And Tax season has only JUST started.....

[EvilEmpryss]

She finally was bitching up a storm and wanted her $23.... She threw her purse at me screaming I want me $23 you will give it to me now.

But, I just saw a commercial that says everybody gets a check if you go to them!

[manybellsdown]

I did get back more than I'd paid in taxes a couple of times, but that's because I got the Earned Income Credit for working and paying for myself and my kid. I thought I'd done something horribly wrong the first time, and took it to an accountant to fix. He said it was the "thanks for not being on welfare" payment.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

So how long until you get someone who wants to claim truck nuts again?

Did I read that right? Did someone actually think they could claim a set of truck nuts as a tax deduction????

Yep, they're nuts all right . . .

[fireheart]

Did I read that right? Did someone actually think they could claim a set of truck nuts as a tax deduction????

Yep, they're nuts all right . . .

Yes they did. Brass too.

[AmethystSquirrel]

I did get back more than I'd paid in taxes a couple of times, but that's because I got the Earned Income Credit for working and paying for myself and my kid. I thought I'd done something horribly wrong the first time, and took it to an accountant to fix. He said it was the "thanks for not being on welfare" payment.

Oh No.....Now I am going to call it that! Or crack up when someone gets the credit

[MoonCat]

But, I just saw a commercial that says everybody gets a check if you go to them!

But they don't say how much the check is for, do they...or that it will be more than the fee they charge you?

[Sapphire Silk]

Like I told one client who had been FUBARing hers for years (needlessly overpaying): If you have a 1099 for something other than interest, your return is best left to professionals. .

I don't know that I agree with that.

My taxes are time consuming every year because I work so many jobs AND I do consulting work (hence the 1099). This year I'm working one full time job, plus two part time jobs (an online teaching gig, and hospice). I've also worked for two different attorneys doing legal nurse consulting, so I'll get two 1099s from them.

Plus, I take every deduction I can legally take: charitable, medical (I have a lot of chronic problems that rack up my costs), mortgage, student loan interest, etc.

The only really dicey one is my home office, because I have to figure out what I paid in utilities and claim the part they allow me to claim. Between my teaching jobs, and my consulting work, I easily can claim the home office, which is a major deduction for me.

It's not really hard with Turbo Tax. It's just tedious and I have to make sure I have all my receipts if I ever get audited, which has never happened thank God. I usually have all my paperwork by mid February, but I never get it in before the April deadline because I want to make sure all my ducks are in a row.

Evil Empryss did my taxes one year, and did a good job on them (she'd taken a course to do tax returns when she was still in the Air Force). After taking my taxes to a professional for several years and seeing how the process worked, I realized it was something I could easily do on my own with software like Turbo Tax or Tax Cut Pro.

[fireheart]

Yikes.

I just realised that my tax is going to be much more difficult this year because I'll be working 2 jobs.

[celticgrl]

Oh No.....Now I am going to call it that! Or crack up when someone gets the credit

Yeah I am going to have to try and keep myself from doing that also. We had one today 16 that couldn't understand why if he filed would the amount be so low when he had seen the refunds his parents had gotten in past years.

[Seshat]

Fireheart:

Just use the tax program the ATO* provides; it'll be okay.
(*Australian Tax Office)

My husband's tax is a bit complicated because of home business, contract income, and a little royalty income, plus donations from blogs, and it all works out in the ATO tax program.

Back when I was still getting royalties from my books, I at first got an accountant to do it. Then I decided to just use the previous years' tax return as a crib sheet.

I have a friend who works for the ATO; apparently the majority of people who get audited get extra money back because of deductions they were eligible for but didn't use. If you make an honest effort, you'll be fine.

(So why do they audit if auditing loses them money? Because the cheats usually try to cheat big, and on balance, it's better off for the ATO to do the audits.)

[fireheart]

Fireheart:

Just use the tax program the ATO* provides; it'll be okay.
(*Australian Tax Office)

My husband's tax is a bit complicated because of home business, contract income, and a little royalty income, plus donations from blogs, and it all works out in the ATO tax program.

My dad's tax is complex because he's self-employed (and registered as such). One of my jobs is semi-self employed (basically I'm considered to be "casual" by the tutoring agency who will send out clients and handle all the pay and whatnot, but everything else is up to me. ) the other I'm casual.

We've been using e-tax for the last 2-3 years to do our tax and it works well.

I will keep that in mind for when I'm audited though.

Oh and in keeping in line with the topic I brought up, the other day I was in Fella's Gifts (a novelty gift shop that sells less of the statues and flowery stuff and more things like jokes and stuff related to beer and sex) and near the top of the sex-related objects....

I found truck nuts. Apparently Australia now sells them.

(the sex-related stuff is things that you'd expect at a bucks/hens night i.e. willy-shaped straw toppers and inflatable "wives" (not the sex dolls). They also sell candy underwear (which provides NO support)

[AmethystSquirrel]

Yikes.

I just realised that my tax is going to be much more difficult this year because I'll be working 2 jobs.

Honestly, It is not hard at all to have a second job.



There is a program called VITA in the states where a lot of colleges have their students do taxes for persons making under $50K and no 1099's. I have referred a lot of persons to them when they are in my office and they either really can't afford a tax pro, or if in realty they are getting less than $500.

[auntiem]

I used VITA last year and the program is excellent IMO.

[Primer]

I'm not at all looking forward to doing taxes this year. SIL will be easy, as it always is. DH and mine will be medium, but tougher this time because of trying to be sure I have all the papers in one place. But this year I start doing Mom's, too. I have become her primary caretaker since her health has been failing drastically, and I don't know what all forms she will have coming in. I AM keeping EVERYTHING separate that has ANY kind of year end statement to it, and come middle of Feb, I'll probably be mailing out my Durable POA to everyone else I can find in the file drawers.

Thank goodness for TurboTax!

[shopgirl15]

Please tell me you at least threw the crazy bitch out.