This confusion happens every tax season! "Payment Completed" in TurboTax literally just means they successfully charged you for their tax prep service - it has zero connection to your actual IRS refund status. Think of it this way: TurboTax is like a middleman who prepared your paperwork and submitted it. Once they get paid and file your return, their job is done and their system shows "payment completed." Your actual refund comes directly from the IRS treasury, not TurboTax. The IRS Where's My Refund tool showing only the first bar means they received your return but haven't finished processing it yet. Given you filed in early February and it's now March, you're well within normal processing times. The IRS has been taking 6-8 weeks for most returns this year. Stop checking TurboTax for refund updates - they literally don't have that information after they submit your return!

I went through this exact same confusion two months ago! "Payment Completed" in TurboTax is just confirming they received payment for their tax prep services - it has absolutely nothing to do with your refund status. I made the mistake of refreshing that TurboTax page dozens of times thinking it would somehow update with my refund info. It won't! Once TurboTax submits your return to the IRS, they're essentially out of the loop. The IRS processes everything independently from that point forward. Since you filed in early February and it's March now, you're actually right in the normal processing window. The IRS has been taking 6-8 weeks for most returns this season due to increased security checks. My advice: bookmark the official IRS Where's My Refund tool and check that maybe once a week max. The first bar just means "received and processing" - totally normal. Your refund will come directly from the US Treasury when the IRS finishes their review, and TurboTax's status page will still probably show "Payment Completed" even after you get your money!

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is the importance of understanding FIFO vs specific identification for your crypto transactions. Most exchanges default to FIFO (first in, first out), but you can actually choose specific identification to optimize your tax situation. If you've been buying crypto at different price points throughout the year, you might want to identify which specific coins you're selling to minimize your gains. For example, if you bought Bitcoin at $30K, $40K, and $50K, and it's now worth $60K, you could choose to sell the ones you bought at $50K first to minimize your taxable gain. This becomes especially important when you're trying to offset with stock losses. You want to make sure you're not creating unnecessary tax liability by accidentally selling your lowest cost basis crypto first. Just make sure to document your specific identification choices clearly - the IRS requires you to identify the specific units you're selling by the settlement date of the sale. Most crypto tax software can help you optimize this automatically, but it's good to understand the concept so you can make informed decisions about your trading strategy going forward.

Just want to add one more consideration that hasn't been mentioned - make sure you're thinking about state taxes too! While federal treatment of crypto/stock offsetting is pretty straightforward (as others have explained well), some states have different rules or don't recognize crypto losses the same way. I'm in California and learned this the hard way last year. The state generally follows federal treatment, but there can be subtle differences in how they handle certain transactions. Some states don't have capital gains taxes at all, which obviously simplifies things, but others might have specific crypto reporting requirements. Also, since you mentioned this is your first year with significant crypto activity, you might want to consider setting aside a portion of any net gains for estimated tax payments. Even though your losses might offset most gains federally, you could still owe state taxes depending on where you live. Definitely recommend checking with a tax professional familiar with crypto in your specific state, especially given the amounts you're dealing with ($24K+ is significant enough to warrant some professional guidance). Better to spend a few hundred on proper advice now than deal with penalties or missed opportunities later!

I completely understand that anxiety! I went through this same situation about 18 months ago and the waiting was definitely the worst part. In my case, it turned out they needed verification of my child tax credit - specifically proof that my son lived with me for more than half the year since we had a custody arrangement change mid-year. A few practical tips while you wait: First, make sure your address is current in your IRS online account - these letters need to reach you! Second, start gathering common documents they might ask for (W-2s, 1098s if you have education expenses, Social Security cards for dependents, etc.) so you're ready to respond quickly when the letter arrives. The letter will be much more specific than that generic online message. Mine was actually pretty straightforward once I got it - they just wanted a copy of the custody decree and my son's school enrollment records. Sent everything certified mail and had my refund processed within 3 weeks. Your military attention to detail is actually a huge advantage here! You probably have better documentation than most taxpayers. Try not to stress too much until you see what they're specifically asking for - it's often something much simpler than we imagine while we're waiting in uncertainty.

This thread has been incredibly helpful! As someone who just received this same message yesterday, I was definitely starting to panic. Reading everyone's experiences has really put things in perspective - it sounds like this is much more routine than it initially appears. I'm particularly grateful for the advice about checking my address in my IRS online account and having common documents ready. Like many of you mentioned, my military background means I probably have everything organized already, but it's good to know what categories to focus on (W-2s, dependent documentation, education credits, etc.). The timeline everyone's shared is really reassuring too - seems like most people got their letters within 2-3 weeks and had everything resolved within a month of responding. I'll definitely be sending my response via certified mail when the time comes. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - this community is amazing for helping newcomers navigate these stressful situations!

Great question! As someone who works in payroll processing, I can clarify this for you. The key thing to understand is that YTD calculations are based on pay periods worked, not payment dates or number of checks received. Since you're paid semi-monthly with a $68,000 annual salary, you have 24 pay periods per year at $2,833.33 each. Your pay period of 5/7-5/21 means you completed work through May 21st, which would be your 10th pay period of the year (assuming you started January 1st). So your YTD of $28,333.30 is correct: 10 pay periods × $2,833.33 = $28,333.30. The reason your calculation of 9 paychecks was off is because you were counting physical paychecks received rather than pay periods completed. There's often a delay between when a pay period ends and when you receive the actual payment, but YTD reflects earnings through the end of the pay period, regardless of when the check is issued. This is an important distinction for tax purposes since your W-2 will reflect earnings based on pay periods worked during the calendar year, not when payments were actually received.

As someone who processes payroll for a living, I want to emphasize something that often gets overlooked in YTD discussions: make sure you're looking at the right YTD column on your paystub! Most payroll systems have multiple YTD calculations - YTD Gross, YTD Taxable Wages, YTD Social Security Wages, etc. Each can be different depending on your pre-tax deductions. For example, if you contribute to a 401(k) or pay health insurance premiums pre-tax, your YTD Taxable Wages will be lower than your YTD Gross by the amount of those pre-tax deductions. This is completely normal and actually beneficial since you're reducing your taxable income. When doing your manual calculations to verify accuracy, make sure you're comparing apples to apples. If you want to verify YTD Gross, multiply your gross pay per period by the number of periods worked. If you want to verify YTD Taxable Wages, you'll need to account for any pre-tax deductions that have been taken out. Also, keep an eye out for any one-time payments like bonuses, expense reimbursements, or corrections from previous pay periods - these will affect your YTD totals but won't follow the regular pattern of your base salary calculations.

Another option if your employer went out of business - check if they filed for bankruptcy. The bankruptcy court records might have copies of employee records including W-2s. You can search the PACER system (pacer.gov) for their case. Also worth checking with your state's Department of Labor as they sometimes require businesses to file final wage reports even when closing.

If you're still having trouble getting your control number, you might want to try Form 4506-T to request a wage and income transcript directly from the IRS. It's free and shows all the income reported to them for a tax year, including the control numbers from your W-2s and 1099s. Takes about 5-10 business days if you mail it in, or you can sometimes get it immediately online if you can verify your identity through their system. Way more reliable than trying to call them right now.