I hate doing my taxes

[A.Nonymous]

I really, really do. I am a relatively intelligent guy (I think). I am also a relatively honest guy. I have no real desire to cheat the IRS as I know the penalty for doing so is jail time which is really bad. However, despite my intelligence and relative honesty, I have no clue if I'm really doing them right. I have no clue if I'm reporting everything I'm supposed to be reporting or not deducting stuff I really should be deducting. I could consult a professional, but I have the feeling that they wouldn't be able to say for 100% certain whether I'm right or not. I run the numbers one way and I get $200 back as a refund. I run them another way I get $1k back. I run them a 3rd way and I own $1k. I have no clue which one is right. I think the one where I pay $1k is wrong as I'm taking a standard deduction instead of itemizing. The other two I have no clue about. I really really hate our tax code. Yes, this was a rant. Apologies in advance.

 

[Outlaw71]

I hate doing your taxes too, so unfortunately you're stuck with it.

 

[bassic83]

Our tax code is so convoluted, the Infernal Revenue Bureau can't even understand it...they asked that people hold off on filing until after Feb 14th. That's bad! However, I don't have to be told twice... I have had tax professionals do my taxes before, and even THEY wanted to blow their brains out! I, too, am an honest, hardworking guy, and quite intelligent as well, and it confounds and frustrates me. I don't understand it, and I never will. I'd love it if they scrapped it in toto and enacted the Neil Boortz Fair Tax plan. That would be good, IMO...

 

[A.Nonymous]

This is what I don't understand. People are going to cheat the system no matter what you do. As complex as it is, people still cheat the system. Why not just accept the fact that people are going to cheat the system and make things simpler for the (relatively) honest people like myself?

 

[Outlaw71]

This is what I don't understand. People are going to cheat the system no matter what you do. As complex as it is, people still cheat the system. Why not just accept the fact that people are going to cheat the system and make things simpler for the (relatively) honest people like myself?

Why? Do you want to know why? I'll tell you why, if you had read the Bible you'd already know why.... because Eve took a bite out of that God Damned (literally) apple, that's why. We were living at peace with the beasts in Paradise up until that very moment. Then God changed the rules and we've been living in hell ever since.


... go figure, a long, long time ago men came up with a convenient little story to basically blame every single thing that could ever go wrong on a woman. Lol

 

[Steven58]

I'm an old hand at this. Taxes are simple unless you have self-employment or itemized deductions. I would suggest turbo tax if you really want to double check. Good luck to you.

 

[Outlaw71]

Doing it yourself doesn't guarantee against being audited, going to H&R block does. Not that I go to H&R block, but if you're worried, perhaps that's your best bet?

 

[NightAngel79]

Doing it yourself doesn't guarantee against being audited, going to H&R block does. Not that I go to H&R block, but if you're worried, perhaps that's your best bet?

Or just do it online at h r block. Its free or you can spend 30 bucks or whatever to have there prefessionals check it over. I only asks for what it needs, is very clear in explaining if a certain field needs filled out or not. Its how i've been doing it for years, can't beat free in my book. Plus no waiting at a crowded H R Block either
https://taxes.hrblock.com/hrblock/l...31&PS=Y&CampaignID=ps_mcm_4473_0001&FV=F&HT=F

 

[Tre Lawrence]

I have done H&R Block Online for the past 6 or 7 years... I recommend them.

 

[nlsme]

H&R Block only does free for SIMPLE FEDERAL returns.

 

[A.Nonymous]

I e-file every year using one of those free sites. The ones I've used are all supposed to check your numbers. The problem is it's garbage in, garbage out. If you put the numbers in one set of boxes, you get one set of results. If you put the same numbers in another set of boxes you get another set of results. Both results are 100% accurate given that the numbers are accurate. I'm just trying to find out if a certain kind of income needs to be reported. Some reputable places say yes. Other reputable places say no. Still other reputable places say maybe. The IRS has a 90 page document on the subject that is ridiculously obtuse and sheds no light on the subject. If I go one way, I could potentially pay $800 in taxes that I do not legitimately owe. If I go another way I could potentially go to jail. Or I could pay to consult a professional who will make an educated guess at the answer. If they're wrong, I either pay $800 I don't owe or I potentially go to jail as no one knows the answer 100% for sure.

 

[nlsme]

The IRS has a helpline to answer these kinds of questions. I'm pretty sure ALL income must be reported. Income being the key word.

 

[bigbadwulff]

Let a professional do it for you.
The way I see it they know a hell of a lot more about it that we don't know. A professional may find more $ for you would more than pay for their fees. Plus your headache is gone.

I consider myself well above the average intelligence level and I can't for the life of me figure out how to do a tax return. It is such a stupid process. If line 32 is greater than line 31, then.... but....if the square root of line 25 is.....

You ought to read Medicare updates sometime. It is written in such a way that makes it so unintelligible it's scary.
Just hope this health care system does not go into effect. Trust me on this one.

 

[jamor]

Ive never done my taxes nor paid anyone to do them.

Your dad being a CPA is a wonderful thing.

 

[ElasticNinja]

Let a professional do it for you.
The way I see it they know a hell of a lot more about it that we don't know. A professional may find more $ for you would more than pay for their fees. Plus your headache is gone.

I consider myself well above the average intelligence level and I can't for the life of me figure out how to do a tax return. It is such a stupid process. If line 32 is greater than line 31, then.... but....if the square root of line 25 is.....

You ought to read Medicare updates sometime. It is written in such a way that makes it so unintelligible it's scary.
Just hope this health care system does not go into effect. Trust me on this one.

laws are unfortnately complicated, so i will not tust you on that
i dont like your new system either, but its better than the current one

____________

the income tax system is fairly complicated here too, we now have three different income taxes (i guess.. its better than the four we had)
my mother works for the states Finance Department, and looking at the system(s) it makes little logical sense

i presume being in a federation makes this even more complicated than it already is

 

[A.Nonymous]

The IRS has a helpline to answer these kinds of questions. I'm pretty sure ALL income must be reported. Income being the key word.

Yeah, that's my problem. Not every dollar you take in qualifies as "income". Some of it does. Some of it doesn't. Some of it does qualify as income, but is not taxable. Everything I'm finding online, including on the IRS site tells me that the answer to my question about whether this type of income is taxable or not is "maybe". Will the IRS go on record on the helpline? Can I get it in writing or in a recording?

Ive never done my taxes nor paid anyone to do them.

Your dad being a CPA is a wonderful thing.

My mom does taxes every year for people. I find the idea of my parents knowing the details of my financial life a little weird. At least in my particular world it is.

 

[cipher6]

Doing it yourself doesn't guarantee against being audited, going to H&R block does. Not that I go to H&R block, but if you're worried, perhaps that's your best bet?

Uhh... I call BS. Having H&R do your taxes does NOT guarantee you will not be audited. The IRS audits who ever they want when ever they want.

Having your taxes done by a professional that knows what their doing and keeps irregularities out, will lessen your chances of being audited, but there is nothing you can do to "guarantee" you won't get an audit.

 

[b18c195]

I hate doing taxes too. Its the whole process i think. hate hate hate it

 

[NightAngel79]

I always kinda liked it cause for the past 13 years i have claimed my daughter meaning i get anywhere from 2,500 to the 6,200 i got last year

 

[A.Nonymous]

I always kinda liked it cause for the past 13 years i have claimed my daughter meaning i get anywhere from 2,500 to the 6,200 i got last year

You are paying, way, way too much to the feds. Do you realize you could have $500 a month extra every month?

 

[NightAngel79]

You are paying, way, way too much to the feds. Do you realize you could have $500 a month extra every month?

Well i don't know about 500 every month maybe 350 though. Besides, i like getting a lump some in feb of every year. My buddy at work does that, pays NOTHING to the federal gov and at the end of the year usually owes around a grand

 

[A.Nonymous]

Well i don't know about 500 every month maybe 350 though. Besides, i like getting a lump some in feb of every year. My buddy at work does that, pays NOTHING to the federal gov and at the end of the year usually owes around a grand

You said you got $6200 back. If you divide that by 12, you get about $517. So you could just re-do your W-4 and get $500 extra in your paycheck each month. If you like the lump sum thing, you could easily set up an auto draft to suck $500 a month into a savings account. Come February, you'd have $6k sitting there plus interest. Much better than the 0 interest you're getting now.

 

[NightAngel79]

You said you got $6200 back. If you divide that by 12, you get about $517. So you could just re-do your W-4 and get $500 extra in your paycheck each month. If you like the lump sum thing, you could easily set up an auto draft to suck $500 a month into a savings account. Come February, you'd have $6k sitting there plus interest. Much better than the 0 interest you're getting now.

Well that is ALL not just what i paid, its like a 1500 dollar earned income credit cause i claim my kid, plus being in college garnered me an additional 1500 or so. Last year was the highest i've ever seen but actual taxes paid was prolly 3,000 or so. I don't give the gov more than 200 every check

 

[A.Nonymous]

I don't think I'm making my point well. If you're getting money back from the feds it's a refund because you paid too much. For example, you were supposed to pay $5k in taxes, but withholdings on your check ended up being $10k so the feds give you $5k back. You overpaid $5k. The feds sat on your $5k all year and you got no interest on it and no benefit from it. If you adjusted your withholdings and withheld less, you could take home about $400 a month extra in our example.

 

[nlsme]

Nah, he gets credits. Earned income credit, child tax credit. They add up fast. EIC is like 3500, plus child tax credit is another 1000 per kid. You can get get advanced eic thougj, so hr van get it all year. Only problem is, they are income dependant. If you find yourself making more then you had planned for, you could get hit with a bill, as well as being disqualified from the creditin the future.

With your problem, the irs isnt vague about what qualifies as income. If it is child support, it isnt income. If it is a reimbursement for work expenses(mileage, clothing, tools) it isnt income. Just about everything else is.