I'm a retired accountant, and I think it's absolutely reasonable to ask for citations, but there's an important distinction to make: tax professionals should know THE PRINCIPLES behind tax law and where to find citations, rather than having every code section memorized. For example, when a client asks me about the home office deduction, I should know the general rules (exclusive use, regular use, principal place of business) and be able to say "that's covered in Publication 587 and Section 280A of the tax code." I might need to look up the exact citation, but I should know where to point you. What raises red flags is when someone gets defensive or dismissive when asked for support. Good tax pros welcome these questions because they want you to understand and be comfortable with their advice.

Adding to this discussion - I've learned that there's a huge difference between tax preparers and actual tax attorneys when it comes to citations. Tax attorneys literally live and breathe by citations since they often have to defend positions in court or to the IRS. My regular tax preparer at H&R Block couldn't cite anything specific when I asked about some S-corp questions, but when I went to a tax attorney for a second opinion, she immediately pulled up multiple court cases and revenue rulings that addressed my situation. She even emailed me a summary with all the citations afterward.

Just want to clarify something important here: Form 8962 isn't just about filing requirements - it directly impacts whether you have to repay premium tax credits or might get additional credits. If you don't file it, the IRS will disallow ALL advance premium tax credits you received, which means you could owe thousands back depending on your subsidy amount. Also, the college financial aid office typically wants the parent's return if the student was a dependent during the tax year they're looking at. You should contact the financial aid office directly to clarify what they need - sometimes they have specific forms for situations like this.

A quick tip that helped me with a similar Form 8962 situation - if you don't have your original 1095-A forms, you can log into your Marketplace account and download them again. They keep them available for at least 3 years. Also, the Marketplace has a dedicated helpline that can sometimes explain how your specific forms should be handled for tax purposes.

I've used TurboTax Live for 3 years now, and it's decent but has some limitations. For importing brokerage accounts - yes, they connect with major firms, but crypto transactions and more complex investments sometimes have issues. The CPAs vary wildly in quality - I've had amazing experts who found deductions I never knew about, and others who seemed barely more knowledgeable than me. Pro tip: if you don't like the expert you're matched with, you can disconnect and try again for a different one. For quarterly estimated payments, make sure you have the exact dates and amounts handy - TurboTax can be picky about matching those precisely to IRS records.

Has anyone used H&R Block's live tax pro option? I'm trying to decide between that and TurboTax for a similar situation (W2s, investments, home ownership).

Something else to consider - if you didn't have health insurance for the full year, you might have qualified for an exemption or faced a penalty depending on your state. The federal penalty was eliminated, but some states still have their own mandates. What state are you in? That might affect whether this form matters for your state return.

When I file through TurboTax, I never mail anything physically - I always e-file. Is there a reason you're mailing paper forms? E-filing is usually faster for processing and refunds.

From what I've heard, the filing season opening date is expected to be January 27th, 2025, but that's just based on previous years' patterns. The IRS usually makes the official announcement in early January. One thing to keep in mind - even if you file on the first day, refunds that include Earned Income Tax Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit won't be issued until mid-February due to the PATH Act requirements. So if you're claiming either of those credits, filing super early won't actually get your refund any faster.

Something nobody's mentioned yet - if you use tax software, most companies let you pre-file before the IRS officially opens. You can complete your return, and the company holds it and submits it the moment the IRS system opens. That way you're literally in the first batch processed. I did this last year with TurboTax and got my refund on February 8th, which was pretty quick. Just make sure you have ALL your forms before doing this.