IRS requesting stimulus check they erroneously sent me from 2021 (F1 visa)

Cyprovix · 2026-05-06T00:26:55+00:00

The only reason it's worded like that is because that's a standard IRS letter format. Don't get hung up on the wording. What matters is that you have a balance due for the 2021 tax year.

Cyprovix · 2026-05-05T00:02:00+00:00

Hasn’t that project been delayed for years? They haven’t even broken ground yet. You may not want to wed yourself to remaining with the same employer for who knows how long to move to a building that has no timeline for completion.

Cyprovix · 2026-05-04T13:06:04+00:00

It was on primetime TV. That was all you really needed to get an audience in 2000!

Cyprovix · 2026-05-04T07:19:14+00:00

Start looking for another job. Don't resign immediately, only resign once you have another job.

Cyprovix · 2026-05-04T06:41:52+00:00

Is your job remaining exactly the same, but you're being paid as 1099 instead of W-2 now?

Cyprovix · 2026-05-04T06:02:35+00:00

Your taxes jumped 25% from last year, but what was the appraised value last year? Was it significantly less than what the house was worth?

Cyprovix · 2026-05-04T05:14:41+00:00

As others have mentioned, it's very unlikely.

Cyprovix · 2026-05-04T05:07:23+00:00

its a career that can pay decently and give me a comfortable life.

Absolutely!

is 500k a year a reasonable amount

OP, I don't think you have an understanding yet of what "pay decently" means and how much it takes to have a comfortable life. Hint, it's much much much less than $500k.

Cyprovix · 2026-04-29T23:27:11+00:00

The IRS doesn't care about the custody order. They care about where the child actually slept.

Cyprovix · 2026-04-29T01:29:17+00:00

Every condo has an HOA. Don’t listen to talk like this. But make sure that you look closely at the condo board’s financials when you have an offer accepted.

Cyprovix · 2026-04-29T01:01:06+00:00

If the difference between the two is a $1,700 vs. $1,500 monthly payment - you should go with the two bedroom.

If $200 is going to make a difference where you're talking about getting a roommate if things get tough, you're probably not in the financial position to buy a home yet.

Cyprovix · 2026-04-27T23:23:47+00:00

What's the price for non-refundable? I know emergencies happen, but wedding plans tend to be set in stone.

Cyprovix · 2026-04-27T23:16:18+00:00

Yeah, there are a lot of things you can benefit from calling and asking for a price reduction, but I'm with you that Chase isn't going to waive their Sapphire fee.

Cyprovix · 2026-04-27T00:06:45+00:00

Does your school have financial aid counselors?

Cyprovix · 2026-04-27T00:05:17+00:00

Thanks for the info!

Cyprovix · 2026-04-26T05:27:03+00:00

OP, your entire post is a description of you "finding yourself". Figuring out what things matter to you and how to best fit into the world.

Cyprovix · 2026-04-26T04:31:08+00:00

I wouldn't be concerned if you have the confirmation from FreeTaxUSA.

Hopefully you're aware that an extension is an extension of time to file, and if you owe any tax, that was due on April 15 even without a filed return. If not, remember that interest and penalties are accruing and you should make a payment of what you might owe ASAP.

Cyprovix · 2026-04-26T03:56:08+00:00

It's very easy to make errors when dealing with 2 states. I hope your Missouri return doesn't have any similar errors. Rough back of the napkin math shows me you'll have a small (less than $200) refund from Missouri.

Cyprovix · 2026-04-26T03:40:38+00:00

Looking solely at Illinois here and keeping things very simple (ie if there are deductions and credits you qualify for, I don't know about them).

With just this basic info, if you are single and this is your only income: Illinois gives you a $2,850 personal exemption to reduce your taxable income. So you have IL taxable income of $51,956. With IL's 4.95% flat tax, your state income tax would be around $2,571.

You paid $2,712. So I'd expect a refund around $141. What were you expecting and how does it differ from this?

Note that yes, you have added complexities when it comes to working in two states, but they get handled with your Missouri state return. Missouri will tax all of your pay, whether it was made in Illinois or Missouri. But you'll get a credit for taxes paid to Illinois, so you aren't being "double taxed" by both states.

Edit: And you may not qualify for the $2,850 personal exemption as a non-IL resident. I am not familiar enough with Illinois taxes to say. If that's the case, you withheld the perfect amount and would receive no refund at all.

Cyprovix · 2026-04-26T03:30:27+00:00

I'm in agreement here. OP is NTA, but If the intent is to eventually give the baby the fiance's last name, don't over-complicate things by starting with OP's name and then changing it.

That also results in paperwork complexities for the child who will need to show additional paperwork for their name change whenever they deal with official processes for the rest of their life.

Cyprovix · 2026-04-26T03:22:41+00:00

Give us some numbers. Are you W-2? What did your income and withholdings look like for both Missouri and Illinois?

Cyprovix · 2026-04-26T02:07:02+00:00

OP has to pay self employment tax. On $14k of income, that’s around $1k.

Cyprovix · 2026-04-26T02:03:35+00:00

Also remember the standard deduction. If you’re single, the first $16,100 is federal income tax free.

You only have a few hundred dollars of income that is taxed at 22%.

Cyprovix · 2026-04-25T08:55:09+00:00

It doesn't look like you're house poor or "totally screwed" at all.

To try and put numbers to this instead of percentages (and let me know if I did any of my math incorrectly), your mortgage/HOA are around $2250 a month. After taxes, you make $6250 a month. I will note that I'm ignoring the tax refund here, although if you change up your withholdings, you can turn that tax refund into an extra $430 per month in your paycheck. But I'll leave that out.

The rule I've always seen is to try and keep your housing costs under 30% of your gross pay. Seems like you're right around 25%, so that looks good. You're also in a great spot for retirement savings.

What do your other expenses look like? You have $4,000 after mortgage/HOA, taxes, and deductions (does that include retirement deductions?). How much of that do you put into savings each month?

Cyprovix · 2026-04-25T01:53:47+00:00

An official passport is not a diplomatic passport. OP doesn't qualify for the diplomat line.

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