Tax Time...

[Zep]

Always my worst week of the year....  I do my own taxes and I always put off as long as I can.  With Easter this weekend, I had to dig in yesterday.  I got some unusual situations so it ends up taking me a number of hours even using TurboTax. 

I got them all done.  The damage wasn't too bad, paying in about $600.  Looks like a break in the hobby for a week or two is in order.

I hear about all the people getting returns.  I have never gotten a tax return in probably 45 years.  Biggest payment I've made on tax day.. $4500 That was a sad day...

[kidinacandystore]

Never a fun time...being a 1099 guy is all the more exciting when you have to write the checks...yuk.  I think I'll start mine tomorrow, or maybe the next day...lol

[dogwalker]

     I also do my own but usually file around the end of January or whenever all my final statements are available online.  I can estimate many numbers and I'm usually right but prefer to have the official statements in hand to confirm.  Doing it early has nothing to do with whether I owe or not.  I may be traveling some part of Feb-Apr so it's best if I do it as soon as I can.  I recall filing in early March this year though.  I also start a draft tax form for the next year and fill in information as the year goes on.  It's good for me to monitor income and taxes during the year and especially near the end where I can make an adjustment if I need to.
     @Zep: Return?  I think you mean refund.  It's been awhile since I got one.  Main reason for that is I should pay estimated taxes but I don't.  The additional penalty for not doing that is small for me, so for now I decided not to.  Some people think they make money when they get a refund and are all happy about it.  In general you pay the same total annual tax.  It's just a matter of when you pay it.   Overpay compared to the total liability and you get a refund.  Underpay and you owe. I know many that act like they got an extra free paycheck when they get a tax refund, go out and spend it all,  and do not realize they are spending money they already made [but temporarily loaned to the government].

[Hobby]

"I hear about all the people getting returns.  I have never gotten a tax return in probably 45 years.  Biggest payment I've made on tax day.. $4500 That was a sad day..."


If you want a big tax refund just pay more tax than you need and get a big refund the next year! LOL

The biggest I ever paid was in 1983 working for NASA!  $13,000 on $81,000 income that year.  Didn't own a home so do deductions.  I made a ton of overtime during Shuttle missions. We had to be onsite 24/7 while the shuttle was in orbit. And lots of overtime on weekends preparing for the next mission. $81,000 in 1983 was a really good income...

[Tuscano]

The first year following my second marriage my new bride asked, "how soon can we file taxs and get our return!". My response, "I warned you before we married...all those people getting returns? someone has to pay taxes, and now you are one of those people."

[dogwalker]

LOL....I used to have more than necessary deducted from my paycheck to get a refund on purpose
and also to not have a big tax bill that could be hard to pay if I had not prepared for it.
There's something satisfying about refunds even if they're not extra earned money.

[Fishhunter]

I'm absolutely shocked I'm getting a return this year....
I don't know what happened that's so different but I usually have to pay about $5,000 ?
I'm guessing it's because of my S.O didn't work all year.....

[dogwalker]

     Could be, particularly if in the past the SO had a "high" income [= more tax owed] and/or did not have enough tax deducted or pay enough estimated taxes [= not enough tax paid before filing].  There are also often annual changes that affect tax law. There's been several related to the pandemic lately.
     One thing that irks me a bit about tax forms and filing is our wonderful leaders [I forget who] said they would shorten the 1040 type forms.  They actually did that [a bit] so they kept their specific promise but they did so by shoving a bunch of stuff onto new tax forms called schedule 1,2 and 3.  So in the end, as a whole, tax forms are still just as long if not longer [because the new schedules are long] than they were before.

[Danno]

FYI, the Trump middle class tax cut goes away in 2026, but corporations get to keep theirs. So much for top priority of their tax reform is delivering relief to the middle class.

[Fishhunter]

It's probably because she used to make $100,000 or more and she didn't work at all last year....
Due to the covid and the money she won from the scratcher ticket I bought her!
 

[DoctorTaco]

I miss the days of getting a refund. Back in my previous life I was in sales and 50% of my income was a "sales bonus," really a commission that sales people added into the cost.  I received three "bonus checks" a year and they were taxed to the MAX. I was always afraid to adjust my deductions being worried I'd have to pay come April 15th. Getting a fat check back from Uncle Sam was nice.

[Scruzbeachbum]

Adding my gripe: I had to file an amended return in 2021. CA processed and sent my refund in 4 months. Feds took 14 months...with no effective way to track where it was in the queue...other than 'not done'. Earlier this year I heard there were 24 million unprocessed US returns and 4M of those were amended returns.

[Fathernature69]

I hate tax time.  I had to go on extension this year, which means I must over estimate my tax liability and make the payments. 

It's been a painful month for me.  Ohh well, it's a good thing when you owe taxes.