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@phdstudentb , while my colleague @DaveF1006  answers your  continuing question(s)/doubts etc.,  the difference between  J-1  and F-1  exemption  ( in addition to J-1  being allowed multiple times with some conditions, F-1 being once in a life time) , is how the year is count,  For F-1  you count the full year for the year of entry i.e.  an F-1 student entering in Sept 2023, still counts  2023 as the full first year of the five year.  In contrast  for J-1 you count the actual 365 days  per year i.e.  If a J-1 starts  in July 22nd of 2023, the first year of the  two year is on the anniversary  or  July 21st of 2024 is the end of first year.. The example  10 that you mentioned , does a similar  look/analysis. Does that make sense ? 

Did you go through Review and File tabs? Though the 3 steps and click on the big Transmit Returns Now button? When you efile you get back 2 emails. The first email only confirms the transmission. The second email says if the IRS (or state) Accepted or Rejected your efile. Check back though your emails and spam/junk folder. How to efile https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/electronic-filing/e-file-personal-individual-tax-return/L4z6vchF2_US_en_US?uid=mgswr62y How to check your efile status https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/electronic-filing/check-e-file-status/L9XhHDPtD_US_en_US?uid=lvriwl8j When you log into your account you should also see the status and if it was Accepted or Rejected, Started, Printed, Ready to Mail, etc. What does it say?

It is not likely that investment sales reflecting long-term gains could show in the short-term gain section of Schedule D without there being errant entries during the Form 1099-B entries. I suggest you review you investment sale entries and focus on the ones that list dates that reflect short-term sales of one year or less. There must be long-term sales entered incorrectly as short-term sales. If you find duplicate entries, you need to delete them.

Before you amend, make sure that your original return has been fully processed by the IRS, this means that you have received your refund or that you have already paid if you had a balance.  Make sure that you do have to amend a return, calculation issues are usually resolved by the IRS.  Some of the most common situations where you would need to amend are if you missed a credit, need to add/remove a dependent,  change your filing status, or add additional income.    To amend your return: Log in to your TurboTax account Go to Tax Home On the FAQ's on the right side, select How do I amend my return? The option of Amend Using TurboTax will show, select it. The program will guide you as you make the changes necessary, you do not need to enter anything other than what you are changing.     Feel free to reach back if you have additional questions.    

thank you @LindaS5247 !  Here is my follow-up.   I want to figure out how TurboTax will calculate my actual underpayment penalty by going  into "Turbotax > Federal Tax > Other Tax Situations >  Underpayment Penalties" section where it lets me choose the "Annualized Income" option to help "lower" my penalty.  Under the "Annualized Adjusted gross income" section I judiciously entered the cumulative income  I received for the four periods ( first 3 months, first 5 months, first eight months, and total income for the year) using my bank and brokerage statements , and also entered the "Net Capital Gains" section  where I entered the cumulative $ amount of stock dividends that I received for each of the same four periods - again using the 1099-DIV statements from  my brokerage.   After I entered the actual income in all the periods for both sections   I see that Turbotax actually assesses the same penalty as it did without me entering those Annualized period spreadsheet.   ( TurboTax  fills the last period of the "Net Capital gains" section with  the total 1099-DIV with the first three periods left blank).   With this finding I am leaning towards accepting the TurboTax's penalty assessment.   I hope IRS does not charge extra over the TurboTax's assessed value - am I right with this assessment?    Also finally,  I read the Safe Harbor rule where it says that as long as I had enough withholding tax in the prior year (aka 2024)  the penalty could be waived -  I was employed in 2024 and my W-2 took care of the withholding taxes (and yes I did withheld enough), and to be sure  I checked line 38 (penalty change)  of the 2024 Form 1040 and it shows ZERO.      So I am wondering why I am being charged with penalty now, given my 2025 income is much, much less than 2024? 

To check the status of your refund:   Check your e-file status. If it's been accepted, track your refund at the IRS Where's My Refund? site. You'll need your Social Security number or ITIN, filing status, and the exact amount of your refund to check your status, which you'll find on the first screen after signing in to TurboTax. If you mailed your return, wait 4 weeks after mailing your return before using the tool. If it's rejected, fix your return and file it again. If it's pending, wait until your return is accepted.   If it's been more than 21 days since your e-filed return was accepted, you can call the IRS directly to check on your refund status. Go here to track your state refund.  

No, Form 8938 and FBAR do not need to “match,” but they must both be accurate and consistent with your actual accounts. They have different thresholds, different reporting rules, and sometimes require reporting different details, so it’s normal for the two forms not to look identical.    FBAR (FinCEN 114): Required if all your foreign accounts combined exceed $10,000 USD at any time during the year. Your RRSPs, LIRA, and foreign pension all count as foreign financial accounts.  Form 8938 (FATCA): Required only if your total foreign financial assets exceed much higher thresholds. Those requirements are: Single/Married Separately: Total assets >$50,000 on the last day of the year or >$75,000 at any time during the year Married Filing Jointly: Total assets >$100,000 on the last day of the year or >$150,000 at any time during the year. Living Abroad (Expats): Single/Married Separately: Total assets >$200,000 on the last day of the year or >$300,000 at any time during the year. Married Filing Jointly: Total assets >$400,000 on the last day of the year or >$600,000 at any time during the year. Summary Checklist FBAR: List all 4 accounts (Pension, 2 RRSPs, 1 LIRA) on the FinCEN website. Form 8938: List all 4 accounts again in the detailed sections (Part V/VI). Part IV: Leave this blank (or "0") regarding these specific accounts, as FBAR is not one of the "Excepted" forms listed. .  

I will be getting the 1099-R statements for all transactions in 2027. I may possibly get the form 5498 in May 31 for these 3 transactions (Rollover to 403b, 2025 recharacterization,  2026 recharacterization).  I will also have the statement balance and transfer activity for March soon.    For the recharacterization, I transferred shares and cash. Do I include the same explanation statement and put the amt of shares?   "Original 2025 Roth IRA contribution of $7,000 was recharacterized to a Traditional IRA on xx/xx/2026. The transfer included a loss of $92.32, (109.62 shares of XX, 500 shares of XX, and 1 cent in cash), making the total amount transferred $6,907.68"