From my experience, if you e-filed and are getting direct deposit, you should have your refund within 3 weeks max unless there's an issue with your return. Have you checked your tax transcript on the IRS website? That usually shows more detailed info than the Where's My Refund tool. Also, if you claimed certain credits like the Earned Income Credit, Additional Child Tax Credit, or Recovery Rebate Credit, the IRS automatically holds those returns for additional review - no matter how perfect your return is. This is for fraud prevention.

Does anyone know if tax refunds are coming slower this year in general? I filed on Jan 29 and still waiting while last year I got my refund in like 10 days?

Don't forget about the recordkeeping requirements! I'm a small landlord too and got audited last year - it was a nightmare. The IRS wanted to see documentation for EVERY single business expense. For your snacks and cookies, make sure you're keeping: - Receipts showing the exact items and amounts - Notes on who received them (names) - The business reason for giving them - The date they were provided - How the expense relates to your rental income I just use the notes app on my phone and take pics of receipts right after purchase with this info. Saved my butt during the audit.

Just a heads up that I made a mistake on this last year. I was giving my handyman energy drinks and snacks every time he came by (probably spent about $400 over the year on him alone) and tried to deduct it all as "business supplies" lol. My accountant caught it and explained the $25 gift limit. What we did instead was reclassify most of it as "refreshments provided during business meetings/services" since he was actively working while consuming them. That falls under the 50% meal deduction limit instead of the $25 gift limit. Just make sure you note that these were provided DURING the work being performed, not as thank-you gifts after the fact.

For what it's worth, I've used Direct Pay with a name change (after divorce, not marriage) and it worked perfectly fine. Like others have said, the verification is just checking that you are who you say you are based on previous tax information. Your SSN is what really matters - that's the unique identifier the IRS uses to track everything. Once you get through the verification step, you'll have the option to select what you're paying for. Just make sure you choose: - Form 1040 - Tax Year 2024 - Reason for payment: Payment with return As long as those are set correctly, your payment will be applied properly regardless of your name change or filing status change.

I work at a tax prep office (not an expert though, just admin) and this comes up ALL the time. The Direct Pay system is just using your previous return to verify your identity, but your actual payment gets applied based on the tax year and form type you select later in the process. Your SSN is the magic key that connects everything. As long as that hasn't changed (and it shouldn't!), you're good to go. Name changes, address changes, filing status changes - none of that matters for the payment application.

Something nobody's mentioned yet - make sure you're clear on who's responsible for reporting what if you do charge interest on the loan. If your brother charges you even a small amount of interest, he technically needs to report that as income on his tax return. It's not a big deal with small amounts, but worth knowing. My sister loaned me $15k last year and charged me 1% interest just to make it official. She had to report the $150 interest on her taxes. Not a huge deal, but something to be aware of.

I went through this exact situation with my parents helping me buy a car last year. Here's what worked for us - we created a super simple one-page loan document that included: - The exact amount borrowed ($22,500) - A minimal interest rate (we used 2%) - A payment schedule (monthly for 2 years) - Both our signatures Nothing fancy, no notary or anything. This made it crystal clear it was a loan, not a gift. I've been paying them back monthly, and neither of us had any tax issues. The interest they've received is so small they just included it with their other interest income. The IRS isn't out to get you on family helping family situations as long as you have some basic documentation showing it's actually a loan you intend to repay.

Based on my experience as a dual US-Canadian citizen running a business, consider establishing a Canadian corporation if you're planning to stay in Canada long-term. Here's why: - Canadian corporate tax rates can be very favorable for small businesses (as low as 9% federal + provincial on the first $500K of active business income) - You can defer personal taxation by keeping money in the corporation - You still need to file US taxes as a citizen, but can use foreign tax credits - Your wife, as a non-US person, can receive dividends from the Canadian corporation that may not be subject to US taxation The downside is compliance costs - you'll need to file US FBAR, Form 5471 (for foreign corporations), and possibly deal with GILTI tax. But overall, the tax savings often outweigh these costs.

Just a warning from someone who went through this - don't forget about Social Security! As a US citizen in Canada, you'll be covered by the US-Canada totalization agreement. This determines which country's social security system you pay into. Generally, if you're self-employed and residing in Canada, you'd pay into the Canadian system (CPP) and be exempt from US self-employment tax. You need to get a certificate of coverage from the Canadian authorities to claim this exemption. This saved me about $15K in US self-employment taxes my first year abroad that my first accountant missed!