One thing nobody's mentioned yet - make sure you check if you qualify for the American Opportunity Credit (AOC) vs the Lifetime Learning Credit. AOC is generally better (up to $2,500 credit with up to $1,000 refundable) but has more restrictions - you must be pursuing a degree, be at least half-time, and can only claim it for 4 tax years. Lifetime Learning has no limit on years but maxes out at $2,000 non-refundable credit. In my experience with MGIB, I qualified for AOC for my first four years, then had to switch to Lifetime Learning. The tax software should help determine which is best for you.

Just wanted to add some clarity from my own experience with MGIB taxes. The confusion often comes from the fact that Montgomery GI Bill payments are structured differently than other VA education benefits. With MGIB, you're essentially getting a monthly education allowance that you can use for any qualified education expenses - tuition, housing, books, etc. The key point everyone's making is correct: if YOU paid the tuition directly to the school (showing up in Box 1 of your 1098-T), and the school didn't receive any direct payments from the VA (which would show up in Box 5), then you're eligible for education tax credits. Your monthly MGIB allowance doesn't disqualify you from these credits. I'd recommend double-checking with IRS Publication 970 (Tax Benefits for Education) which specifically covers how military education benefits interact with tax credits. It's dry reading, but it clearly states that payments you make with your own funds - even if those funds originally came from VA benefits - still qualify you for education credits as long as the school wasn't paid directly by the VA.

Make sure you're also aware of FBAR filing requirements if you open foreign bank accounts while abroad! Those forms have nothing to do with taxes you owe but have huge penalties if you fail to file.

Form 673 can be really helpful in your situation, but I'd recommend being cautious about timing. Since you just moved abroad a month ago, you're still early in the process of establishing foreign residence. One approach that worked for me was to submit the 673 but also set up quarterly estimated tax payments as a safety net. That way, if something changes and you don't end up qualifying for the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion, you're not hit with a massive tax bill plus penalties. Also, make sure your employer's payroll system can actually handle the 673 properly - some foreign companies that process US withholding aren't familiar with this form and might need guidance on how to implement it correctly. You might want to follow up with their HR/payroll team to confirm they know what to do with it once you submit it.

As a newcomer to this community, I'm incredibly grateful for this thorough discussion! I've been lurking here for a while and finally decided to create an account because I'm facing almost the exact same situation as the original poster. I received a $350 bonus from Chase for opening a new checking account last month, and when I called to ask about tax documentation, they gave me the same runaround - "checking account bonuses don't generate 1099-INT forms" and "you don't need to worry about reporting it." Reading through all these responses has been eye-opening! What strikes me most is how consistent the advice is from everyone, despite the banks giving conflicting information. It's clear that ALL bank bonuses are taxable income regardless of documentation, and I need to report mine even though Chase won't be sending a 1099-INT. I'm also taking note of all the practical tips shared here - keeping screenshots of bonus offers, maintaining good records, and using the "Other Interest Income" section in tax software rather than trying to create fake forms. The suggestion about keeping a tax diary throughout the year is brilliant too. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences and expertise. This thread has probably saved me from making a costly mistake, and I feel much more confident about handling this correctly now. The community knowledge here is invaluable for those of us just starting to navigate these financial waters!

As someone new to this community, I want to add my voice to thank everyone for this incredibly comprehensive discussion! I just opened my first rewards checking account last month and received a $200 bonus from PNC Bank. Like many others here, I was told by their customer service that "promotional bonuses don't require tax reporting" and that I wouldn't receive any 1099 forms. After reading through this entire thread, it's absolutely clear that I need to report this income regardless of what PNC told me. The consistency of advice from tax professionals, experienced community members, and even former bank employees is overwhelming - ALL bank bonuses are taxable as interest income, period. What I find most valuable is learning about the practical aspects of compliance that go beyond just "report the income." The tips about maintaining detailed records, saving screenshots of original offers, noting exact deposit dates, and using proper software categories will help me avoid future headaches. I'm definitely implementing the tax diary suggestion starting now! It's both frustrating and enlightening to see how widespread the misinformation from banks is on this topic. Clearly their customer service teams aren't equipped to provide accurate tax guidance, which puts the burden on us to research and understand the requirements ourselves. This community is an incredible resource for navigating these complex situations. Thank you all for sharing your knowledge and experiences - you've probably saved many of us from costly mistakes!

One additional resource that might be helpful for folks going through this process - if you're having trouble figuring out your exact tax situation for prior years, the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program sometimes helps with prior year returns, especially for lower-income taxpayers. These are IRS-certified volunteers who can help you navigate the complexities of filing old returns for free. Not all VITA sites handle prior year returns, but it's worth calling around to local sites to ask. They're particularly good at helping identify credits and deductions you might have missed, which could increase your refund amounts. Also, I wanted to mention something about state taxes that hasn't come up yet - don't forget that if you're owed federal refunds from prior years, you might also be owed state refunds! State statute of limitations vary, but many states also have 3-4 year windows for claiming refunds. It's worth checking your state's tax agency website to see what their rules are, since that could be additional money you're entitled to claim. The whole process definitely seems overwhelming at first, but breaking it down year by year and using the resources people have mentioned here makes it much more manageable. Good luck everyone!

Really comprehensive discussion here! As someone who went through a similar situation a couple years ago, I want to emphasize how important it is to act quickly if you think you might be owed refunds. I procrastinated on filing some 2018 returns thinking I had "plenty of time" and ended up missing the deadline by just a few months - lost out on about $800 that I'll never see again. One thing that might help @Edison Estevez - before diving into the full filing process for each year, you can actually call the IRS (or use one of those services people mentioned to get through faster) and ask them to check if they have any record of income reported for you in those years. Sometimes employers report W-2s and 1099s to the IRS even if you never received your copies, so they can tell you right away if there was reportable income that might result in a refund. This can help you prioritize which years are worth pursuing before you spend time gathering documents and filing returns. If the IRS shows no income reported for a particular year, there's probably no refund to claim anyway. Saved me a lot of work when I discovered that one of the years I was worried about had no income reported at all. Also seconding everyone's advice about keeping detailed records of the whole process - dates you mailed returns, certified mail receipts, copies of everything. The IRS can be slow to process and sometimes things get lost in their system, so having your own paper trail is essential.

Does anyone know if you can deduct your actual DFS contest entry fees as a business expense? Like if I spent $5000 on contests but won $6000, can I just report the $1000 profit, or do I need to report $6000 income and then deduct the $5000 in fees separately?

This is such a timely question with the NFL season starting! I've been dealing with this exact confusion for the past two years. The key thing to understand is that the IRS doesn't actually view DFS and sports betting as the same activity, even though they both involve sports. DFS platforms successfully argued that their contests are skill-based competitions between players (similar to poker tournaments), while traditional sports betting is classified as gambling against the house. For tax purposes, this means: - DFS winnings go on Schedule C as business income, and you can deduct research subscriptions, data services, and contest entry fees as business expenses - Sports betting winnings go on Form W-2G and losses can only offset wins if you itemize on Schedule A The practical advice: keep separate records for each activity. I use different spreadsheets to track my DraftKings contests versus my occasional bets at the sportsbook. It makes tax season much less stressful when everything is already categorized correctly. Also worth noting that some states treat these differently too, so make sure you understand your state's specific rules in addition to federal requirements.