping people navigate the system more effectively, which is great to see. Just remember that any legitimate resolution option a private company can get you is also available directly through the IRS - often with better terms since there's no middleman markup. If your situation is truly complex (multiple years unfiled, business issues, etc.), then professional help might be worth it. But for most individual taxpayers, the IRS has programs designed to work with you directly.

This is such a relief to read! I've been in the same exact boat - saw that offset code on my transcript and immediately thought my refund was gone. I called the treasury offset number too and got the same info about the pause, but honestly wasn't sure if I could trust it. Reading all these confirmations from you all (especially the tax pro!) makes me feel so much better. Going to save that documentation like someone mentioned just in case. Thanks for posting this question - you probably helped a lot of us who were stressing about the same thing! 🙏

I'm dealing with the exact same situation right now! Filed my return three weeks ago and when I checked my transcript yesterday, there was that dreaded offset code staring back at me. My heart literally dropped because I really need that refund money. But after reading through all these responses, I feel SO much more reassured knowing the pause is legitimate and still in effect through September. It's honestly ridiculous that the IRS systems still show these offset codes when they're not even being enforced - talk about giving people unnecessary heart attacks! 😰 I'm definitely going to keep detailed records of everything like others suggested, and might try that taxr.ai tool too since so many people are saying good things about it. Thanks for asking this question OP, you probably saved a lot of us from sleepless nights! 🙏