(Americans) Have you filed your tax returns yet?
Every year we wait until the last minute. This year I promised myself we'd get them done as soon as the last envelope arrived in the mail, marked "Important Tax Documents Enclosed."
Last night my husband and I frantically tore through the house, and my office 5 miles away, to find where on earth our tax documents were so we could do them before Wednesday (they were in a box of papers in my trunk). We are complete idiots to do this, because we always get money back, and I'm certain this year will be no different.
And no, they're still not done. Not even started yet. ::sigh::
Ours take weeks to compile. This year more so than any in the past. We got ours to the accountant just after the first of the month, a little later than usual, and got them back 4 days later, a bit sooner than usual. The last two years we had to apply for an extension. Not this year. One of the better for us. I am glad it is behind us.
No--too many other things to worry about this Spring. May file an extension.
Just file it before the 15th. You can download the app from the IRS and you will have to pay a small penalty but it was worth it to us in the past. Btw, there is only one extension.
I have an accounting degree. I used to volunteer with the
IRS's "VITA" program, preparing tax returns for the elderly and low income families (and if you think low income = 1040EZ, think again. Those were some of the most complicated Individual returns I've ever seen). Our returns are a piece of cake; W-2 income, interest income, mortgage interest deduction and a couple of other odds and ends, and poof, almost instant tax return. But do I get it out of the way early so I can have
my money to spend? HA! I suck.
My return is easy: W2 (this year two of them.) Standard deduction. Poof, write a check to Uncle Sam. This will not get done until the 15th, not a minute before.
I picked lazy slug, though I am fashioning it as civil disobedience. ;)
The Lazy Slugs are winning! Go Lazy Slugs! (That's an oxymoron, isn't it?)
Done. The bankers will have their money soon enough.
I chose lazy slug, but actually I got them finished yesterday and e-filed. I will mail the checks on Monday.
Mine take about 3 months for me to prepare because I get brain-dead while trying to sort everything out (meaning I need frequent breaks) and because people take forever to send me 1099 forms. They're complicated enough - we have a W-2 for hubby (sometimes for me as well) and each of us has business income (2 separate businesses), and itemize deductions. Some years I also do the kids' returns, this year only one needed me to do that.
I am relieved to finally be finished. Whew.
I don't see the point in waiting. You're not sticking it to the man at all. In fact, you're just screwing yourself up by adding extra stress.
We had ours done by an accountant. We sent them off at least a week ago. We even sent them certified mail (my wife is very nervous). We got a delivery notice on the state returns but nothing on the Federal returns. My guess is that when delivering two tons of mail, receipt confirmation goes out the window.
I don't see the point in waiting. You're not sticking it to the man at all. In fact, you're just screwing yourself up by adding extra stress.
And if you're expecting a refund, you're delaying extra income.
If you owe, you can always finish and file the return as soon as you can get it together, and not pay till the 15th. (At least you can if you're filing electronic and doing a bank transfer... not sure about a paper check.)
Where's the "this thread reminded me and I just finished them now" option?
(At least you can if you're filing electronic and doing a bank transfer... not sure about a paper check.)
It's the same. Just has to be postmarked by midnight.
I've never had to pay.
Technically, you're not getting extra income. It's your income, it just got diverted before it got to you.
Personally, I'm pretty annoyed with how much I get taxed since moving to CA.
Oooh... heard y'all will be getting an IOU from the state instead of $$ this year... I sent $337 to the Great State of Mississippi. And almost $3 k to Uncle Sam.
Technically, you're not getting extra income. It's your income, it just got diverted before it got to you.
I don't know about that. How is getting a 5 grand refund after having paid out less than 1 grand constitute "your income?"
How's that work? I never get large returns. Largest for me was .. this year, actually. $450 from Fed, $115 from state.
Do you have kids? Everyone I know that has kids gets these thousand dollar returns.
How's that work? I never get large returns. Largest for me was .. this year, actually. $450 from Fed, $115 from state.
Do you have kids? Everyone I know that has kids gets these thousand dollar returns.
I inferred from your post that you had these deductions. Forgive my infernal inferences. I don't have the deducts, either. Sometimes people forget to look at total tax
liability. I've heard "but but I paid 1300 last year." [I used to verify reporting of taxes on FAFSA at old job and I would have to explain that they got 5000 back: 1300 plus 3700 (just pulling numbers out of the air, here.)]
Also, I've always been taught not to use taxes as a savings account, so I do end up paying because I don't have as much withheld. However, sometimes I think about doing that differently: usually every April. :p
Anyway, I actually usually do have them done by now, just not sent in...guess what? I can't find my freaking W2s. Arghhhhhhh.
We were burned hugely one year, so I am always very nervous that the Big Bill from U. Sam will show up again. Hasn't happened - indeed, I'm usually surprised by the amount of our refunds. It's difficult to estimate because we move from state to state so that complicates things. This year we are getting a very large refund. Who wants to be my friend now? :p
ME ME! Where are we having dinner? :)
ME ME! Where are we having dinner? :)
Japan, for sushi - are you up traveling first class, too? Or maybe NYC. And there's good food in St. Louis and Chicago, too.
We were burned hugely one year
They raped us the year we got married. I had always looked at the charts up until then and saw that married people paid less in tax, but it didn't occur to me that I was only looking at the line for my single income, and that when we got married we had to add our incomes together and read the line in that part of the table. It bumped us up into a higher tax bracket, and even though we dutifully reported our filing status change to our employers, we got married late in the year, and those couple of months weren't enough to withhold what we owed.
It wasn't until we bought a house and had two kids that the federal taxes went way way way down.
Ours still aren't done. We went out to dinner, then came home and watched Jeopardy and House last night. Our priorities are really fucked up. :)
I am not believing this. E-filed my tax returns on Saturday; went to the P.O. to mail the checks; opened my P.O. Box and what was in there? Another 1099 form !!!
:thud:
BTW Jill, I made the frikadeller last night - I don't think there are any left! Very well recieved, thanks for the recipe. :)
We were burned on a short-sell for our VA financed house in NY. Tried for years to sell it but no luck. I had no idea the difference in money between what was owed on the house, and what the house sold for, would count as income to us. Nobody offered that info and we didn't know to ask.
We did marry early in the year for no particular reason. At least that worked out good for us!
Okay, I just filed mine online with Turbotax. Took me an hour.
More painful than the surgery! Yikes--I owe thousands of dollars. Probably should have filed estimated returns this year. ick.
But at least it's done. I got in trouble with the IRS once--NEVER AGAIN!
I use turbotax also and have calculated mine about 20x - I still cannot believe I owe what it says. I am now destitute. All my savings will be erased. Most depressed.
Do you have kids? Everyone I know that has kids gets these thousand dollar returns.
Current tax law gives a $1,000 credit--that's a CREDIT against the tax you owe, not a deduction against your income--per child.
If it makes you feel better, "our" refund disappeared thanks to Mrs. Dallas having an unexpected bounty of freelance work with hardly any writeoffs against it. We hadn't really planned for it, so the bill's a bit of a surprise, though we're much better off having gotten the income than not (duh).
WTF moment: As a result, we should have, if we had paid more attention, paid estimated taxes to the state of PA. Not a huge amount--$33 per quarter--but nonetheless we did not pay. Therefore we are being assessed $5 extra in interest. :eek:
We had four jobs (between the two of us), two houses, two states... and college tuition in a third state. Investment income (about $6 -- whee!) The obsessive-compulsive husband did it about two months ago; we e-filed and got our fat checks back from both states and the feds.
S'alright.
Phew. Done. Well, sort of.
It didn't take as long to find my W2s as I feared. My printer isn't working, so I didn't get to make copies, and Adobe wouldn't work long enough to print anyway.
I went to efile from the IRS website and the federal file was free but they wanted to charge for the state. No way. They are supposed to email me a file, which I will forward to work, print, and mail tomorrow. Along with City and SD.
To sign it, I needed either last year's PIN (yeah, right) or 2007 AGI. My 2007 taxes were, I knew, in a box I had packed from my old job. Found it almost right away, started flipping the folders: hmmm...2006, 2005...2007! Painless, for waiting for the last minute.
The best thing, I think I must have adjusted my withholding once again, and I actually owed very little to feds. I got the normal amount of state back, which is more than I owed to feds. Direct deduct to feds, direct deposit from state. It's almost perfectly balanced to zero between both: but I may be having more wh taken out of my current job so I'll see where I end up next year.
Woohoo!
Did it back in early March. We're a typical kids+house=refund family, plus since one of those kids was brand new we were owed an extra $300 from the stimulus bill last year. (The checks were officially "for" 2008, but they guessed your amount based on your 2007 return, when we didn't have the extra kid.)
Well, they're done. They haven't been filed yet, as I'm waiting for the hubby to come home and review everything before I click on 'send'.
As suspected, left our refund sitting in the federal government's hands much longer than necessary (we're getting a little over $1,200 back), but we owe the state of California a whopping $3. I hope they don't go too nuts spending it all in one place! :)
I feel really bad for all you guys who owe so much. :(
BTW Jill, I made the frikadeller last night - I don't think there are any left! Very well recieved, thanks for the recipe. :)
Yay - I'm glad you liked them. I am totally craving them now, but I think I'll have to wait until the weekend to talk the hubby into making them for me.
I am just glad it is over.