This is incredibly helpful information! I've been in a similar situation with my Wells Fargo account that I closed last year - my refund was sent there about 3 weeks ago and I've been getting nowhere with their customer service. They keep telling me it will automatically bounce back to the IRS, but after reading your experience with Credit Karma, I'm wondering if I should push harder to see if they can mail me a check directly instead. It's frustrating that there doesn't seem to be a standard process across all financial institutions for handling this. Some apparently bounce it back immediately, others hold onto it and can issue checks, and some seem to have no clear process at all. The lack of consistency just adds to the stress when you're already worried about your refund. Thanks for sharing this update - it gives me hope that there might be alternative solutions I haven't explored yet. I'm definitely going to try a different approach with Wells Fargo tomorrow and specifically ask if they can mail a check rather than just assuming they have to return it to the IRS.

Wow, this is exactly the kind of update I needed to see! I've been dealing with a closed Capital One 360 account situation for about 2 weeks now and have been dreading the whole IRS callback process. Reading through everyone's experiences here, it sounds like different financial institutions really do handle this differently - some are more willing to work with customers directly while others just automatically bounce everything back. I'm definitely going to try Capital One's chat support tomorrow and specifically ask if they can mail a check like Credit Karma is doing for you. Even if they can't, at least I'll have a clear answer about their process instead of just assuming the worst. One thing I'm curious about - did Credit Karma ask for any verification of your identity during the chat, or were they able to confirm everything just based on your account information? Want to make sure I have everything ready when I contact Capital One. Thanks for taking the time to share this update. It's really helpful to know there might be faster solutions out there than just waiting for the standard IRS reissue process!

This entire discussion has been incredibly helpful as someone completely new to this community! I had no idea there was such a fundamental difference between ID.me and actual IRS verification processes. Reading through everyone's experiences really shows how this confusion is almost inevitable given how poorly the IRS explains these systems on their website. The airport security vs passport control analogy finally made it all click for me - they're both checking your identity but at completely different checkpoints for different purposes. What's particularly valuable is seeing the consistent pattern where people who called the verification phone number directly got their issues resolved in 15-20 minutes, while those who got stuck in the ID.me loop wasted weeks thinking they were fixing the problem. I'm definitely saving this thread as my reference guide since it provides clearer guidance than any official IRS documentation I've seen. It's honestly frustrating that taxpayers have to rely on community wisdom to understand basic government processes, but I'm so grateful this resource exists. If I ever receive a verification letter, I now know to completely skip ID.me and go straight to the phone number on that letter. Thanks to everyone for sharing these detailed, real-world experiences - you're probably saving countless newcomers like me from unnecessary stress during tax season!

This thread has been absolutely invaluable as someone who just joined this community! I'm dealing with my first complex tax situation this year and was genuinely terrified about potentially facing verification issues. Reading through everyone's detailed experiences has been such a relief - it's clear that the ID.me confusion is practically universal among taxpayers, which really shows this is a systematic communication failure by the IRS rather than individual mistakes. What gives me the most confidence is seeing the consistent pattern where people resolved their issues in 15-20 minutes once they called the verification number directly, versus weeks of stress when stuck in the ID.me loop. The airport security vs passport control analogy finally made it all click for me - both are identity checks but serve completely different purposes at different stages. I'm definitely bookmarking this entire discussion as my emergency reference guide. It's honestly frustrating that we have to rely on community wisdom to understand basic government processes that should be clearly explained on official websites, but I'm incredibly grateful this resource exists. Now I know that if I ever receive a verification letter, I should completely skip ID.me and call the specific number on that letter immediately. Thank you to everyone who shared their real-world experiences - you're probably saving countless newcomers like me from unnecessary weeks of confusion during an already stressful tax season!

I went through this exact situation back in 2023. Won $8k on a scratch-off and had a bunch of losing tickets. I claimed about $4k in losses and got audited. It was mostly a mail audit where they asked for documentation. I sent them all my physical tickets plus bank statements showing ATM withdrawals near the stores where I bought tickets. I also created a spreadsheet estimating when I bought each ticket based on the game numbers and when those games were active in my state (you can find this info on most state lottery websites). They accepted about 80% of my claimed losses. They disallowed some because I couldn't reasonably prove they were purchased during the tax year in question. I had to pay a bit more tax, but there were no penalties because they determined I made a good faith effort.

Based on my experience as a tax preparer, I'd recommend taking a conservative approach here. While you can legally deduct gambling losses up to your winnings, the lack of contemporaneous records does increase your audit risk. Here's what I typically advise clients in your situation: 1. Create a detailed log now, even if after-the-fact. List ticket types, approximate purchase dates/locations, and organize them chronologically as best you can. 2. Gather supporting evidence: bank/credit card statements showing withdrawals or purchases near lottery retailers, any photos you might have of yourself with tickets, etc. 3. Consider the risk vs. reward. If your refund is already decent without claiming these losses, you might want to skip it this year and start keeping proper records going forward. If you do decide to claim them, be prepared to defend the deduction. Keep everything organized and easily accessible. The IRS typically looks for patterns of gambling activity that support your claimed losses. One more thing - make sure you're not double-counting. Only claim losses for which you have actual losing tickets, and don't estimate beyond what you can reasonably document.

Has anyone used a donor-advised fund to manage AMT exposure? I'm thinking about setting one up this year since my income is unusually high.

Great question! I went through this exact confusion last year when planning my charitable giving strategy. The key thing to remember is that charitable donations are one of the few deductions that work favorably under both regular tax and AMT systems. Here's what I learned from working with my tax advisor: **Cash donations**: Fully deductible under both systems (up to 60% of AGI). No AMT adjustment needed. **Appreciated securities**: You can deduct fair market value (up to 30% of AGI) and avoid capital gains tax. This is actually a sweet spot for AMT planning since you're getting double tax benefits. **Property donations**: Similar to securities, but watch out for special rules on certain property types. Make sure you get proper appraisals for items over $5,000. One strategy that helped me was "bunching" donations in high-income years when I was more likely to hit AMT. Since charitable deductions work the same under both systems, you can maximize their impact by concentrating them when your other itemized deductions are being limited by AMT. The confusion online probably comes from people mixing up charitable donations with other itemized deductions (like state taxes) that DO get added back for AMT. Charitable giving is actually one of your best tools for tax planning when facing AMT!

2 Has anyone tried just not reporting these winnings at all? These sweepstakes sites don't send 1099s and I've never heard of anyone getting caught for not reporting them. Not saying you should do that, just curious if there are actual consequences.

I've been dealing with similar sweepstakes casino winnings for the past couple of years. Based on my experience and what I've learned from my tax preparer, you're absolutely right to report it as "prize money not gambling" since these sites specifically operate under sweepstakes laws to avoid gambling regulations. One important thing to keep in mind - even though they don't send you a 1099, many of these sites are still required to report large payouts to the IRS on their end. So definitely report it to avoid any potential matching issues down the road. Also, make sure you're keeping track of the total amount you deposited/spent throughout the year, not just your winnings. While you can't deduct losses the same way as traditional gambling when reporting as prize money, having those records could be helpful if there are ever questions about the net amount of your winnings during an audit.