I work at a bank and see this confusion ALL the time. Here's a quick tip: if your routing number on your tax form starts with 101, 102, 103, 061, 062, 084, or 114, it's almost certainly an intermediary bank used by tax prep software. Most big tax companies use specific banks for this - TurboTax often uses Green Dot Bank or Santa Barbara TPG, H&R Block uses Axos Bank or MetaBank, and TaxAct uses Republic Bank & Trust. Each has their own routing numbers that are dead giveaways.

This is such a common worry and totally understandable! I went through the exact same panic last year when I saw completely different numbers on my 1040. What everyone else is saying is spot on - those different routing and account numbers belong to a temporary account set up by your tax software company. It's part of their "refund transfer" service that lets you pay for the software out of your refund instead of upfront. The process is: IRS → Tax Software Company's Bank → Your Bank. It adds a few days to getting your money, but it's completely legitimate and happens millions of times every tax season. One thing I learned is that you can actually track this process. Most tax software will send you email updates when your refund hits their temporary account and when it gets forwarded to you. Also, the IRS "Where's My Refund" tool will show it as "sent" once it goes to the intermediary bank, even though you won't have it in your account for another few days. Don't stress - your money is safe and will get to you!

This is such a timely question! I'm in a similar boat where my company just rolled out the Roth match option this year. From what I've learned talking to our plan administrator, the key thing to understand is that if you do end up leaving before fully vested, you won't lose the taxes you paid on the Roth match contributions. The IRS treats this as establishing "basis" in your retirement account - basically a record that you already paid taxes on that money. If the unvested portion gets forfeited, you can recover those taxes through a basis adjustment on future returns. That said, I ended up going with traditional matching for now because I'm not 100% sure I'll stay the full 3 years for vesting. The immediate tax savings from traditional matching gives me more flexibility, and I can always do Roth conversions later when I have more job security. Just my two cents!

I just went through this exact situation last year and wanted to share what I learned. The key thing to understand is that when you pay taxes on Roth employer matches, you're essentially creating "basis" in your retirement account - meaning you've already paid taxes on that money. If you leave before vesting and forfeit those contributions, you don't just lose the taxes you paid. You can recover them through what's called a "basis adjustment" on your tax return. Essentially, you report that you paid taxes on retirement contributions that were later forfeited. That said, I'd recommend talking to your plan administrator about how they handle this specific situation, since the Roth match provision is still pretty new and not all companies have clear processes yet. In my case, they provided documentation showing the amounts I had paid taxes on but never actually received, which made the tax recovery process much smoother. The Roth match can still be worth it if you're confident about staying long enough to vest, but the traditional match definitely gives you more flexibility if there's any uncertainty about your job tenure.

Hey Diego! I can totally understand your anxiety about that 290 code - I was in the exact same situation with my amended return a few months ago and was freaking out when I first saw it! But here's the good news: that 290 code with $0.00 actually means the IRS has FINISHED processing your amended return, not that they're starting another review. That 02-10-2025 date isn't when they'll look at your return again - it's when they officially posted this final adjustment to your account. Your -$9,018 account balance is literally your refund sitting there ready to be released! With your cycle code 20250405, you should see an 846 code (refund issued) pop up on your transcript within the next 1-2 weeks. Once that 846 appears with a specific date, that's your direct deposit date. In my case, I got my 846 code about 10 days after the 290 appeared, and the money hit my account exactly when they said it would. I know the waiting is absolutely brutal when you need the money, but you're genuinely at the finish line now. The 290 is one of the last steps before they cut the refund. Try to check your transcript every few days (not obsessively like I did lol) and watch for that magical 846 code. You've made it through the hardest part - your $9,018 is coming! 🙏💰

Hey Diego! I totally get your anxiety about that 290 code - I was in the exact same boat with my 2023 amended return just a couple months ago and was completely stressed when I first saw it pop up on my transcript. The good news is that 290 code with $0.00 actually means the IRS has COMPLETED processing your amended return, not that they're starting over or need to review it again. That 02-10-2025 date is when they officially posted this final adjustment to your account, not a future review date. Your account balance showing -$9,018 is literally your refund amount sitting there ready to be released! With your cycle code 20250405, you should see an 846 code (refund issued) appear on your transcript within the next 1-2 weeks. Once that 846 shows up with a specific date, that's your direct deposit date. I know the waiting is absolutely brutal when you desperately need the money, but you're genuinely in the home stretch now. The 290 is actually one of the final codes that appears before they issue the refund. In my experience, I got my 846 code about 9 days after my 290 appeared, and the money hit my account exactly on schedule. Try to check your transcript every few days (resist the urge to check multiple times daily like I did!) and watch for that 846 code. You've made it through the hardest part - your $9,018 refund is coming soon! 🙏💰

My husband and I just went through an IRS audit for exactly this situation! Big warning: we ran into trouble because we were renting out too much of our home. The IRS agent cited the "dwelling unit used as a home" rules and said we were treating it more as a rental property than a personal residence. The key is making sure your personal use days exceed the greater of: 14 days or 10% of the total days it's rented. So if you rent portions of your home for 300 days, you need to personally use it for at least 30 days during the year. For duplicate expenses, keep detailed records showing you're paying both housing costs (mortgage/utilities at your tax home AND temporary housing during assignments). The IRS was particularly interested in seeing that we maintained utility services in our name even during rental periods. Also, a lot of travel nurse agencies don't handle state taxes correctly! Double-check their withholding - ours completely missed withholding for two states which created a mess.

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm a travel PT who's been struggling with similar tax home issues. One thing I'd add based on my experience - document EVERYTHING about your intent to return permanently to your tax home. The IRS looks closely at whether you truly intend your travel assignments to be temporary. Keep records showing you're actively planning your return: renewal of professional licenses in your home state, maintaining voter registration, keeping your kids enrolled in local schools if applicable, continuing relationships with local healthcare providers, etc. Also, for the state tax filing complexity you mentioned - I learned the hard way that some states have "convenience of employer" rules that can trip up remote workers. New York is notorious for this. Your husband should definitely check if any of the states you'll be in have these rules, as they might try to tax his entire income even if he's just temporarily there with you. One last tip: consider getting a tax professional who specializes in itinerant workers BEFORE you start traveling. The upfront cost pays for itself when you avoid mistakes that could trigger an audit or penalties later.

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm in a similar situation as the original poster - had some good luck with sports betting apps this year and realized I have no idea what I'm doing tax-wise. One question I haven't seen addressed: what happens if you have a really good year gambling but then lose most of it back in the following tax year? Like if I win $15,000 in 2024 but then lose $12,000 of it in early 2025, I still have to pay taxes on the full $15,000 for my 2024 return, right? Those 2025 losses can't offset the 2024 winnings? Also, for anyone using the betting apps - do they automatically send you tax forms at the end of the year if you hit certain thresholds, or do you have to request your win/loss statements? I've been pretty lucky on FanDuel and DraftKings but haven't gotten any tax documents yet. Thanks to everyone who's shared their experiences here, especially about the record-keeping requirements. Definitely going to start taking screenshots of everything going forward!

Something I want to add that hasn't been covered much - if you're gambling across multiple platforms and casinos, you'll want to consolidate all your records early in the process rather than waiting until tax time. I made the mistake of keeping separate logs for each app and casino, thinking I'd combine them later. Come April, I had scattered records across 4 different betting apps, 2 casinos, and a bunch of handwritten notes from poker games. Trying to reconcile everything into one coherent picture was a nightmare, especially when some dates didn't match up between my bank statements and my gambling logs. Now I update one master spreadsheet every week with all activity from all sources. It takes about 15 minutes but saves hours of headache later. I also take a photo of any physical tickets or receipts immediately and upload them to a dedicated folder on my phone. The key is building the habit before you really need it. When you're having a good run and winning regularly, it's easy to think you'll remember everything or that you'll "figure it out later." Trust me - you won't, and it becomes exponentially harder to reconstruct accurate records as time goes on.