9 When you say "issued before 2009" - does that mean the original divorce decree or would modifications after 2009 still count? Our original divorce was in 2008 but we modified the child support arrangement in 2020.

3 It's specifically about when the original agreement about claiming dependents was executed. If your original 2008 decree included the language about who claims the child for tax purposes, that part might still be valid without Form 8332. But if that arrangement was only added in the 2020 modification, then you would need Form 8332. The key thing is that pre-2009 agreements containing "unconditional declarations" about who claims the child can sometimes serve in place of Form 8332. However, the IRS has gotten stricter about this over the years, so having the signed form is always the safest approach regardless.

11 Do you know if the form has to be signed every single year? Or can you have them sign once for multiple tax years?

That's really good to know but unfortunately I'm single so that won't help in my situation. Do you know if there's anything similar for individual filers? Like some kind of hardship exception?

There is a hardship exception you can request, but it's very specific to each type of debt. For federal student loans, you'd need to contact your loan servicer directly to request a hardship exception to the offset. They'll send you paperwork to prove extreme financial hardship. For state tax debts, you'd need to contact your state tax authority directly - each state has different criteria for hardship exceptions. Just be aware that these exceptions are pretty rare and usually require documented evidence of severe financial distress. Things like pending eviction, utility shutoffs, or medical emergencies sometimes qualify.

I did this after getting burned by an offset two years in a row. Changed my withholding so I'm just about even at tax time instead of getting a big refund. Now I put the extra amount from each paycheck into a separate savings account. Even if I still owe the debt, at least I'm controlling when and how much I pay instead of having the whole lump sum taken.

Any idea if there's a specific time of day TPG usually updates the status? I've been checking mine literally every hour lol.

In my experience, TPG tends to update their systems overnight, so many status changes appear first thing in the morning. I noticed my status changed from "amount showing" to "funded" around 4am when I checked (I was up with a sick kid). The actual deposit to my bank account happened mid-afternoon the following day. If you filed with a major tax preparer that partners with TPG, you might also be able to set up text or email alerts for status changes so you don't have to keep checking manually.

TPG usually handles your refund if you chose to have your tax preparation fees deducted from your refund instead of paying upfront. They're basically fronting the money for your preparation fees, then getting paid back when your refund comes.

So does that mean if something old gets stolen, you basically get no deduction because it was already depreciated in value? Like if thieves take a 10-year-old TV that's practically worthless now but costs $500 to replace?

That's exactly right - and it's why casualty losses often end up being less than people expect. If your 10-year-old TV had depreciated to a fair market value of only $50 before it was stolen, that's your deduction amount (not the $500 replacement cost). However, for the business/rental portion of your property, you've likely been taking depreciation deductions already, so your adjusted basis should align more closely with the current value. This is actually one advantage of the business portion of casualty losses - they're generally calculated based on the depreciated value that you've been reporting for tax purposes all along.

What if you don't have before photos of everything? My storage shed at my rental got broken into last month and I honestly don't have pictures of what was in there before.

That's a really smart approach! I could definitely break mine down similarly into categories like social media, SEO, content development, etc. Did your accountant mention if this categorization approach reduces audit risk at all, or is it more about clarity?

It's mostly about clarity and transparency rather than directly reducing audit risk. My accountant explained that if your return ever gets reviewed, having clearly categorized expenses makes it easier for the reviewer to understand your business model without requiring additional documentation or explanation. Basically, it doesn't necessarily make you less likely to be selected for review, but it can make the review process smoother if it happens. The categorization also helped me better understand my own business spending patterns and make more strategic decisions about which service areas were most profitable.

I use QB for my consulting business and had the same issue. What worked for me was creating custom sub-accounts under the main expense categories. For example, under "Contractors" I have sub-accounts for different types (design, development, writing, etc.). Makes reporting way cleaner and gives me better insights into where the money's going.