Just checked my paystubs and you might be onto something! I see the federal withholding but there's nothing listed for state taxes at all. My company is headquartered in TX (no state income tax) but I live and work remotely in IL. Could this be why I'm showing such a big tax bill? Do I need to make estimated tax payments to Illinois or something?

That's almost certainly your problem! Illinois definitely has state income tax (4.95% flat rate I believe), and if your company isn't withholding it because they're Texas-based, you'll owe all of that at tax time. You should immediately contact your HR department and ask them to start withholding Illinois state tax. For the amount you've already earned without withholding, you might want to make an estimated tax payment to Illinois to avoid underpayment penalties. The Illinois Department of Revenue website has forms for this.

This happened to my nephew! He checked "exempt" thinking it meant exempt from filling out the complicated parts of the form. Ended up with zero withholding and a massive tax bill. Double check your W-4 and paystubs!

I just pulled up a copy of my W-4 and I definitely didn't check the exempt box. But I did notice something weird - my employer is still using the old W-4 form (the one with allowances) even though I thought that changed years ago? Could this be causing withholding issues? I claimed "0" allowances thinking that was the most conservative option, but maybe that doesn't work the same way with the new tax laws?

Solar credits are definitely causing delays this year. Mine took 55 days to process last year. The IRS is reviewing them more carefully because there's been a lot of fraud with energy credits. Double-check you had all the proper certification documents for your installation. As long as everything was done properly, you'll get your refund - it just takes extra time.

Thanks for the info! That makes me feel better. We definitely have all the certification documents and receipts from our installer. I guess I'll just have to be patient. Did you end up having to contact the IRS directly or did your refund just show up eventually?

The "no record of return filed" on transcript usually means they haven't started processing it yet. Had this happen last year and eventually it updated. Check again in a week. Mine took 49 days total with CTC and dependent care credits.

Do you know if there's any way to still qualify for the American Opportunity Credit in grad school? I've only used 3 years of my 4-year limit during my undergrad.

Not typically. The American Opportunity Credit is specifically for "the first 4 years of postsecondary education," which the IRS considers to be undergraduate education. Once you're in a graduate program, you're generally considered beyond those first 4 years, even if you didn't use all 4 years of the credit during your undergrad. Graduate and professional degree programs almost always qualify for the Lifetime Learning Credit instead. The LLC has no limit on the number of years you can claim it, which is good for longer graduate programs, but it calculates to a smaller credit amount (20% of up to $10,000 in expenses versus 100% of first $2,000 plus 25% of next $2,000 for the AOC).

This is super important! My university does the same thing and it confused the heck out of me. Check your actual payment dates against what's on the 1098-T. I had to create a spreadsheet showing when I actually made payments vs what semester they were for to get it right.

Oh that's a good point I hadn't considered! Do you know where I can check my state's specific requirements for capital gains?

The best place to check is your state's department of revenue website. Just search "[your state] tax filing requirements" and look for their income tax section. Most states have an easy-to-find page that lists all their filing thresholds. For example, California requires filing at much lower income levels than federal, and some states tax capital gains differently than the federal government does. Some states even require you to file a state return if you filed federal, regardless of income level.

Which software do you use that's completely free? Most of the "free" ones I've found end up charging when you need to report investments.

Is there a threshold for suspicious activity reports for cash deposits? Like if someone deposits $1000 cash every week, does that trigger something? Asking for a friend lol

There's no fixed threshold for what's considered suspicious below the $10,000 mark. Banks have algorithms that look for patterns that might indicate "structuring" (deliberately breaking up deposits to avoid the $10,000 reporting requirement). Regular cash deposits aren't automatically suspicious - many legitimate businesses deal in cash regularly. What typically raises flags is changing patterns, irregular timing with amounts just under reporting thresholds, or deposits that don't align with your known income sources or business activity. Multiple deposits totaling just under $10,000 within a short timeframe is a classic pattern that triggers review.

You're confusing a few different tax rules. The $400 threshold relates to when you must file Schedule SE for self-employment tax. If you make $400 or more in self-employment income, you're required to pay self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare). The $600 threshold is when a business is required to send you a 1099-NEC form, but that doesn't affect your obligation to report the income. You must report ALL income regardless of amount, even if it's just $50.