Does anyone know if the VITA certification tests are the same difficulty level as last year? I barely passed the Advanced certification and am nervous about doing it again.

Thanks everyone for all the helpful info! I just wanted to share my experience as someone who's been coordinating a VITA site for 3 years. A few additional tips for returning volunteers: - Start checking the Link & Learn system regularly starting in early November - sometimes the new year's tests roll out gradually - Don't wait until the last minute! Sites usually want all volunteers certified by mid-December so we can schedule training sessions - If you're planning to do Advanced certification again, I'd recommend reviewing Schedule C (business income/expenses) and the retirement savings contributions credit - these seem to trip up a lot of people Also, for anyone worried about the difficulty level - the IRS actually provides really good feedback when you get questions wrong during practice tests. Use that to your advantage! The goal isn't to make the tests hard, it's to make sure volunteers are prepared to help taxpayers accurately. Looking forward to another great tax season helping folks in our community!

This has been such a helpful thread! I'm transitioning from paper filing to IRIS this year and was completely lost on the CSV requirements. Reading through everyone's experiences has given me a much clearer roadmap. I wanted to add one thing I discovered during my research - the IRS has a dedicated IRIS help desk at 866-455-7438 that's separate from their main taxpayer service line. The wait times are usually much shorter (typically 15-20 minutes vs hours on the main line) and the agents are specifically trained on electronic filing formats. They walked me through the exact CSV layout for 1099-NEC forms and even sent me sample files to use as templates. For anyone else making the switch, I'd recommend calling them before you start building your CSV files. They can provide form-specific format guides that are much clearer than the general documentation on the IRS website. The agent I spoke with also confirmed that you can submit multiple test files without any limit - so definitely take advantage of that feature to perfect your format before the real submission. Thanks again to everyone who shared their experiences here. This community knowledge is invaluable for navigating these IRS systems!

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm a CPA who's been putting off the IRIS transition for way too long, and reading through everyone's real-world experiences has finally given me the confidence to make the switch. A few additional tips I'd like to share based on my research and conversations with other tax professionals: **Backup Strategy**: Always keep your original data in a separate format (Excel, database, etc.) before converting to CSV. I've heard horror stories of people losing data during the CSV conversion process and having to recreate everything from scratch. **Timing Considerations**: Submit your files early in the day if possible. The IRIS system can get slower during peak filing periods, and if you encounter format issues, you'll have time to fix and resubmit the same day. **Documentation**: Keep screenshots of your successful test submissions. If you run into issues later with similar files, having that proof of what worked before can be invaluable when troubleshooting. For those mentioning third-party validation tools - while I haven't tried taxr.ai personally, having any kind of pre-validation seems smart given how strict IRIS is about formatting. The cost of fixing rejections in terms of time and stress probably makes these tools worth it. Thanks to everyone who shared phone numbers and specific tips. This is exactly the kind of practical guidance that's missing from the official IRS documentation!

This is exactly why having a second opinion is so valuable for complex tax situations. Your Big 4 tax preparer should definitely know better than to classify insurance proceeds as ordinary business income without proper analysis. Based on what others have shared here, it sounds like you have a strong case for treating this as an involuntary conversion under Section 1033. The key factors working in your favor are: (1) you received insurance proceeds for property damage, (2) you reinvested those proceeds in repairing the same property, and (3) you completed the repairs within the allowable timeframe. Since your total repair costs ($158k based on your comment) exceeded the insurance payout ($135k), you actually have a net casualty loss of $23k rather than taxable income. For S-Corp business property, this loss should flow through to your K-1 without the personal casualty loss limitations. I'd strongly recommend getting documentation together showing the total damage, insurance settlement, and complete repair costs, then having a frank conversation with your tax preparer about why they're not considering the involuntary conversion rules. If they're not familiar with this area, it might be worth consulting with a tax professional who specializes in casualty losses and Section 1033 elections.

This thread has been incredibly helpful - I'm dealing with a similar situation where my accountant wanted to classify flood damage insurance proceeds as regular business income. After reading through all the responses here, I realized I needed to educate myself more on casualty loss rules. One thing I'd add for anyone in a similar situation: make sure you understand the difference between insurance proceeds that exceed your property's adjusted basis (which could result in a gain) versus total repair costs that exceed the insurance payout (which results in a loss). The distinction is crucial for tax treatment. Also, timing matters a lot. If you received insurance money in one tax year but made repairs in another, you need to be careful about which year you report the casualty event and whether you're making a Section 1033 election to defer any potential gain. The documentation aspect can't be overstated - keep everything related to the damage, insurance claim, and repairs. I learned this the hard way when I had to reconstruct my records months later. Having a clear paper trail showing the progression from damage → insurance claim → actual repair costs makes the tax treatment much clearer to defend if questioned.

I went through this exact same situation a few years back and can confirm that filing Form 8606 separately is absolutely the right approach here. Don't overthink it or stress about amending your entire return - that's unnecessary paperwork for something that doesn't change your tax liability. Here's exactly what I did: Mailed the Form 8606 with a simple cover letter to my IRS processing center stating "Form 8606 filed separately - nondeductible IRA contribution made after filing 2024 tax return." Made sure to include my name, SSN, and tax year clearly on everything. The key things to remember: Send it certified mail for your records, keep copies of everything, and make sure your contribution was actually made before the April 15, 2025 deadline. The IRS processed mine without any issues or follow-up questions. One thing I'd add that others haven't mentioned - if you're planning to do backdoor Roth conversions in the future, having this Form 8606 properly filed and documented becomes even more critical. It establishes your nondeductible basis which affects the tax calculations on future conversions. You're doing the right thing by addressing this now rather than letting it slide. The IRS is pretty accommodating with these separate 8606 filings since they know people often make last-minute IRA contributions after filing their returns.

I've been following this thread closely since I'm in a very similar situation - filed early in February but then made a nondeductible IRA contribution in late March. Reading everyone's experiences here has been incredibly helpful and much clearer than anything I could find in the official IRS guidance. What really stands out to me is how consistent everyone's positive experiences have been with filing Form 8606 separately. It seems like this is such a common scenario that the IRS has essentially streamlined the process, even though the official instructions make it sound more complicated than it actually is. I'm particularly grateful for the specific details people shared about cover letters, mailing addresses, and what kind of confirmation to expect. The tip about getting written documentation from your IRA custodian is something I definitely wouldn't have thought of on my own, but it makes perfect sense for building a solid paper trail. For anyone else reading this who's in the same boat - it sounds like the consensus is clear: don't stress about amending your entire return, just file the 8606 separately with proper documentation and certified mail. The peace of mind from doing it correctly far outweighs the small hassle of mailing the form. Thanks to everyone who shared their real-world experiences here. This kind of community knowledge sharing is invaluable for navigating these tax situations that aren't always clearly addressed in official publications.

Filed mine on Feb 3rd and just got my refund yesterday! Took exactly 8 business days with direct deposit to Chase. For anyone still waiting, I'd recommend checking the Kansas Department of Revenue portal - mine showed "approved" status about 2 days before it actually hit my account. Hang in there everyone!

Filed mine on Feb 6th and still waiting here too. Seems like there's definitely some variation in processing times even for e-filed returns. I've been checking the KDOR portal daily but still shows "received" status. Good to see people are getting theirs though - gives me hope! Has anyone noticed if certain types of returns (like those with certain deductions or credits) are taking longer than others?