I might be able to help with this, though I should mention I'm not affiliated with either company. In my experience, H&R Block removes their fees before the money reaches Pathward Bank. For example, if your refund was $1,500, and H&R Block charged $150 in various fees, only $1,350 would show up in your Pathward account. To see the actual fees, I believe you would need to look at your original H&R Block receipt or agreement, which should detail their preparation fees, filing fees, and any Refund Transfer fees. The Pathward statement typically won't itemize these deductions since they occurred before the funds were transferred to them.

I've been dealing with this same frustration! What worked for me was logging into my H&R Block account and looking under "Tax Documents" - there's usually a section called "Fee Summary" or "Service Charges" that breaks everything down. You can also request a detailed invoice by calling their customer service line. In my case, I discovered they had charged me a Refund Transfer fee ($39), e-file fees for both federal and state ($19 each), and some "Peace of Mind" service I didn't remember agreeing to ($29). The total was almost $110 that I wasn't expecting! Since you mentioned budgeting for your kids' expenses, I'd definitely recommend getting that breakdown ASAP so you know exactly what you're working with financially.

Does anyone know if this affects financial aid for next year? I'm worried reporting this income might decrease my aid package.

I'm dealing with something similar right now! Got a 1099-MISC from my bank's student rewards program and was totally confused at first. Based on what everyone's saying here, it sounds like I need to report it as "Other Income" under prizes/awards. Quick question though - does the timing matter? I received the cash reward in December 2024 but just got the 1099-MISC now. Should I report it for 2024 taxes or wait until next year? The form shows 2024 as the tax year, so I'm assuming it goes on this year's return even though I'm filing a bit late. Also appreciate all the tool recommendations! Might try that taxr.ai thing since I have a few other confusing forms this year too.

Can anyone recommend a good tax software that lets you play around with different withholding scenarios? The IRS calculator is so clunky and I need to figure out how changing my 401k contributions will affect my withholding needs.

This is exactly the kind of confusion that trips up a lot of people! The withholding estimator is actually working correctly - it's designed to calculate based on your current point in the tax year, not the full year ahead. When you select "twice monthly," you're right that means 24 paychecks for a full year. But if you're running the calculator after you've already received some paychecks in 2025, it shows the remaining paychecks left in the year where you can still make withholding adjustments. So if you see 23 paychecks, that likely means you've already gotten one paycheck this year. The calculator takes into account what's already happened (which should be entered in the "year to date" income and withholding sections) and focuses on the remaining pay periods where changes can take effect. Don't manually adjust to 24 - trust the calculator's paycheck count but make sure you're accurately entering any year-to-date income and withholding amounts you've already received. That's the key to getting accurate recommendations!

PSA: Keep checking your transcript weekly. Sometimes they release early without sending any notice.

I'm going through the exact same thing right now - day 73 with 570/971 codes and it's driving me crazy! The uncertainty is the worst part. I've called probably 8 times and they keep telling me the same thing: "no action needed, just wait." At this point I'm checking my transcript obsessively every few days hoping something changes. Really hoping it doesn't take the full 120 days because I need that refund bad 😩

Document EVERYTHING. Take pics of the check, get copies of BMO's rejection docs. You might need them later when dealing with IRS

Ugh this is so frustrating! I had a similar issue with US Bank last year - they rejected my refund check even though I'd been banking with them for 5+ years. Turns out there was a tiny discrepancy between my legal name on the tax return vs what I had on file with the bank (I go by my middle name). The silver lining is that once BMO sends it back, the IRS will automatically mail you a paper check to your address on file. It's annoying to wait the extra 4-6 weeks but at least you don't have to do anything special to trigger the reissue. Just make sure your address is current with the IRS! In the meantime, you could try calling BMO one more time and ask to speak with a manager. Sometimes they can override the risk flag if you provide enough documentation. Worth a shot before you have to wait for the paper check! 🤞