Wooohooo....tax refund over $300.

[John Schmidt]

I don't have any tax taken out of our SS deposits or my retirement from the State, but do have at least 15% withheld on any withdrawals from my investment account which was all pre-tax. About $3600 less income and about $2000 more medical and other deductions...mostly med. Think I'll carry it over as usual so I won't have to start withholding on either the SS or State retirement. I don't like letting Uncle use my money free for a year, but my measly $300 isn't going to make any difference on the national bottom line and since it's gone already I won't miss it.

Now if FEMA and AFLAC come through for us, it will save us nearly $500 at FEMA and give us a few thousand from AFLAC. Sounds like possibly a good year in the making. wooohooo   

[cookiedough]

congrats on the refund, probably spent the dough already am sure.

Speaking of taxes,  anyone know where to get the 1040/1040A federal books since I am still old school and do our taxes still by hand both state and federal and mail them out.  The local libraries where I use to get the 1040/1040A booklets are no longer stocking them.  They have the form and booklets 1/1A for WI state taxes, but seems like the federal govt. thinks everyone does their federal taxes online nowadays. 

[Patrick]

Glad you're getting refund. I can't remember what they are.

[Patrick]

congrats on the refund, probably spent the dough already am sure.

Speaking of taxes,  anyone know where to get the 1040/1040A federal books since I am still old school and do our taxes still by hand both state and federal and mail them out.  The local libraries where I use to get the 1040/1040A booklets are no longer stocking them.  They have the form and booklets 1/1A for WI state taxes, but seems like the federal govt. thinks everyone does their federal taxes online nowadays. 

I don't do taxes, but, I thought paper was out this year and they had to be done online due to their cut backs.

[Jess from VA]

Local public libraries always had all the tax forms there were.... before I started using the turbo tax electonic gizmo program.

[DenverDave]

Download the forms here:

http://www.irs.gov/uac/Form-1040A,-U.S.-Individual-Income-Tax-Return

[cookiedough]

I'm mailing the paper forms in like normal, if the federal and state govt. do not like it, too darn bad.  Not paying for a software program or downloading it even for free.  What about all the old people who do not have a computer or know how to use it?

The local libraries have the forms, just no longer is the federal govt. mailing the 1040/1040A tax booklets to the libraries.  I actually prefer looking at the booklets, I am old school I guess? 

I guess I will call the federal govt. and ask them to send me the federal tax booklets next week when open?

WE end up paying a little in on federal anyways so I always wait to give them my money until a few days prior to the due date to mail it to them. 

[John Schmidt]

Well, I've used Turbo Tax the last five years or so, went up to $34.99 this year so not a big deal. I like it, it's easy to follow step by step and I print out everything that goes to the Feds. I make up worksheets with all the documentation attached and file it away with the copy I print out. It's filed electronically so gets done soon as I pay the fee. I get an email saying it's filed, another one verifying it has been accepted by the Irreputable Revenue Service. Doesn't mean it's been OK'd, just the filing has been accepted. If I were to ever be audited, they'd be bored to death. I'd just toss the file down in front of them and tell them to go for it, then park my butt directly in front of them. They would realize rather quickly they're not getting a cherry....I was a State auditor for 30 years. 

Right now I'm waiting for two printed receipts dealing with medical costs. If what I've added up from my credit and debit cards is within a few dollars of being correct, I'm not going back in and adjust my deduction upward if it doesn't pay me to do so before I actually hit the "file" button.

[Crackerborn]

Since I am blessed enough to write checks to both the state of residence and the fed 4 times a year, paper is my best friend. Always postmarked at 4:29 PM (Post Office closes at 4:30) the last day to file each quarter. That unwanted extra income sent to be redistributed as only our duly elected leeches see best. (We really do need a sarcasm font.) 

[Jess from VA]

Turbo tax (TT) sold me for life the first year I ever had to turn in schedule work on long and short term capital gains and losses (and 2008 was the losses).  I was lost (for hours) looking back and forth between the books and the forms and the 1099s, so I pay Turbo Tax and after awhile it asks, do you have any accounts you want to log into? Damn right I do, and as soon as I log into my Fidelity account and push enter, boom, the whole shooting match on gains and losses is done in two nanoseconds.  And, it remembers your past accounts and fillings, so it does a large part of the filing out and accounts for you.  And if you forget something, it reminds you (like didn't you used to have a wife? )  And VA state tax is harder to figure out than Fed, but once Fed is done, it asks a couple more questions, and boom, state is done too.  Then electronically file, and I get instant acceptance every year.  

I sound like an advertisement, but I hate doing taxes and TT is the most painless (and accurate) method I've ever found.  Saw they had a bit of bad press about how they charged people this year, but think that is straightened out by now.

[Crackerborn]

I am partial to a CPA doing my taxes. Then I can have company in the free federal housing facility if he screws the pooch. 

[Jess from VA]

If I had my own business, I'd have one too (CPA).

I have a good friend here who has a very successful business (after 10 hard early years), and his CPA earns all his own fees and then some.  My buddy makes virtually all his business decisions regarding new equipment, deprecation, asset ownership, buy and lease back, corporate structure, nearly everything based on his accountant's advice. Big earning years, it gets plowed back into the business.  All 100% legal, and no tax problems.  HS graduate with a work ethic, treats his few skilled employees like family/gold, and a millionaire.

 

[therapist]

Like John, we have no taxes taken out of SS and Pensions. I never understood using taxes as a savings account. When I hear people bragging about how much money they are getting back, often in the thousands, I crack up. You didn't just win the lotto, that is YOUR money that you loaned to the government all year at 0% interest. Now, since retirement, it was a bit of a shock to have to pay so much at tax time. The damn state (MI) does not like that taxes aren't taken out throughout the year, so we pay a penalty for doing so. I also am a big fan of Turbo Tax.

[John Schmidt]

Jess, that business of logging into an investment account makes it easy. I do the same thing with my Ed Jones account and bingo....there it was. Lo and behold, it matched what the 1099 said. Nice thing about Florida....we don't have a personal income tax. Over the years the legislature has tossed about the idea of instituting one but got such a big outcry they always drop it fast. In general, the lawmakers were told to get their act together and run the state like they would their own family finances. As a result, the retirement fund isn't in the hole and the state generally operates within the bounds of money received and often has excess by year's end.

[Jess from VA]

I under-pay State every year, and I owe a penalty every year.  The penalty is under 10 bux.  When you think about it, the penalty is for NOT giving the G an interest-free loan every year.  Of course, if you were perfect, and knew how to perfectly set up withholding, it would come out even every year.  I try, but am not perfect.  

I too thought that with a small pension as my only income, I might (finally) avoid taxes.  I was wrong.  And I do not wish my pension was even smaller, so I paid no taxes.  Of course these taxes are much lower than before I took an 80-5% pay cut at retirement.  But even though much smaller in the aggregate, they are more painful than ever.

When you think about it, the various tax codes, schedules, rules and regulations of the Fed and States are a perfect microcosm of government run amok and run poorly.  Why does it require volumes and volumes of rules and reams of paperwork, and CPAs and computer tax programs and of course a GIANT IRS to give Caesar his share?  While many of the deductions and credits clearly seem to reflect a benevolent, thoughtful care of the citizenry for various forms of personal hardship, as a whole, it reflects government bending to the will (and politicians accepting various forms of bribes) of a thousand special interests over nearly 100 years.  Virtually everyone agrees the systems have become overly complex and a great burden to the citizenry, yet like nearly all branches of G, it has taken on a giant bureaucratic life of it's own, like some form of virus with no known cure.  If it's too complicated for us to figure out, it's apparently too complicated for them to fix/simplify it.

How about we all just give the Fed 10% (a tithe) and the state 5%, with no tax code and no tax bureaucracy and no filing at all (with no deductions or exclusions) and they learn to live within their means?   (pass the bong over here again   )

I am only a magna cum laude graduate in politics and economics with a law degree (not in tax), so I too need Turbo tax to do my taxes.

I apologize for preaching to the converted.    

[solo1]

At one time I did my own taxes but found out that I was drinking too much scotch to keep from cussin' those sob's that designed the ever changing tax structure.

Now i use a CPA and everything is cool.  Besides, she rides motorcycles so we talk about riding and that brings the aggravation down some.

I've already got back $75.00 state and $650.00 Fed.   I'm like Therapist.  i, too, don't believe in letting those wasters in DC using my money for a year but this filing I had some big medical expenses that brought a bigger refund.

Although the CPA isn't real cheap, it's worth it to me to know that she keeps up with the latest and files my returns electronically too.

[Patrick]

Ya, but, if we get rid of the IRS and build a tax code that makes sense what would the other tax cheats like charlie rangell do to earn their pay.