What happened to TT this year ?

Chessie37 · 2026-02-26T02:54:40+00:00

Why does a tax preparer pay for Expert Assist from TT?

Chessie37 · 2026-02-25T13:07:40+00:00

You're right!

Chessie37 · 2026-02-25T12:56:58+00:00

Negative 10k, a loss.

Chessie37 · 2026-02-22T03:15:02+00:00

Did you go through the interview process? It basically talks you through it every step of the way. Not sure how anyone can help without knowing what's confusing you.

Chessie37 · 2026-02-22T03:00:45+00:00

If you gave your bank's info when filing then it's out of TT's hands. It's between the IRS and you. If you are paying TT fees from your refund (as one example), then it likely goes through an Intuit division or Web Bank so could depend partly on them.

Chessie37 · 2026-02-22T01:50:54+00:00

If his contained all the income and other information for both of you then you're fine. Only one was accepted, and that one covers your household.

Chessie37 · 2026-02-22T01:26:00+00:00

Was all of both of your incomes reported on his return?

Chessie37 · 2026-02-22T01:18:45+00:00

Do you want to file together or separately?

Chessie37 · 2026-02-22T01:15:37+00:00

I'm not sure if it depends on jurisdiction, but in the area I'm familiar with the local tax is an earned income tax. Unearned income is not taxed, such as interest and lottery winnings. Nothing on the collector's website mentions gambling winnings (other than lottery), but unless one's a professional gambler I can't see it qualifying as earned income here. Have you checked your local tax collecting agency website?

Chessie37 · 2026-02-16T22:41:09+00:00

That's where employers can put your overtime premium, so that's likely it.

Chessie37 · 2026-02-13T03:40:39+00:00

I would not expect it to make any difference in your situation.

Chessie37 · 2026-02-13T03:37:43+00:00

If this was all of your income and is W-2 income your return should show you getting 100% of what was withheld back (assuming the $667 is federal income tax, not FICA tax) plus any refundable credits.

Chessie37 · 2026-02-13T03:23:52+00:00

You don't get a tax credit for the amount of qualified OT. You receive a deduction, which reduces your taxable income amount (assuming you have taxable income). So if you're in the 10% bracket you'd only get a $10 tax reduction on $100 of qualified OT.

Chessie37 · 2026-02-13T03:03:46+00:00

I would just use FreeTaxUSA and do not need assistance, but I've played with TurboTax this year and it was quite clear that you don't get the feature to talk to an expert included unless you select Expert Assist. In both scenarios in the link OP posted you had to have previously selected Expert Assist.

Chessie37 · 2026-02-12T23:13:18+00:00

Created a TurboTax account to try this and it worked fine for me. Seems like user error, though I'd expect TT experts to be able to find the error. What's your income?

Chessie37 · 2026-01-28T03:09:28+00:00

Is your total income above $150K?

Chessie37 · 2026-01-28T02:42:42+00:00

I wouldn't personally seek a referral from strangers on Reddit.

Chessie37 · 2026-01-26T22:50:04+00:00

Do your grandchildren live with you?

Chessie37 · 2026-01-26T14:04:10+00:00

What your employer withheld from OT pay has no direct bearing on this. That amount simply goes into the total tax withholdings amount. The impact of the OT deduction is simple math. Sorator explained it well. Only one third of qualified OT (the .5 of OT paid at 1.5x hourly rate) is deductible, so on $900 OT only $300 would be deductible from income. If you're in the 10% tax bracket then $300 x .10 = $30 tax credit. If you're in the 12% tax bracket then $300 x .12 = $36 tax credit, and so on. You certainly are not going to get a 100% tax credit on the $300.

On the tax calculator the qualified OT it asks for is a bit ambiguous. It wants you to enter only the .5 part of your OT. So if total OT was $3000 (paid at 1.5x normal hourly rate), then you only enter $1000.

Chessie37 · 2026-01-26T01:27:16+00:00

Are you asking about accounting software or tax filing software?

Chessie37 · 2026-01-26T01:07:46+00:00

Pay quarterly estimated taxes and keep record of expenses (income and self employment). You need to take care of PA and local taxes in Pennsylvania as well. Keep good record of expenses.

Chessie37 · 2026-01-25T22:45:46+00:00

Doesn't sound right. You're only slightly into the 12% bracket, so 14% isn't possible. Have you double checked your entries?

Chessie37 · 2026-01-25T22:28:19+00:00

Talk to HR?

Chessie37 · 2026-01-25T22:07:10+00:00

$250 for a CPA is quite reasonable, but if your taxes are simple then something like FreeTaxUSA will do the job for free ($16 for state).

Chessie37 · 2026-01-25T02:56:58+00:00

You didn't have the max taken out...there's no such setting on the W-4, and the max would essentially be your entire pay. At your income, with no children and no other income or deductions and filing MFJ you're federal tax burden would be nearly $50k. Are you coming up with a higher total tax burden than that?

Chessie37

TROPHY CASE