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Sophia Clark
wait but what about the taxable portion of social security benefits?? my dad gets social security AND takes 401k money and says his social security gets taxed more cuz of the 401k withdrawls... is that different?
Zoe Gonzalez
ā¢Your dad is correct, but that's a different tax concept. 401k withdrawals can increase the taxable portion of Social Security benefits, but that's not the same as paying FICA taxes on the 401k money. Up to 85% of Social Security benefits can become taxable if your "combined income" (adjusted gross income + nontaxable interest + half of Social Security benefits) exceeds certain thresholds. Since 401k withdrawals increase your AGI, they can push more of your Social Security benefits into the taxable range. It's an income tax calculation, not a FICA tax issue.
This is such a common source of confusion! I went through the exact same worry when I was approaching retirement. The key thing to remember is that FICA taxes (Social Security and Medicare) are only on "earned income" - basically wages and self-employment income. Your 401k withdrawals are considered "unearned income" or investment income, so they're completely exempt from FICA taxes. What helped me understand it better was thinking about it this way: when you were working and contributing to your 401k, you were still paying FICA taxes on your full gross salary before any 401k deductions. So you've already "paid your dues" to Social Security and Medicare on that money. Now when you withdraw it in retirement, the government just wants their income tax cut, not another round of FICA taxes. The only thing to watch out for is if you're still working part-time in retirement - those work wages will still have FICA taxes, but your 401k withdrawals won't. Hope this helps ease your mind about retirement planning!
Thank you for that clear explanation! As someone just starting to plan for retirement, this really helps put things in perspective. I never thought about it that way - that we've already paid our FICA taxes on that money when we earned it originally. One follow-up question though - does this same rule apply to traditional IRA withdrawals? I have both a 401k through work and a traditional IRA I contribute to separately. Want to make sure I understand the tax implications for both types of accounts when I retire.
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Isaac Wright
I've been following this thread and wow, Error Code 6000 is affecting so many people! I had a similar issue last month that took weeks to resolve. The key thing I learned is that this error is almost always related to identity verification problems - the IRS really did tighten their security protocols this year. What finally worked for me was calling the taxpayer advocate service at 877-777-4778 right at 7 AM when they open. I got through on my second try and the representative was incredibly helpful. She could see exactly what was causing my account lockout (turned out to be a minor address discrepancy) and fixed it during the call. Make sure you have all your info ready before calling: - Exact refund amount from your return - Last year's AGI - Current address exactly as filed - SSN and filing status @Ava Martinez - definitely try this route first before going in person. The advocate service is specifically designed to help with these access issues and they have better tools than regular IRS customer service. Your $4,300 refund is absolutely worth the effort! Don't let the broken system discourage you from getting your own money back. This thread has become such a great resource for anyone dealing with this error. Thanks to everyone for sharing their real experiences and solutions!
Natalie Wang
ā¢I'm just getting started with understanding tax issues and this thread has been incredibly educational! It's shocking to see how many people are dealing with Error Code 6000 - really makes you realize how broken the IRS online systems are. Reading through everyone's experiences, it's clear that the identity verification tightening is causing major headaches for regular taxpayers. The taxpayer advocate service at 877-777-4778 seems to be the real solution here based on multiple success stories. @Isaac Wright thanks for that clear breakdown of what to have ready before calling! As someone new to this, having that checklist is super helpful. @Ava Martinez I really hope you get through to them tomorrow morning and get your $4,300 refund situation resolved - that s a'lot of money to have tied up because of a technical glitch! This community discussion has been way more informative than anything I could find on official government websites.
Rachel Tao
I've been dealing with Error Code 6000 for about a month now and it's absolutely infuriating! Reading through this thread has been so helpful - it's crazy how many of us are stuck with the same issue. The identity verification angle makes perfect sense, especially since I also moved recently and may have inconsistent address information across different systems. I'm definitely going to try the taxpayer advocate service at 877-777-4778 first thing tomorrow morning at 7 AM. Based on everyone's success stories here, that seems like the most reliable path forward. I'll make sure to have all my documents ready - exact refund amount, last year's AGI, current address as filed, SSN, and filing status. It's honestly ridiculous that we need to become IRS system experts just to check our own refund status, but I'm not giving up. The fact that so many people in this thread have eventually gotten their issues resolved gives me hope. @Ava Martinez - I really hope you get through to the advocate service and get your $4,300 sorted out! This whole discussion has been way more useful than anything on the actual IRS website. I'll update this thread with my results too so we can keep building this knowledge base for others dealing with the same nightmare. Thanks to everyone for sharing their real experiences - this community support is invaluable when dealing with such a broken government system!
This thread has been incredibly helpful for understanding Error Code 6000! As someone new to dealing with IRS issues, I had no idea how widespread this problem is. It's really eye-opening to see how many people are struggling with the same identity verification lockouts. The taxpayer advocate service approach at 877-777-4778 seems to be the consensus solution here - I'm impressed by how many success stories people have shared using that route. @Rachel Tao your plan to call at 7 AM with all documents ready sounds solid! @Ava Martinez I m rooting'for you to get that $4,300 refund resolved soon. It s honestly'shameful that we need to crowdsource solutions like this because the official IRS help channels are so unreliable. But I m grateful'this community exists to share real experiences and workarounds. Definitely bookmarking this thread for future reference!
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CosmicCowboy
Quick tip for anyone using TurboTax Quick Employer Forms for the first time - make sure you double-check that your EIN is entered correctly! I made a typo in mine last year and it caused a huge headache. The W-2s got rejected but TurboTax's notification went to my spam folder so I didn't find out until much later. Also worth noting - if you do need to make corrections after filing, the process is different between TurboTax and BSO. With TurboTax you'll need to submit W-2c forms, while BSO sometimes lets you make direct corrections if caught quickly enough.
Do you know if TurboTax notifies you if there's a problem with the submission? Or do they just send the confirmation regardless?
GalaxyGlider
I went through this exact same situation with my small consulting business last year! The TurboTax Quick Employer Forms system is completely legitimate and will properly file your W-2s with the SSA. What happened is that TurboTax acts as an authorized third-party transmitter - they collect your W-2 data and submit it electronically to the SSA on your behalf. The reason you don't see much online discussion about this option is that most official IRS/SSA guidance naturally points people to their own government systems first. But third-party services like TurboTax have been doing this for years and are fully compliant. One thing that gave me peace of mind was calling the SSA about 2-3 weeks after filing to confirm receipt. You can reach them at 800-772-6270 and they can verify your W-2s were received using your confirmation number from TurboTax. Your dad should be all set! Just make sure to keep that confirmation documentation from TurboTax for your records. The main advantage of the TurboTax route is exactly what you experienced - no waiting for activation codes or dealing with government portal delays during busy tax season.
Paloma Clark
ā¢This is really helpful! I was getting worried that we might have missed something important by not using the official SSA system. It's reassuring to hear from someone who went through the same situation. Did you have any issues when you called the SSA to verify? I'm wondering if they're helpful when you mention you used TurboTax instead of their BSO system, or if they give you a hard time about it.
Zoe Wang
ā¢The SSA representatives are actually very professional about third-party submissions! When I called to verify, I just mentioned I had used TurboTax to file and provided my confirmation number. The rep was able to look it up immediately and confirmed everything had been processed correctly. They didn't give me any pushback at all - apparently they deal with third-party filings all the time. The key is having your confirmation number ready when you call. They use that to track down your specific submission in their system. The whole call took maybe 10 minutes, and it was such a relief to know everything went through properly. Definitely recommend making that verification call for peace of mind, especially as a first-time filer!
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Great question and really helpful thread! I just want to add one more consideration that might be relevant - if you're planning to apply for financial aid for college (FAFSA), you'll need to report your income regardless of whether you're required to file taxes. Even though $175 is a tiny amount, the FAFSA asks for your adjusted gross income and will want you to either provide your tax return or explain why you didn't file one. Having an actual filed return (even showing minimal income) can make the FAFSA process smoother than having to explain why you didn't file when you received a W-2. So that's another small benefit to filing beyond just getting your $12 withholding back - it keeps your financial aid paperwork cleaner if that applies to your situation!
That's such a great point about the FAFSA! I hadn't even thought about that connection. I'm definitely applying for financial aid next year and you're totally right - it would be way easier to just have a filed return to reference rather than trying to explain why I didn't file when I have a W-2. Between getting the $12 back, the peace of mind, and making FAFSA easier, it really seems like a no-brainer to just file. Thanks for mentioning that - it's probably the most convincing argument I've heard so far for why I should bother with such a small return!
This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm in a similar boat - worked at a bookstore for about a week and a half before realizing the commute was killing me. Got a W-2 for around $230 with about $18 in federal withholding. Reading through everyone's experiences, it sounds like filing is definitely the way to go even though I'm not required to. The $18 refund plus the FAFSA benefits mentioned by Zoe make it worth the small time investment. One question though - since I'm also claimed as a dependent by my parents, do I need to coordinate with them at all when I file? Or can I just go ahead and file my return independently? I don't want to accidentally mess up their taxes by doing something wrong on mine.
You can file your return completely independently! Being claimed as a dependent on your parents' return doesn't require any coordination on your end. Your return and their return are separate - you're just reporting your own income and getting back your own withholding. The only thing you need to make sure of is that you check the box indicating that someone else can claim you as a dependent (there's usually a checkbox for this on tax forms). This doesn't affect your refund at all, it just tells the IRS that you're not claiming your own personal exemption because your parents are claiming you. Your parents will continue to claim you as a dependent on their return just like they normally would, and it won't impact their taxes that you filed your own return. Lots of college students file returns while being claimed as dependents - it's totally normal and the IRS systems are set up to handle it automatically.
Caleb Stark
This thread has been incredibly enlightening! I'm a dual US/Greece citizen who just moved to Athens last month and I'm already stressing about next year's tax situation. One thing I haven't seen mentioned is the complexity around Greek social security contributions. Since I'm self-employed with US clients (similar to the original poster), I'm trying to figure out if I need to pay into the Greek social security system (EFKA) on top of everything else we've discussed here. From what I've read, Greece requires self-employed residents to contribute to their social security system regardless of whether they're also paying US self-employment taxes. Has anyone dealt with this? The contribution rates seem pretty high (around 20% from what I've seen) and I'm not sure if there's any treaty relief for double social security taxation. Also, does anyone know if Greek social security contributions are deductible on your US tax return? I'm trying to budget for 2025 and between US taxes, Greek income taxes, and potentially Greek social security, I'm worried I'll be paying close to 50% of my income in various taxes and contributions! Any insights would be hugely appreciated - this community has already saved me from making some costly mistakes before I even start filing!
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Fatima Al-Qasimi
ā¢Welcome to Athens! You're asking about one of the most complicated aspects of dual citizenship taxation. Yes, as a Greek tax resident who is self-employed, you're generally required to register with EFKA and make social security contributions regardless of what you pay to the US. The good news is that there IS a US-Greece Social Security Totalization Agreement that can help prevent double taxation on social security. Under this agreement, you typically only pay social security taxes to one country - usually the one where you're physically working. Since you're living in Greece but working with US clients, you'd likely pay Greek social security and be exempt from US self-employment tax (but you need to apply for a certificate of coverage). Greek social security contributions are NOT deductible on your US tax return - they're considered foreign taxes, not business expenses. However, they may reduce your Greek taxable income, which indirectly helps with the foreign tax credit calculations. Your 50% estimate might not be far off unfortunately. Between Greek income tax (up to 44% on higher incomes), Greek social security (around 20%), and whatever US taxes remain after foreign tax credits, it can get pretty brutal. This is why proper tax planning is so critical for dual citizens. I'd strongly recommend getting professional help before you start earning income in 2025 to structure things optimally from the beginning.
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Makayla Shoemaker
This is such a comprehensive discussion! As someone who's been dealing with dual US/Greece taxation for about 3 years now, I wanted to add a few practical tips that might help newcomers avoid some common pitfalls: **Documentation is everything** - Keep detailed records of all your US tax payments, including quarterly estimated payments. Greece will want to see proof of taxes actually paid, not just what was owed. I learned this the hard way when they initially rejected my foreign tax credit claim because I only provided my tax return, not proof of payment. **Exchange rates matter more than you think** - Use the IRS published exchange rates for converting your Greek income to USD for US filing, and use the European Central Bank rates for converting US taxes to euros for Greek filing. Consistency is key, and using "official" rates helps if either country questions your calculations. **Consider the timing of estimated payments** - Since you're paying US estimated taxes throughout the year but filing Greek taxes after the year ends, you might want to slightly overpay your US estimates. This gives you more foreign tax credits to claim in Greece and reduces the risk of owing a large lump sum to Greece at filing time. **Professional fees are worth it** - I spent about ā¬800 last year on a dual-taxation specialist, but they saved me over ā¬2,500 in unnecessary taxes and penalties. The complexity isn't worth trying to handle alone, especially in your first few years. Hope this helps others navigate this maze a bit more smoothly!
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Nia Davis
ā¢This is incredibly helpful advice! I'm just starting my dual citizenship tax journey and hadn't thought about the documentation aspect. When you mention keeping proof of US tax payments, do you mean bank statements showing the actual transfers to the IRS, or are there specific forms or receipts I should be requesting? Also, regarding the exchange rates - do you convert each quarterly payment separately using the rate from that quarter, or do you use an average rate for the entire year? I'm trying to set up a system now before I get too deep into this process. One more question - when you say the professional saved you ā¬2,500, was that mainly through better tax planning or were there specific deductions/credits you were missing? I'm trying to decide if it's worth the upfront cost in my first year or if I should attempt it myself initially. Thanks for sharing your experience - this kind of real-world insight is exactly what newcomers like me need!
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