Quick tip from someone who's been there: keep VERY detailed records of how you allocate your scholarships/grants between qualified expenses and living expenses! If you're ever audited, the IRS will want to see your methodology. I created a simple spreadsheet showing: 1. Total qualified expenses: tuition and required fees 2. Total scholarships/grants received 3. How much scholarship was allocated to qualified expenses 4. How much scholarship was allocated to living expenses (and thus taxable) 5. Resulting qualified expenses eligible for AOTC Also saved all my bursar statements, financial aid award letters, and housing receipts.

This is such a helpful thread! I'm in a similar situation and really appreciate everyone sharing their experiences. One thing I want to add for anyone else reading this: make sure to check if your state has any additional education tax benefits that might be affected by how you allocate your scholarships and grants. Some states have their own education credits or deductions that work differently from the federal AOTC. Also, if you're considering the strategy of making some of your Pell Grant taxable to maximize AOTC, remember to factor in whether you'll owe estimated taxes. As a dependent, you might not have had much tax liability before, but adding taxable scholarship income could put you over the threshold where you need to make quarterly payments. The coordination between you and your parents' returns is crucial - I'd definitely recommend working with a tax professional if the numbers are significant, especially the first time you do this optimization. The potential savings are real, but so is the complexity!

Slightly off topic, but related to Schedule A - don't forget to check if itemizing is even worth it for you. The standard deduction for 2024 filing season is $13,850 for single filers and $27,700 for married filing jointly. Unless your total itemized deductions (taxes, mortgage interest, charitable contributions, etc.) exceed these amounts, you're better off taking the standard deduction!

Great question! I went through the same confusion last year. Just to summarize what others have clarified - line 5a on Schedule A is specifically for state and local income taxes only (typically what's in box 17 of your W-2). You're right that Social Security and Medicare taxes are taxes you paid, but they're unfortunately not deductible anywhere on your tax return. Federal income tax withheld (box 2 on W-2) also isn't deductible - that's just a prepayment of your federal tax liability. One thing that helped me was thinking of Schedule A deductions as taxes that reduce your taxable income, while payroll taxes like FICA are considered part of the cost of earning that income in the first place. The IRS treats them very differently for deduction purposes. Also remember the $10,000 SALT cap that someone mentioned - even if your state taxes and property taxes combined exceed that, you can only deduct up to the limit.

I went through this exact nightmare last month! What likely happened is that when your return was rejected, the IRS system created a "pending" status that didn't fully clear out. This is actually a known glitch in their e-file system. Here's what I'd recommend trying in this order: First, wait exactly 72 hours from when you got the rejection notice, then try e-filing again. Sometimes their system just needs that full processing cycle to clear the flag. If that doesn't work, try calling the e-file help desk at 866-255-0654 early in the morning (like 7 AM EST) when wait times are shorter - they can manually remove the "duplicate filing" flag from your account. If you absolutely can't get through by phone and need to file by paper, make sure you print everything correctly and use certified mail. Paper returns are taking 8-10 weeks right now, so you won't see that $2,870 refund until probably late June or July. One thing that helped me was keeping a detailed log of every rejection code and error message I received. When I finally got through to an IRS agent, having that information made it much easier for them to identify exactly what was blocking my account. Good luck - this situation is super frustrating but it is fixable!

I actually work in tax preparation and see this issue multiple times every season! What's happening is that when your return gets rejected, the IRS system sometimes creates what we call a "phantom filing" - basically their database shows an attempted submission tied to your SSN even though the return was never actually processed. The 72-hour waiting period that others mentioned is usually the magic number, but sometimes it can take up to 5 business days for their system to fully clear. Before going the paper route (which really will delay your refund by 6-8 weeks minimum), I'd suggest trying one more e-file attempt after waiting the full 72 hours. If you're still blocked after that, definitely call the e-file department at 866-255-0654. When you call, have your SSN, the exact rejection code you received, and the date of rejection ready. They can see the "duplicate filing flag" on their end and remove it instantly - I've seen this resolve the issue for clients in under 10 minutes once they get through to an agent. One tip: if you get the "high call volume" message, don't hang up right away. Sometimes if you wait through that message, you'll still get put in the queue. The absolute best times to call are Tuesday-Thursday between 7-9 AM EST when their call volume is lowest.

I can definitely relate to your situation! I went through something very similar when I moved from Oregon to Nevada in 2023. I had gotten an EIN for a business idea back in 2021 that never materialized, and I was terrified I'd created some kind of compliance nightmare by letting it sit unused. The good news is that you're absolutely not in trouble with the IRS. Unused EINs are incredibly common - I learned from my accountant that they see this all the time, especially after major life changes or economic disruptions like COVID. The IRS doesn't penalize dormant EINs with no activity, and there's no requirement to file anything or pay fees for unused numbers. Since you never filed formation documents with Colorado's Secretary of State, you don't actually have a Colorado LLC to dissolve - just an unused federal tax ID, which makes your situation even simpler than mine was. I'd strongly recommend getting a fresh EIN for your Tennessee LLC. That's what I did for my Nevada business, and it was the best decision. The online application took about 15 minutes, cost nothing, and I got my new number immediately. No questions asked about previous EINs or business history. Having everything start with consistent dates made opening business bank accounts, getting insurance, and applying for licenses so much smoother. Your old EIN will just remain dormant indefinitely, which is completely normal and legal. Don't let this delay your launch any longer - you haven't done anything wrong and you're ready to move forward with confidence!

I completely understand your stress about this situation! As someone who works with small business clients regularly, I can assure you this is far more common than you realize - especially post-COVID when so many business plans got disrupted. The great news is that since you never filed formation documents with Colorado's Secretary of State, you don't actually have a Colorado LLC entity to dissolve. You just have an unused EIN sitting dormant, which creates zero problems or penalties with the IRS. Here's my recommendation: go with a fresh EIN for your Tennessee LLC. While you could technically reuse the old one with proper forms, starting clean eliminates any potential complications with: - Ownership structure changes (adding yourself as a member) - Timeline consistency for banks and vendors - Documentation clarity for future business needs The EIN application is free online and takes about 10-15 minutes. You'll get your new number immediately, and there are no questions about previous applications. Your 2022 EIN will simply remain dormant forever, which is completely normal and legal. Don't let this delay your business launch any longer - you haven't violated any rules and you're in a great position to move forward with your Tennessee venture!

Just wanted to share another approach that worked for me - if you have access to your employer's HR department or benefits administrator, they might have the complete TIN information on file. I was dealing with a similar issue where I couldn't get the full TIN for my Prudential 401(k) distribution, and after trying all the phone number suggestions here, I reached out to our company's benefits team. They had all the tax identification numbers for our retirement plan providers in their records and were able to give me the correct TIN within an hour. This might be especially helpful if your 1099-R is related to a workplace retirement plan rather than an individual account. The HR/benefits folks deal with this stuff regularly during tax season and usually have quick access to the information we need.

I've been following this thread and wanted to add one more tip that saved me a lot of headache. If you're still unable to get through to Prudential or find your 1099-R, you can actually request a wage and income transcript directly from the IRS that will show the complete TIN information they received from Prudential. You can get this transcript online at irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript, by phone at 800-908-9946, or by mailing Form 4506-T. The transcript will show all the 1099-R information that was reported to the IRS, including the full TIN. This is especially useful if you're dealing with multiple retirement accounts and need to verify which TIN goes with which distribution. The online transcript is usually available immediately, and it's free. This way you can get the official information directly from the IRS without having to navigate multiple customer service departments. Just make sure to request the "Wage and Income Transcript" for the specific tax year you need.