I tried doing it myself with TurboTax and it was a disaster. Ended up hiring a CPA midway through. The software doesn't really guide you through the election process properly, and there are a ton of forms and schedules involved.

I actually did it successfully with H&R Block's premium online version. It was tricky, but they have a section specifically for business income that worked for reporting trader status. You need to file Schedule C for your trading business expenses and then make the Section 475(f) election with a separate written statement. The key is reporting it as a business, not just investment income.

This is super important! I trade both SPX options and individual stock options, and the tax difference is huge. My SPX gains automatically get preferential tax treatment. Saved me about $11,000 last year by shifting more of my trading to index options.

Thanks for the insight! I filed last week (mid-February), so hopefully that's early enough to avoid the big rush? Would it make a difference that my return is super simple - just one W-2 from my job at a restaurant? No dependents or anything complicated.

Mid-February is a good time to file - you've missed the initial January rush but are well ahead of the April crunch. With a simple return with just one W-2 and no complicated credits or deductions, you're definitely in the "should be closer to 21 days or less" category. Simple returns with direct deposit are the fastest to process. The IRS prioritizes straightforward returns because they can be largely automated. I'd say there's a good chance you'll see your refund within 14-18 days, barring any unexpected issues. Just make sure to check both the tracker and your bank account regularly.

This!!! The education credits seem to slow things down every time. I used American Opportunity Credit last year and it took FOREVER. This year I didn't have any education expenses and got my refund in 9 days!

What do you do if you find a discrepancy between your final paystub and W-2? Do you contact the old employer or the IRS?

You should first contact the employer's payroll department to point out the discrepancy and request a corrected W-2 (called a W-2c). Most errors are honest mistakes they'll fix once you show them the proof from your paystub. If they refuse or don't respond after a couple of attempts, then you should contact the IRS. You'll file Form 4852 (Substitute for W-2) with your tax return, using your paystub information as verification. Keep copies of all your communication with the employer showing you tried to resolve it first. The IRS may contact your employer about the discrepancy.

But isn't it actually good to have too much withheld? I always try to get a big refund so I don't owe anything at tax time.

Does this actually work for electronic payments too? I always pay exact amounts when I do direct debit through tax software.

How long did it take you to actually get your AMT credit back? I paid a huge AMT bill in 2020 and I'm wondering if I'll ever see that money again.

It took me about three years to get most of it back. The first year after paying AMT, my regular tax wasn't high enough to use the full credit. The second year I got about 40% of it back, and the third year I was able to use the remaining credit. How quickly you recover the AMT depends entirely on your regular tax liability in future years. If you have high regular tax, you can potentially use the full credit in one year. Many people take several years to fully recover their AMT payments.

I've used TurboTax for this situation and it works fine if you use the same software each year. It carries forward your AMT info automatically. But if you switch between tax software or preparers, that's where things get messy because you need to manually enter previous year information.