I'll share my personal experience with amending after the statute of limitations expired. I discovered a mistake on my 2018 return in 2023 - I had forgotten to claim a $4,200 business expense deduction. Since it was past the 3 years, I couldn't get a refund, but I filed the amendment anyway for my own records. The IRS processed it but sent a letter saying no changes would be made due to the expired statute. No penalties, no questions, just a notice acknowledging they received it but couldn't issue a refund.

One thing to keep in mind about the statute of limitations is that it can get complicated if you have multiple tax issues in the same year. I had a situation where I made both a simple math error AND failed to report some freelance income on my 2019 return. The math error fell under the standard 3-year statute, but the unreported income was substantial enough (over 25% of my reported income) that it triggered the 6-year rule. So even though most of my return was "safe" after 3 years, that one issue kept the door open for the IRS until 2025. The lesson I learned is that you really need to look at each potential issue separately - they don't all necessarily follow the same timeline. If you're unsure about multiple problems on the same return, it's worth getting professional advice to understand which statute applies to what.

Not Renasant but most traditional banks are the same. They dont play that early deposit game like the online banks do 🤷‍♀️

Renasant customer here too! Got my DDD for 2/14 and still waiting. From what I've seen with other traditional banks, they usually don't do the early deposit thing like some of the online banks. Based on the comments here, sounds like 3-5am on the actual date is when we should expect it. Fingers crossed for tomorrow morning! 🤞

Just to clarify some confusion I'm seeing in the comments - Republic Bank is a tax refund processor that many tax preparation companies use. They aren't actually your bank. They receive the funds from the IRS, take out any preparation fees you owed (if you opted for fees to be taken from your refund), and then forward the remainder to your actual bank (Navy Federal). This process typically takes exactly 24-48 hours. I've tracked this for the past 3 tax seasons, and the average time between Republic notification and Navy Federal deposit was 37.5 hours.

Navy Federal member here! Just went through this exact scenario last month. Got my Republic notification on a Tuesday, transcript showed DDD for Friday, and I was checking my account obsessively every few hours like you probably are right now 😅 Here's what happened: Navy Federal posted my refund Thursday at 3:47 AM (yes, I checked my phone at some ungodly hour and it was there). Never showed as pending - just appeared as a completed deposit. The joint filing thing shouldn't cause any delays in the banking side of things. That verification happens at the IRS level before they even send it to Republic. Since you already got the Republic notification, you're in the clear. My advice? Stop checking your account every 30 minutes (easier said than done, I know). Set a phone alert to check Friday morning. If it's not there by end of business Friday, then you can start worrying. But honestly, based on my experience and what I've seen in this community, you'll probably wake up Friday morning to a nice surprise in your account balance.

Anyone else notice FreeTaxUSA has gotten way more complicated this year? I used it last year and don't remember all these extra questions about healthcare and cryptocurrency and foreign accounts. Now I'm paranoid I did something wrong on last year's taxes.

Just to add another perspective for first-time filers - don't stress too much about navigating all these sections! The software is designed to ask about everything possible, but most won't apply to you. For the health insurance question specifically, since you're on your parents' employer plan, you can confidently select "No" for Marketplace coverage. The key thing is making sure you indicate you had coverage all year (which you did through your parents' plan). One thing that helped me when I was starting out was keeping a simple checklist: W-2 from employer ✓, had health insurance all year ✓, not a Marketplace plan ✓, check with parents about dependent status ✓. Once you get through your first return, next year will feel much easier! You're being smart by asking questions rather than just guessing. Good luck with your first solo tax filing!

Has anyone here had their company offer them the choice between taking their bonus as a lump sum vs spreading it across multiple paychecks? I'm trying to figure out which is better tax-wise.

Congratulations on the bonus! Based on what you've described, you're probably in good shape. The $8,500 they withheld from your $25,000 bonus (about 34%) includes federal income tax at 22%, plus FICA taxes (Social Security and Medicare), and possibly state taxes depending on where you live. Since you mentioned you always withhold the maximum from your regular paychecks and typically get refunds, you're likely over-withholding throughout the year. This extra withholding from your regular pay often covers any small shortfall from bonus withholding. To be completely sure, you could run a quick calculation: take your expected total annual income (including the bonus) and see what tax bracket that puts you in. If you're still in the 22% bracket or lower, you're definitely fine. If you're in the 24% bracket, you might owe a small amount (2% of the $25,000 = $500), but your regular over-withholding probably covers this. Given your conservative approach to taxes, I'd say you can feel comfortable using most of this money without worrying about a big tax bill next year.