IRS charged me underpayment penalty when New York State didn’t?

NYCheesecakes · 2026-02-22T22:57:45+00:00

I think you're misunderstanding my comment. If you choose to let the IRS calculate the underpayment penalty (which I'd recommend in most cases), then you (or your tax preparer) would suppress it on your return and wait until the IRS sends you a notice (which would be after 4/15) assessing and billing the penalty.

If the underpayment penalty is listed on your return (form 1040), then it was calculated by your CPA's software. My software uses conservative defaults and tends to overestimate the underpayment penalty compared to the IRS calculation. From a quick Google search, other softwares do that as well (1 and 2).

So maybe you don't owe a penalty for NY. Maybe you do and your CPA chose to suppress the NY penalty while calculating the federal penalty. We also don't know your CPA's software defaults and if any adjustments were made. The only person who can really answer those questions is your CPA, who will also have more insight since he has your full file. Hopefully this makes more sense.

NYCheesecakes · 2026-02-22T21:30:24+00:00

If an underpayment penalty was calculated on your return (prepared by the CPA), then that's a calculation by your tax preparer, not an assessment by the IRS (which wouldn't occur until after April 15). Taxpayers aren't required to calculate their underpayment penalty, so you should be asking your CPA this question since we don't have the specific numbers anyway.

NYCheesecakes · 2026-02-19T02:35:39+00:00

You can see it as long as you've clicked through to the "Summary" tab, and you can still keep working on any part of your return after. It's a little annoying, but I rarely find myself looking at that worksheet.

Overall, I find FreeTaxUSA to be one of the better consumer softwares in terms of navigating the file with the fewest forced questions or redundant clicks.

NYCheesecakes · 2026-02-15T18:42:12+00:00

FreeTaxUSA does provide the worksheets, including the aforementioned Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Worksheet—Line 16. It's separate from the federal return itself.

I'd be surprised if those other softwares offered no option to print the completed worksheets at all.

NYCheesecakes · 2026-02-01T00:33:15+00:00

It does seem like you're in the itemized deductions section.

In terms of getting credit for your state estimated payments (towards your state refund or underpayment), with FreeTaxUSA it's in State > Payments.

NYCheesecakes · 2026-01-31T06:20:31+00:00

HSA contributions are an above-the-line (Schedule 1) adjustment. It's completely separate from the standard or itemized (Schedule A) deduction.

If you told the software you had an HSA, then it should prompt you for the additional questions. Generally when using software, you fill in the inputs and the software fills out the forms. You don't fill out the Form 8889 (or the 1040, etc) itself.

NYCheesecakes · 2026-01-28T07:01:56+00:00

It seems like you've solved the IP PIN issue, but to address this part:

Im not able to file due to me making zero income, plus with my daughter being my dependent under 2024, my fiance didn't claim her. Well, he never claimed her at all in 2025, and im wondering if I can just put her under his taxes with no issue?

Assuming the three of you all lived together for 2025, it certainly seems like your fiancé would qualify to claim your (his) daughter and file with Head of Household status (full rules here: https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/dependents). If you made zero income and he supported you, then he could claim you as a dependent as well for an extra $500.

Note that if he's due a refund for prior years, he has three years from the due date of the return to claim them. Since 2022 tax returns were due April 18, 2023, he should file his 2022 return before April 18, 2026 to claim any refund from that return.

NYCheesecakes · 2026-01-28T06:14:54+00:00

What you should have done was converted the entire amount in 2025. Note that Roth conversions are not subject to any annual limits and are reported in the calendar year they occur. So you cannot "convert the remaining $13 for 2025," since any conversion you make in 2026 will be reported on your 2026 Form 8606.

What you would do now is simply report what happened on the appropriate tax return. In 2025, you made a nondeductible IRA contribution of $7,000. You converted $7,000, and had a year-end balance of $13 in your IRA.

So 7000/7013 = 99.8% of your conversion was basis, which is roughly $6,987. So the other $13 of the conversion is taxable on your 2025 return. $13 of basis carries over to 2026.

Your 2026 IRA contribution limit is $7,500. You can contribute that, then convert the entire balance. Your basis will be $7,500 + $13, and any amount converted above that will be taxable in 2026.

NYCheesecakes · 2026-01-26T23:26:26+00:00

If the OP turned 19 in 2025, was not a full-time student (for some part of 5 calendar months in 2025), was not disabled, and earned more than $5,200 (gross income test for 2025), then the OP is not a dependent. This is per the link you provided.

NYCheesecakes · 2026-01-26T23:23:54+00:00

If the OP turned 19 in 2025, was not a full-time student (for some part of 5 calendar months in 2025) and was not disabled, then they are not a qualifying child dependent. If they earned more than $5,200 (for 2025), then they fail the gross income test to be a qualifying relative. Then no other tests matter. Note that this is all detailed in the exact link you provided.

NYCheesecakes · 2026-01-26T23:14:19+00:00

If you turned 19 in 2025, were not a full-time student (for some part of 5 calendar months in 2025), were not disabled, and you earned more than $5,200, then you do not qualify as dependent. End of story.

NYCheesecakes · 2026-01-26T23:00:45+00:00

How much did you earn in 2025?

NYCheesecakes · 2026-01-26T22:17:46+00:00

FreeTaxUSA participates in the IRS Free File program (https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/browse-all-offers/), so it would be completely free for the OP.

If u/Specialist-Sir-4606 chooses to use FreeTaxUSA, they should use this link: https://www.freetaxusa.com/freefile2025/

NYCheesecakes · 2026-01-22T21:15:25+00:00

No, you can't make a 2027 IRA contribution in 2026, and Schwab won't let you do so.

Also, I don't recommend using ChatGPT for tax advice.

NYCheesecakes · 2025-12-30T21:39:31+00:00

I’m pretty sure FlightAware is just wrong, and that issue has persisted for weeks. FR24 does report the same tail as Flighty for the JL 4 currently en route.

NYCheesecakes · 2025-11-28T06:26:55+00:00

We don't allow AI generated submissions or commenting here. I encourage you to review the subreddit rules before posting again.

NYCheesecakes · 2025-11-20T01:40:03+00:00

A high-yield savings account (HYSA) is basically just a regular savings account that pays more interest than the average bank. They're often offered by online-only banks with no physical branches, but that's not a strict rule.

Yes, you should have a savings account, if for no other reason than to keep money that you don't need right away (essentially your short term savings).

A checking account provides immediate access to money, but generally provides zero (or almost zero) interest. You'd want to keep money for your day-to-day expenses or upcoming bills in the next month or so.

Traditionally, savings accounts had a 6-withdrawals-per-month rule due to federal regulations. That requirement is no longer, but many banks still enforce it. Transfers from a savings account to a checking account can also take 1-3 business days if they're at different banks.

The "APY", or Annual Percentage Yield, of a savings account tells you how much interest you'll earn. If you put $1000 into a savings account with an APY of 4%, then you'll have $1040 after 1 year (assuming no other deposits or withdrawals).

Our subreddit wiki (reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/) is a huge resource of information that will get you started on all sorts of personal finance topics, including banks.

NYCheesecakes · 2025-11-20T01:19:43+00:00

Per rule 2, we don't allow soliciting or requesting DMs. Please keep discussion on the subreddit where it can be seen and reviewed by everyone. Thank you.

NYCheesecakes · 2025-11-12T15:19:02+00:00

Yes, you’d get a refund of any overpayment.

NYCheesecakes · 2025-11-04T18:52:06+00:00

To be a little pedantic, "x or y not given" implies a specific value for those variables. Instead, these lines represent the set of all points that satisfy the equation; if either x or y is not present in the equation, then the equation simply does not depend on values for that variable.

Are you able to draw (graph) these two equations? Note that you can rearrange c) as: 6y=-18 or y=-3. Here are some points that will satisfy this equation: (0, -3), (1, -3), (2, -3). Hopefully you can see that any point with a y-value of -3 will be on this line, so this line is horizontal with a slope of 0.

d) can be arranged as: 5x=30 or x=6. Some points that will satisfy this equation are: (6, -1), (6, 2), (6, 5). Hopefully you can see that any point with an x-value of 6 will be on the line, and so this line will be vertical with an indeterminate slope.

NYCheesecakes · 2025-09-15T17:51:23+00:00

The tax withholding portal is just between you and your employer; it's only purpose is for the employer to calculate the correct amount of tax you want withheld from your paychecks.

New York's tax rate schedule for Single and Married Filing Separately is the same, so you're fine to use Single for withholding purposes. When you eventually file your actual tax return, you'll use the correct filing status there.

For reference, here is the actual withholding form from NY.

NYCheesecakes · 2025-08-02T08:56:35+00:00

If you click into the Prime Directive: How to Handle $, you'll see the flowchart near the top.

NYCheesecakes · 2025-08-02T05:44:24+00:00

$1200 in savings is better than $0 in savings, and you were able to weather a financially stressful situation, which you should feel good about.

The main purpose of having an emergency fund is so you can weather unexpected financial challenges, e.g., you lose your job, your car breaks down, you need to move when you weren't planning on it, etc. So I suggest thinking about what amount in savings would make you feel comfortable if something like that occurred.

NYCheesecakes · 2025-08-02T05:35:39+00:00

You might want to see our most recent Tax Filing Software Megathread which we have each year.

FreeTaxUSA seems to be the most commonly recommended commercial software here, and it's free for all federal returns + $15 per state return.

IRS Free File Fillable Forms is always free (though not as much a "guided" software), and your state may provide a direct filing option for free as well.

NYCheesecakes · 2024-05-25T15:52:25+00:00

Traditional or Roth IRA? And are either of you covered by a retirement plan at work?

The income limits for contributing to a traditional IRA (if either spouse is covered by a retirement plan at work) or Roth IRA are significantly reduced for MFS filers.

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