[카테고리:] Tax & Financial Relief

Cheap tax software often comes with hidden fees, but truly free options exist if you know where to look. The IRS actually maintains a list of legitimate free providers.

Ugh. So I’m sitting there, WiFi crawling like a burned-out possum on I-59, W-2s scattered across my lap, screen blinking—you know the moment. Deadline-beating chaos. Then the software asks for $45 to file state. STATE?!?! You said FREE, clown. It was like that moment when someone offers you gum and then takes it back. That kind of betrayal. ಠ_ಠ

The Alabama Split: Something’s Rotten in Jefferson County…

Under expanded telework policy scrutiny, a caseworker in Bessemer muttered something I misheard as “three-four aviation.” Turns out they meant “Free File deviation.” Took me two days and one call to IRS to realize she was saying the system’s cracked in two: the advertised Free File and the actual free file. And Alabama? Oh sweet summer child…

Implementation trend in Alabama is like trying to text on a flip phone with oven mitts. There’s LibertyTaxOnMars.com and then the IRS Free File *portal*, which is a circus of clunky PDFs, eligibility gates, and typo triggers. People are bouncing between them like gas molecules in July heat.

Side-by-side: Dream vs. Dumpster Fire

• What the ads say: “Fast! Free! Fully automatic!”
• What actually happens: “You do not qualify for this provider. Please re-enter your name without spaces.” >_<
• Eligibility Claim: Income under $73K
• Real Barrier: Undocumented? BYE. 1099? PAY UP. Used a 401(k)? Still owe.

So when you’re riding the border between earning “too much” for free and “not enough” to hire someone, what then? You’re stuck in software purgatory designed by someone with a Stanford degree and zero concept of rent.

I Thought I Could Do It Myself (Cue Panic at 11:48 PM)

One shot of espresso, two browser windows, three bad words later… there I was. Trying to upload a 1095-A into a system that refused to recognize my name because it had a hyphen. Hyphen. That’s all it took to cascade me into $89 of “optional premium services.” Optional like breathing.

Case Study: Leidy in Montgomery (Not Her Real Name… Maybe)

“I used the free one. Then they emailed me saying state wasn’t covered. Then they sold my cell number. I got 5 texts about crypto.”

True story. I saw the screenshots. And I asked her why she didn’t just go through the IRS site. Her words? “I didn’t know the IRS had a website that humans use.” That hit something in me. Maybe guilt. Or my gallbladder again.

Undocumented Immigrant Aid Response Gets Trolled by the File Button

There were flyers at the ESL night class: “Free tax help!” Except those orgs weren’t equipped to do ITIN returns this year due to staffing limits. Budget cuts? Volunteer burnout? Who knows. But the flyers stayed, so folks kept showing up… and waiting. And getting turned down. Over and over.

Rage Bullets I Now Keep on My Fridge

• Income limits don’t factor family size. WTF?!
• Refund delays for EITC claimants: 21 days turns into 45, no federal apology.
• State returns aren’t always linked—DOUBLE DATA ENTRY, love that for me.
• One provider plays banner Easter eggs. You miss the tax form—they don’t warn you.

I mean seriously, why is the only reliable “deduction” the one on my soul every year?!

Confession: I Got Suckered by a Blue Button

It said “Simple Return—Zero Dollars.” I clicked. Fifteen minutes later I’m deep in a sales funnel disguised as a tax walk-through, and the only way out is to start over or PAY. Hate that. HATE. IT. Even more insulting? They call the upsell “Peace of Mind Value Pack.” That’s like naming a parasite Fluffy.

Stat That Made Me Spit My Coffee

According to the Treasury Inspector General, only 2.7 million people used IRS Free File in 2023—out of the 100 million eligible. That’s what? 2.7%? Wild. It’s not even broken. It’s invisible.

THE RAGE LIST: Just Say No To…

• TaxAct if you’re bilingual—Spanish version doesn’t match the English text. It reads like a fever dream.
• H&R Block when you’re self-employed under $20K… they bait-switch straight into “freelancer tier.”
• The software that starts free until you type a second dependent. Oh sorry! That kid costs extra.

Pro-Tip? No. Irrational Insight.

You might actually spend less by printing the 1040EZ and mailing it. Like, with stamps. No joke. Because digitally? You’re in a spreadsheet casino, baby. At least a mailbox doesn’t track cookies 😀

Meanwhile—IRS Was Just Sitting There With a Cup of Tea

The IRS Free File Alliance has been screaming into the wind about commercial tax software manipulating the system. And under Biden’s push, there’s this pilot Direct File Program (yeah, NPR covered it). But… Alabama isn’t in the pilot. OF COURSE IT’S NOT.

• Why? Not enough adoption, training burdens, scared-off contractors.
• So who helps? Nobody. Except maybe the AARP volunteer at the library—but she’s booked ’til May.

It’s like we invented an anti-airplane. You board, and then it makes you walk. Backwards. Barefoot. In debt.

Text Walkthrough of My Personal Taxmeltdown

Me: Tries to enter employer ID.
Software: Please re-enter EIN without dashes.
Me: Does that. Gets bounced.
Software: You cannot proceed. Seek professional support.
Me: Yells at cat. Brews more tea. Rants to Reddit.

Outcome? Filed 4 days late. Got $13 deducted from refund for “processing variance.” What does that even mean????

Somebody Please Fix This System Before I Start Screaming Into Voicemail Trees

I just want ONE THING to work without asterisks. That’s all. Not even perfect. Just, like, halfway decent? Maybe even explained USING NORMAL WORDS? Too much to ask apparently. :/

Anyway. SNAP online purchasing is expanding to more retailers and states. Grocery delivery with benefits? About time.

Parenting-related tax deductions go beyond just claiming dependents. Childcare expenses, education costs, and medical expenses all count.

Ugh. I don’t even know where to start with this. Maybe with that time I sat in the laundromat at 1:12 AM while texting a volunteer from some eviction prevention nonprofit—Monica? Mari?—asking if SNAP eligibility had anything to do with my ability to claim the Child and Dependent Care Credit. She replied (bless her anyway):

“LOL nooo that’s separate 🙂 but I can send u a checklist later if I don’t crash lol ttyl.”

??? I never got the checklist. Still haven’t. That was 3 years ago when my oldest had strep and my printer jammed during a healthcare.gov renewal. Also, my landlord filed illegal fees under a name that didn’t match the lease (?!), and I spiraled under paperwork avalanche again. ✨

Redirect Loops and False Comfort

With rollout of AI case triage tools (ha!), you’d think I’d spend less time on hold with .gov numbers. But no—the systemic detours are just… programmed now. “Please describe your issue in a few words.” Okay. “Tax credit for single mom with two kids, half-year employment, part-time daycare cost, zip code 92703.”

Then the AI says this action can’t be completed, would I like help with passport renewal instead?! ಠ_ಠ

Here’s what the IRS won’t tell you upfront: If the childcare provider isn’t licensed—even if they’re Aunt Teresa who watches five kids and bakes empanadas on the side—you’re in a quiet grey zone. Legit, I didn’t know that claiming those babysitting hours without EIN was sketchy. Learned that after my return got flagged. Trigger city. :/

Stat That No One Mentions Because It Feels Like Salt

• 37% of low-income single parents in immigrant-dense regions never claim the Child Tax Credit at all. Not mistakenly. Just… never.

This isn’t hyperbole. I was almost one of them. I kept thinking my income was too low to bother. Not true. They owe you money sometimes. But first you have to decode bureaucracy built to exclude you while smiling politely, like some sinister spa receptionist.

Dealing With Bogus Assumptions (a.k.a. the IRS mindset)

Okay so—one time—my tax return got rejected because my kid’s Social Security number had an extra digit. My fault? Yeah but explain why the system doesn’t say: “Check child’s info.” Instead I got trapped in angry red error messages with no phone support from Jan to March. You have to literally call at 7:58 AM and hope you’re one of the first 6 callers. Otherwise goodluckdotcom.

No, the people at eviction prevention nonprofits don’t help with forms anymore. Not since budget cuts in 2021. They hand you a printed directory like it’s 1973. What am I supposed to do with a QR code when my phone storage is full and Wi-Fi has been suspended??

Also—side note—why is the IRS still mailing paper letters asking for documents I already sent through their janky “Get Transcript” tool three weeks earlier?! Don’t try reasoning with it. The IRS is a Sphinx with dial-up broadband. 🐍

When Bite-Sized Panic Bubbles Up in the Grocery Line

I was using self-checkout, middle of March, trying to remember if I filed 8862 last year. Because according to their logic, even though my refund was denied the year before, I need to send a form promising I won’t file incorrectly again. Chicken or the egg. Which came first??

The woman behind me offered a 20 cent coupon and I just… left. Abandoned a half-bagged grocery cart. Took the bus one stop too far on purpose and stared at old warehouses. Those buildings made more sense than the EITC recalculations, frankly. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Enrichment: Actual Mobile Text Reply From IRS Outage Screengrab (Jan 2023)

You: When are you fixing my account?

IRSbot9000: Sorry. Please try again later or verify ID with your bank login.

You: My bank account was closed in June.

IRSbot9000: Try uploading a photo of your documents. File must be PDF under 5MB.

You: THEY ARE!!!

Still not resolved. No real human followed up. That response happened at 2:08 AM. Why was I awake? Because my youngest had night terrors and was screaming about cartoon squirrels with knives. Meanwhile I was refreshing TurboTax and blinking hard.

Twist: The Thing You Think Disqualifies You Might Be The Thing That Helps

I thought spotty employment in 2022 would disqualify me from the Earned Income Credit. Nope. Turns out, if you made income at all above a very sad little threshold—and of course had qualifying kids—you might get more than you think. Key phrase: might.

Counterintuitive fact: You could be too poor to get your full refund. Wait WHAT?! It’s a sliding calculation. The EITC goes up… but also phases out. And if you didn’t make enough, parts of it won’t even kick in. So the lie that “no income equals maximum help” is a smoke mirage drowning entire zip codes in confusion.

Oh also, your refund delay might not be “.gov bureaucracy”—it could be your tax preparer using “Refund Advance” sneak fees. I paid $441 in who-knows-what just because I wanted that check before April. It arrived with half the amount and extra contempt.

Immigrant-Dense Region? Expect The Spectrum of Advice to Swing Wildly

My neighbor, whose dad is undocumented but his mom is naturalized and the kids are U.S. born—they got wildly different tax info depending on whether they went to the library pop-up booth (who said to claim only one child 😑) or the nonprofit booth across the parking lot (who said “you qualify for everything!”). Same W-2s. Different spin. It’s like tax roulette with less Vegas and more vinegar.

I didn’t even file in 2020. Just couldn’t afford to pay a tax prep place and didn’t think it mattered. Flash forward—IRS says I owe missing stimulus amounts from THEN, but only if I amend and file three years late. Which now means nothing because they closed that loophole last year. Timing is just a spiral vortex sucking sanity from people who’ve got no backup.

I Screamed At The IRS Assistant In My Dream And They Didn’t Even Blink

I told them, “Why does your form 2441 say line 10 must match wages if I was on unpaid maternity leave?! I still paid daycare to hold the spot!!!”

They blinked. Said: “Tax law follows income logic, not personal circumstance.” And smiled. I woke up soaked. 😀

Right, so now I just gather stuff: receipts (crumpled), SSN cards (laminated by cousins for some reason), weird forms like 8332 (which took me 3 months just to understand because no one explains who signs it when custody is unofficial). Did I even make sense?

The form is like an incantation. One mistake = refund limbo. And repeat audits if you touch the wrong checkbox. Check the wrong box and it’s like opening a portal in the floor of your apartment straight into 46 minutes of hold music and your ex showing up asking for half the stimulus retroactively. I can’t even.

It just—all of it—feels designed less like support and more like theater. The IRS is doing kabuki. You’re supposed to perform tax poverty correctly. Cry the right way. Use pen, not pencil. And for God’s sake, don’t forget a signature page.

I once mailed a missing form—overnight—to an address they told me. It got returned as undeliverable. Then the refund froze for 67 days. Not delayed. Frozen.

But remember…

Medicaid long-term care services include home and community-based options. Nursing homes aren’t the only choice.

IRS processing delays are longest during peak filing season, but they’re also affected by the complexity of your return. Simple returns move faster.

Ugh. I swear I stared at the online tracker so much my eyes almost dried shut—that glorious “Your return is still being processed” screen has appeared in my dreams, like some dystopian tax-themed Windows screensaver. West Coast file season started rough, worse after funding lapse reinstatements rocking intake counts back at the shelter. We were doing capacity counts in March and panicking by April because OF COURSE half the TANF-linked clients hadn’t seen a refund drop.

And that’s where I came in, with my brilliant little plan and checklist to “simplify stuff.” L O L. Watch me crash this entire thing straight into IRS hell, twice.

☑️ Step One: File early. Or so I thought.

• I e-filed at 6:03am on Jan 29. Feeling productive.
• Form 8862 attached because duh, EITC reevaluation year.
• Waited. Waited. Checked the IRS Where’s My Refund tool.
• Still processing. Whatever, maybe it’ll update at 3am on a Sunday like it sometimes does? >_<

Fast-forward: shelter’s lined with moms waiting for me to explain why their refunds haven’t hit, and I can’t even explain my own. The self-sabotage? I used the same bank routing number from the year I filed jointly with someone I haven’t spoken to since the George W. Bush administration. NOPE. Missed that correction window by seventeen seconds, apparently.

Side-by-Side Breakdown: EITC Eligibility vs. Processing Delays

Client Type	EITC Eligible	IRS Delay Risk
Single w/ 1 child	Yes	Moderate (due to Form 8862 triggers)
Teen parent under TANF	Yes (in some cases)	High (school verification, address instability)
Elderly on SSI	No	Low

☑️ Step Two: Track it like a hawk! (Except I used the wrong SSN… twice.)

• Logged in with a typo? Of course I did. “310” instead of “301”.
• Freaked out after hitting the ID.me portal and locked myself out.
• Sat on hold with IRS for 77 minutes. The call dropped as I picked up my kid’s Zoom.
• Don’t drink espresso while phone-tethering. Shaky fingers = panic reset. :/

A mom waiting three weeks said, “Maybe refunds are racist.” And honestly? Who’s to say they’re not. Our clusters in Monterey County tested 58% EITC-eligible households—only 18% had received refund confirmations by March 15. The worst part? I kept telling people, “Check every morning around 4:24am – that’s when the tool updates.” FALSE. Pure myth. I mean, who even told me that?!?

✅ Step Three: Re-File. Because that’s always SUCH a fun time.

I don’t even know if I made sense at this point—do you reset the whole return if you input the wrong routing number? Or do you summon the ghost of Ben Franklin and beg? Here’s the thing (and nobody told me this):

“If your return includes identity protection PINs and a rejected direct deposit, the IRS will default to physical check–which adds an average of 22 mailing business days.” — Analyst on IRS.gov YouTube comment from 2021

Yeah. A YouTube comment had better info than my tax prep software. That’s where we’re at as a society, folks.

☠️ Step Four: Panic. Repeating the mistake, but louder!

• Called IRS again. Got disconnected after explaining my routing issue.
• Tried the “live chat” button that led me to a chatbot describing trilobites??
• Accidentally clicked ‘amended return’ and sent myself into a 20-week audit funnel. Great.
• Began considering an all-cash lifestyle. Again.

I eventually figured out—via Facebook post from someone I HATE—that you can update refund delivery if you’re flagged for EITC delay and meet some magical conditions during funding lapse reinstatements? Kinda? I still don’t get it.

Stat You Didn’t Ask For:

According to the IRS, over 11 million returns processed late during the spring quarter due to PATH Act holdovers and staffing shortages—mostly affecting child tax credit-linked submissions.

But yeah, sure. Try telling that to an 18-year-old mom of two living couch-to-shelter who needs baby formula and thinks the IRS is run by Mario Kart graphics lag.

Final Checklist Collapse: Rage Click Mode Activated

• Used the same bank info = wrong again.
• Reloaded the tracker page 17 times = locked out message.
• Shelter director asked if TANF refunds were auto-linked. (They are not.)
• Still no refund. But I did get a random $34 deposit labeled “US TREAS 310 CHILD CTC.”
  • I don’t even have minors on file?!

So, in case you’re wondering what to do—don’t do anything I did. Or maybe do it twice just to really learn nothing. Either works. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Someone said that if you call during West Coast off-hours like 3am, the IRS lines are quieter. Not true. I called once at 2:47am and it rerouted me to a fax beep. A literal fax beep.

You ever sit across from someone asking why a refund hasn’t arrived and realize you’ve lied to them three times with false hope and copy-pasted IRS gibberish? Because yeah. That’ll haunt you harder than stale cafeteria pancakes.

TANF teen parent programs have different rules and requirements than regular TANF. Age-appropriate support makes sense.

Tax deductions for single parents go beyond just dependents. Childcare, education expenses, and head of household filing status can add up to significant savings.

Ugh. Filing as HOH felt like a badge of loserhood the first year. I was hunched in a courtroom cafeteria on a Tuesday in February, kids FaceTiming me about the missing orange juice. The IRS had rejected my return over one line I didn’t even know I typed. What was “line 27b” anyway? The box was checked—was that illegal now? With federal court challenges pending and some kinda digital notarization push happening in Washington? Dunno. The housing crisis drips into everything. Even taxes.

Rewind: 2018. I had no idea I could even file Head of Household

Honestly. Didn’t google it, didn’t question anything. I just clicked ‘Single’ because that’s what pain feels like on a tax form. Nobody explained that if the kids live with you more than half the year and you pay at least half the bills, you qualify. You literally get more money back. I missed out. Lost about $2,200 that year 🙁

I remember talking to this woman at the DMV who somehow knew more about taxes than my HR person. She was like: “Girl, you filed wrong. Redo it.” I said, “Too late.” But it wasn’t. Filed amended. Got it back. Spent it on bunk beds my kids outgrew in six months. Ha. Bunk beds, tax refunds, and tears — the trilogy.

Reality Check: Childcare tax credit is not magic money

You only get back a percentage. It caps out and it’s laughably low in cities where daycare costs rival tuition. In DC? My oldest’s Montessori cost $1,400/month. The Child and Dependent Care Credit got me… drumroll… $600. That’s two weeks’ worth. ಠ_ಠ

And in a fun twist, you have to prove the provider’s EIN. Try asking an off-the-books grandma-sitter for that. Sometimes these rules are written like people have secretaries or something. Who even has a printer anymore??

Stat I didn’t believe

According to the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, 1 in 5 eligible single parents never claim the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). That’s tens of millions. Just… gone. Not claimed. Not returned. Like donating money to a government machine with no receipt. What.

Claiming education costs? Cue anxiety

I tried to claim my community college evening courses under the Lifetime Learning Credit. But because I’d gotten a grant? Even though technically I paid out of pocket for books and materials? Nope. Denied.

I remember arguing with the IRS rep on the phone. She asked if the classes were job-related. Uh? I wanted to be a paralegal. Is that job-related to working register at Target? Maybe not directly. She didn’t laugh. I cried. Finished the call in my car chewing gum my kid stuck to the seat. Sticky shame. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Flash forward to last Tuesday

I’m helping Alina (not her real name), one of the tenants in this building where I freelance some paperwork stuff. She was denied the CTC (Child Tax Credit) for her two boys. I pulled up her 1040, noticed she filed single… not HOH… again. Classic mess-up. She asked, “Why don’t they teach us this?” I just nodded.

Because I didn’t even know you could deduct part of your internet bill if you’re remote schooling kids during a pandemic year. That one nearly broke me. I was printing out Google Classroom slides at Office Depot every Thursday because my Wi-Fi was unstable and Comcast ghosted me for 17 days.

Case File: Darrell v. His TurboTax Login

Background: Darrell, a buddy from Philly, raised his niece and nephew after his sister passed. Never officially adopted. Filed taxes single for four years. Got audited. Disaster? Nah.

Outcome: Proved guardianship with school records and letters from a social worker. Refiled—got $8,137 back retroactively under EITC and Child Tax Credit. Bought them a secondhand Honda Civic and cried in it. Literal redemption in the driver’s seat.

Quote That Hit:

“You think you’ve failed because your refund is small. But no one told you filing taxes was like a video game where only CPAs have the cheat codes.” — Marlene, single mom of three, Tacoma

Messy Rewrites & Maybe Illegal Staples

I mailed my returns three times in 2021 because the scanner kept rejecting them. Something about a faint signature? What?! I dipped a pen in coffee to smudge it the last time. Approved. I can’t prove that’s why… but I believe it.

Oh, and that digital notarization stuff? Washington’s pushing it. Especially for low-income remote tenants applying for housing grants. Could leak over to tax verification. If that ever simplifies WIC or Medicaid paperwork? I might start crying on callbacks again. The hopeful kind of cry.

One Ridiculous Moment (from last year)

My refund was delayed due to underreporting $57 from a freelance gig. Meanwhile, a hedge fund lost billions and got… what? A write-off. I laughed so hard I dropped my vape in the sink. It buzzed ominously.

Did I even make sense?

Anyway. If you feel lost—good. Means you’re paying attention.

Table: Deduction Cheat Sheet (Does Not Cover Every State)

• Head of Household: Adds ~$2k to your standard deduction
• Child Tax Credit (CTC): $2,000 per qualifying kid (phase-outs apply)
• Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): Up to $7,430 depending on income/kids
• Childcare Credit: Up to $3,000 per kid (percentage-based)
• Education (LLC): $2,000 max credit — harder to claim than a sofa from Craigslist

Field Notes to Myself

Stop stapling receipts to forms. Stop mailing untracked. Don’t use red ink. Don’t trust April deadlines. Don’t trust HR if they don’t mention HOH. Save every invoice, screenshot Venmo childcare payments. Check your state.gov site quarterly even if you think you’re clean.

Whatever you miss, the IRS won’t miss. Trust that. :/

I still don’t know if tax code updates come out when Mercury’s in retrograde, but this year they moved the EITC income threshold for HOH up slightly. It’s small. Feels huge anyway. Like some mixed signal from a system that alternates between forgetting we exist and weaponizing paperwork against us.

Whatever. Filing’s not just forms. It’s a war story. Tell yours.

LIHEAP cooling assistance isn’t just for heating bills. Summer energy costs count too.

Each state handles tax assistance differently, but the federal programs are consistent nationwide. VITA and TCE programs are available in most communities.

Ugh.

Mississippi told me my qualifying income bracket changed in the same breath they handed me a paper tax form like it’s 1997. EVERY time I think I’m done jumping through paperwork hoops, a new hoop is set on fire and some clerk dares me to high-jump it blindfolded. The year I moved counties (not states, just ZIP CODES!), my EITC disappeared. Gone. Like my sanity. 🤯

Amid youth housing voucher revisions, they expect precision from people burying their paystubs under roach traps and parking violation warnings. Sorry, focus on STATE-level nuance? Which version of nuance are we choosing this week? Because in Tennessee, a “voucher” can mean youth housing OR farmer pesticide reimbursements depending on which folder you pull the paper from. Coolcool.

Tax filing and refund services are like… whoever screamed loudest in an office got to write the rules. Someone shout-cried at the IRS before they carved out a Speedy Refund Pathway™ for Colorado residents but forgot about Arizona, where desert heat fries half the tax trailers by March. (Not a joke. 8 tax outposts lost power in Mohave County last spring. Here’s the thing—they still charged that prep fee like nothing happened.)

Dear Pennsylvania Revenue Department, Read My Scars

I used to count change to afford printing my W-2 at OfficeDepot before I realized TCE existed. That was 4 years ago, and guess what? The IRS directory listed a tax prep site in Allentown that hadn’t operated since 2013. NOTHING like showing up to a ghost building in a snowstorm with your toddler and a baggie of old 1099s. :/

Also. I did everything “right” in 2020. Filed on time, documented medical deductions, followed the Keystone State’s “Senior Freeze” rant page by page. Still waited 9 months for a refund. And when it came? It was less than the state cigarette tax. I SPEND MORE ON TAXES THAN I GOT BACK. Maybe it was my handwriting. Maybe it was their mood. Maybe pigeons ate part of it mid-transit.

The state hotline? You ever talk to three different people in row, all using the same first name? “Hi, this is Janice.” “Hi, this is also Janice.” “Hi, thanks for holding, I’m Janice too.” Whaaaat. ಠ_ಠ

One Counterintuitive Thing I Learned From Nebraska

Sometimes? The small, rural counties—Valentine, Scottsbluff—have better VITA setups than Omaha or Lincoln. Yeah. Volunteers actually know the tax code like it’s personal. One woman scribbled me a warning: “Always file with zero cents listed. The state system chokes on decimals.” What?! Why is that not in bold letters on every form ever printed?! And she was right. The next year I complied and shockingly, nothing broke. Miracles happen.

Enrichment Case Study: Alaska vs. Oregon Refund Windows

State	Typical Refund Processing Time (2023)	Notable Quirk
Alaska	6-8 weeks	PFD applications skim off refund triggers
Oregon	Up to 12 weeks	Manually flags all changes in health deductions

You hear that? Manually flags health deductions… because apparently computers can’t tell if a wheelchair is a medical device or a really expensive lawn chair. Perfect.

Hello, New York. Ever Hear of Predictability?

Filed through VITA in Queens. Early February. Volunteer named Marco said I’d get a refund “sometime in March or April probably both.” HUH?! Is that a Schrödinger’s calendar now? Pick a month, buddy. Whatever, I waited. April came. Nothing. May waddled through… finally, July. Big fat deposit? Nah. A letter: Your benefits were reevaluated due to address inconsistency. What address inconsistency?! I’ve lived in the same dumb shoebox since the Yankees lost Game 6 in ‘19.

Turns out I was supposed to update my apartment unit number on the VITA intake sheet. That’s it. A digit. “2L” instead of “2.” Someone call the FBI. This is clearly tax fraud at grand scale. >:(

Stats You’ll Probably Ignore But Shouldn’t

• In 2023, Utah processed 93% of state tax refunds within 21 days. Sounds fake but I guess they’ve got caffeine restrictions and time to spare.
• More than 890,000 households used VITA nationwide last year. About 40% required corrections—post-filing.
• Illinois? 23% of tax prep volunteers quit before season’s end because of inconsistency in compensation and burnout. Yikes.

I’m not making fun of them, by the way. I’m mad for them. A guy in Peoria told me he covered Uber rides out of his own pocket just to help seniors file on time. Respect. Dude didn’t even get reimbursed. Our system relies on tired volunteers who can’t even expense the McDoubles they stuff between appointments.

How Delaware Accidentally Favorited My Husband’s Ex

This isn’t fake. Delaware’s e-filing system autofilled our household data based on a past return—one filed BY HIS EX from 2018 using his old address. So, guess whose refund got redirected to Pennsylvania and processed with HER name in the joint line? It took four support calls and affidavits PER PERSON to clear it up. She still got $126 by error. The state said I might receive a “retro-correction” refund in 2026. HAHAHA. Ok.

Also why did her standard deduction override mine? Do they like her more? >_<

Iowa Has A Sense of Humor… I Think

Try calling their tax help hotline past 4PM. Try. It’s a game of catch-me-not. So I tracked down an old agricultural extension office hoping for assistance. They handed me a map of available VITA sites—dated 2015—and suggested I attend a town hall “this summer” even though it was March and tax season ENDS in April. That’s like telling someone drowning to wait till the lifeguard finishes lunch.

Counterpoint: the one human being who saved me was a librarian in Ames who moonlights as a tax prep wizard. She uses puppets to explain deductions. Yes, puppets. And honestly? Best refund I ever had. $512 straight to my savings because she saw credits I never knew applied to me. "With or without kids, refund energy belongs to everyone,” she told me. Iowa is weird. I love it.

Missouri, Stop Saying You Sent It

If another state office says “We sent your check, you probably missed it,” I will physically combust. I triple-checked. No check. Bank confirmed. USPS confirmed. MoTax confirmed nothing. Just vibes. They told me to allow 45 days before escalating. THEN told me I had escalated too fast. Which is it?!?! Do I become an agent or a ghost?!

I honestly think Missouri just doesn’t believe in reply letters. They send you junk mail and wait. No refund? That’s your fault apparently. I started making logbooks. "Day 17: Still no refund. Ate another can of beans. Called again. Janice answered.”

Okay but… Who Even Runs VITA in Vermont?

There was a time when VITA sites used to print your return, staple it, and say, “You’re good, hon.” I miss that. In Vermont? They ask you to bring your own pencil. That’s fine. But then? Half the intake questions are verbal only. What does that even mean?! It’s like whispering secrets to a spreadsheet.

I pulled my own CTR calculation from last year’s return and their site said: unprocessable. Called and spoke to a man named Barry who literally laughed and said, “That’s federal’s fault, not us.” Dude, you ARE the state site. You can’t just say that!!

And yet… somehow I still hold out hope for next season. I shouldn’t. But I do. Maybe it’s all the puppets. Maybe it’s the fact that one woman in Alabama once explained Schedule C to me WITH A FLIPBOOK. Maybe that’s it. Maybe we’re all fools. Maybe that’s all any of this ever needed—flipbooks and puppets and librarians named Janice.

Anyway. SNAP elderly and disabled waivers eliminate work requirements for vulnerable populations. Common sense policy that actually works.

Single parent tax advantages are substantial if you know what you’re doing. Head of household status, child tax credits, and childcare deductions can save thousands.

But then there’s Oklahoma. Or rather… the 43 versions OF Oklahoma. Urban Tulsa’s got resources, but drive twenty minutes and suddenly you’re supposed to pray your daycare receipts double as proof of existence?! Ugh.

As immigrant aid programs shift again—and I can’t even keep track which ones aren’t “paused for review”—the burden lands right back in the lap of people like Nicole, who works three jobs and still can’t get accurate forms from her daycare provider. The school clothing voucher systems? HA. I applied four times and got exactly zero emails back. Nothing. Not even a “we received your submission,” just… digital tumbleweeds. ಠ_ಠ

You think it’s just boxes to check on TurboTax?

Nope. Just nope. You got receipts from Grandma’s babysitting three nights a week? Not deductible. Even if she’s your sole childcare while you work overnight at the hospital. There’s no line for that altruism. Meanwhile, some guys on Reddit say they claimed their kid’s dog walker and the IRS gave ’em a refund bonus. Is that even legal?!

The IRS instructions read like a Choose Your Own Adventure book but with fewer satisfying endings. Example:

• Did you pay over half the cost of keeping up a home? Huh? What counts?!
• Was your child “qualifying” for more than 6 months? Mine left to stay with their dad for, like, two weeks in July—what now??
• Did your zip code qualify for hardship zone status in 2023? WHO DECIDES THAT?!

One number that’s seared into my brain: $3,600

That’s the expanded child tax credit from 2021. Gone now. They let it sunset and didn’t even send flowers. Just back to $2,000 per kid, with 1,500 refundable if the phase-out demons don’t catch you. And don’t even whisper about refundable credits unless you have nerves of steel and a tax transcript dated after the last lunar eclipse.

Phone interview survival checklist I never signed up for…

• Answer unknown numbers, even if it’s probably spam
• Have your “tax year in review” speech ready in 60 seconds or less :/
• Don’t cry when they ask how you calculated your child care expenses
• Keep every receipt since birth because you never know
• Know the difference between Publication 503 and 501—or pretend you do

I had one IRS rep legit tell me, “You can’t use bank statements alone to verify child care payments—even if you Zelle your provider and use the memo line.” I asked what they want. Cuneiform tablets?? They suggested…wait for it… physical invoices by mail. From a 24-year-old nanny in Norman.

Flashback: I missed a deduction because I misunderstood Line 11a

No dramatics, but that screw-up cost me $807 in refund money. And I only found out when I vented in a Facebook group and this magic unicorn of a user named Tonya messaged me at 2am and literally walked me through the Schedule EIC differences like some mythical tax whisperer. Yeah. A STRANGER told me how to survive tax season. Not my accountant (who ghosted me in April). Not the hotline. A stranger. On Facebook. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Not all deductions are created equal

The EITC? Blessed be. The Child and Dependent Care Credit? It WANTS to help you, but it dies in committee. Head of Household filing status? Trickier than it looks… especially if your ex still tries to claim the kids without your permission [hello Form 8332]. Good luck getting the IRS to resolve that before next Arbor Day.

Also: the way childcare credits disincentivize under-the-table payments has real-world consequences. If your babysitter doesn’t take Venmo, you’re basically ineligible—unless you want to report fictional LLCs. I’m NOT saying people do that… but… people do that. 😬

Counterintuitive truth?

Sometimes earning LESS makes you eligible for MORE. Like, the year I took unpaid leave for personal health stuff? Got me an extra $600 in credits I wouldn’t have seen with that high-stress overtime I was pushing the year before. It’s a gross logic loop: Sacrifice your own income, be rewarded. Earn more, be punished. Capitalism’s weird romance with the poverty line is something else.

Quick case study: 3 Oklahoma moms. Same kid age. Same state. Wildly different outcomes.

City	Credits awarded	Filing status	Refund delay (days)
McAlester	$1,150	Single	43
Norman	$2,300	Head of Household	28
Enid	$0	Married Filing Separately	Not processed

Yeah—tell me again how federal policy is “sufficient.” Some municipalities have access to streamlined intake volunteers, others literally point you toward a phonebook and say “good luck.”

Random thoughts in no order whatsoever:

• TaxSlayer’s UI should be on a Most Wanted list.
• People keeping physical folders of everything since 2017 are smarter than me. I have three receipts and one blurry screenshot.
• The 1099-NEC is my sleep paralysis demon now.
• Why do they ask you if your child “lived with you” and then not believe the answer???

Oh also—if you’re an immigrant single parent? Godspeed. Trying to explain custody or mixed-status households to an IRS agent who starts every sentence with “According to Publication 596…” feels like screaming into a well. And some zones in western Oklahoma don’t even HAVE access to local tax help centers anymore after budget reallocations.

Did I even make sense?

I tried to follow their logic. I tried to play nice. I tried every damn credit available. I printed every form, mailed it twice, followed up on hold for 78 minutes. Still got flagged. Flagged for “identity mismatch” because my kid’s school uses their dad’s last name. Livid doesn’t even cover it.

So here’s your unofficial checklist… that won’t save you but might help a tiny bit:

• Claim HOH only if you’re financially supporting over 50%. Even 51% is okay (they don’t tell you that, lol).
• Save every custody doc. You’ll probably have to show it three times.
• Get provider EINs or SSNs—you’ll need them for Child Care Credit forms
• Use the IRS Free File program *only* if you like chaos
• Don’t assume what worked last year will work again
• Talk to people. Not tax pros. Real people. Parents navigating it too

I still don’t understand why they want W-2s for jobs that never even paid me. Like, yes, IRS, I was freelance. No, there wasn’t a W-2. That’s not how freelance works. And yet somehow I’m the one committing fraud?!

I dunno. Maybe Tonya from Facebook should run the IRS…

Section 8 special purpose vouchers target specific populations like veterans and people with disabilities. Specialized programs exist.