Not too taxing
Tax season is here! I've always enjoyed reading through the tax booklet and finding the correct answer to put on a particular line. I suspect that the main reason I enjoy doing taxes is because I don't earn enough to have to pay in much! So finding all of the little deductions and angles, even earned interest and all--is rather interesting. So much so that I used to do taxes for other people. For free. Just because I enjoyed doing it, even though it would take me several hours to do some of the more complicated ones.
There was a particular close friend for whom I did her taxes for years and years. She had stocks and lots of little "extras" to make doing her taxes somewhat of a challenge. Then one year the IRS sent her a notice that she had earned $12 more of a refund than the tax return I did for her. I don't know if I made an accounting error or just plain forgot to figure something in, but my bottom figure had been wrong. Yes, it was a mistake on my part, but I figure it could have been worse--she could have OWED them the $12! Plus I had been doing her taxes for free for ten to twelve years, so she had saved far more than that mistake, even if it had gone the other way.
But after that she seldom missed an opportunity to tell groups of her family and friends, "PBS screwed up my taxes this year!" or some such comment like that. I think she was just trying to be funny but it was embarrassing and made me mad. Especially since I did some accounting at my job and it made me look like maybe I wasn't doing my job so well, either. She didn't stop doing spreading the word even after I told her how I felt. So I never did her, or anyone else's taxes again. Not even my Mom's taxes. Of course as a senior she can get them done for free now, so losing my tax services was no great loss to her!
The friend whines every year now (and there's been about three or four years since I quit doing other people's taxes) that she has paid $40 or $60 or more to get her taxes done. Well, too bad. She has finally stopped telling people about how I goofed up her taxes too, it's old news.
This year I have a new state for which to figure my state taxes. So reading a brand-new little tax booklet might be fun--as long as I don't have to pay in very much. So, do you do your own taxes or does a family member or friend do them for you? Or do you have a tax professional prepare them for you?
There was a particular close friend for whom I did her taxes for years and years. She had stocks and lots of little "extras" to make doing her taxes somewhat of a challenge. Then one year the IRS sent her a notice that she had earned $12 more of a refund than the tax return I did for her. I don't know if I made an accounting error or just plain forgot to figure something in, but my bottom figure had been wrong. Yes, it was a mistake on my part, but I figure it could have been worse--she could have OWED them the $12! Plus I had been doing her taxes for free for ten to twelve years, so she had saved far more than that mistake, even if it had gone the other way.
But after that she seldom missed an opportunity to tell groups of her family and friends, "PBS screwed up my taxes this year!" or some such comment like that. I think she was just trying to be funny but it was embarrassing and made me mad. Especially since I did some accounting at my job and it made me look like maybe I wasn't doing my job so well, either. She didn't stop doing spreading the word even after I told her how I felt. So I never did her, or anyone else's taxes again. Not even my Mom's taxes. Of course as a senior she can get them done for free now, so losing my tax services was no great loss to her!
The friend whines every year now (and there's been about three or four years since I quit doing other people's taxes) that she has paid $40 or $60 or more to get her taxes done. Well, too bad. She has finally stopped telling people about how I goofed up her taxes too, it's old news.
This year I have a new state for which to figure my state taxes. So reading a brand-new little tax booklet might be fun--as long as I don't have to pay in very much. So, do you do your own taxes or does a family member or friend do them for you? Or do you have a tax professional prepare them for you?
5 Comments:
I put the tax boolet in the garbage LOL
I buy a tax program and do it that way and go to bed peacefully.
Ooo....The PK and I always use a professional, even though I'm sure our taxes would be easy to do.
My boss here at work got that Turbo Tax program and she says it's SO easy to do your own now...so maybe next year, I'll try that.
We have always done our own, using TaxCut software. Well last year Hot Rod decided he wanted to give our business to the CPA that is in his building. They both throw business to each other whenever they can. However, it cost $300! and we didn't get back any more than what we figured ourselves. This year I told him no way, we are doing our own. If I can ever get enough deductions to itemize then it might be worth it but for now...it's too simple to do them ourselves with the software.
I've always done my own taxes since I was 15. The EZ form was just too easy to pay anyone to do. I did have my dad check my form when I was living at home and we always had disagreements on what the rules meant.
I use Turbo Tax now for my federal forms since it allows me to file electronically. Kansas has a nice online form that's free that allows you to file electronically and I use it. I'd use Missouri's too, but they have restrictions on filers who have tax credits, so I fill out the pdf forms they provide manually.
So far 2007 will be my first one state year in at least 10 years and I don't see anything that will change that in the coming 11 months. It's going to be so much easier.
Did my own this year and hadn't done in years. I asked probably 5 different coworkers separate questions. I have dyscalculus so I get all sorts of whacked out.
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