Obligatory US Tax Day Thread

[gabester]

There was this yarn earlier about Turbotax... https://forums.macresource.com/read.php?1,2730812

I'm surprised there aren't more last minute filer complaints and queries, but maybe that's because every year fewer and fewer of us do anything besides send the info into our favorite software/paid preparer and leave it at that...

However there have been so many changes in the past 5 years I'm surprised there hasn't been more discussion.

This year, I'm cheesed off at (having dependent children) the money deposited automatically in my checking account along with my payroll. I knew when I saw it last fall it was going to add complexity I didn't want to deal with (and our taxes are disgustingly simple, if it weren't for all the complexity of the tax code itself.) Turns out I never got sent a Form 1619 declaring precisely how much was deposited in that account, and now with the final reckoning upon us I learn that to find out that amount I would need to sign up for the IRS' ID.me account to log in.

I'm not going to do that (I have a feeling the system might be overwhelmed today anyway). Turns out having an incorrect amount will delay my refund. Turns out I'm not getting a refund. Somehow I'm sure it won't delay Uncle Sam from cashing the check I'm sending in.

Frustratingly, despite having no deductions/exemptions indicated in our W-4s our employers took out even less than in previous years, so we owe an even larger some of money. Quite possibly a penalty to boot! (On the plus side, if you need a short term loan the penalty on unpaid taxes is just about the easiest way to get one... Provided you don't end up befouling your taxes so badly you trigger a prison term!)

[mattkime]

Well, if I was supposed to enter that info then I’ll hear from the IRS because I don’t think I did. Sounds like a similar problem that started my other thread - having tax payers look up necessary docs instead of sending them. The bad ideas keep getting deeper.

[Acer]

The one thing I sort of guess on was the March stimulus payment, which was asked for to determine whether I deserved more. Dire warnings of delays were were intoned if I put the wrong figure here. I know what the amount was that was deposited, but the form they send at some point is lost in a pile somewhere. I owed taxes in the end and I knew was not entitled to any unpaid stimulus, so I'm not worried about the delay threat.

[Will Collier]

One of the "joys" of having a small business is paying quarterly estimated taxes. I got all of mine in on time, only to find out the IRS's internal system applied the last two to the 2020 tax year for some unknowable reason. They're still trying to straighten it out (and in all fairness, everybody I've dealt with at the IRS was perfectly nice and very helpful; the main problem is getting to them. Protip: start dialing at precisely 7AM Eastern). Had to file for an extension while they get the most recent payment applied properly in my account.

[Don C]

Been using HR Block for some time now. I STARTED computer tax preparation when it was an AppleWorks spreadsheet.

My problem year to year is that one year I will get a refund, the next year I owe, so my estimated tax calculation is not working. I thought that I just had to be sure that estimated taxes plus deducted taxes matched last year's tax due but that does not seem to be working for me.

HRB asked me about the IRS statement regarding the stimulus check. I had that statement available and answered the question, but HRB did NOT ask about my wife's stimulus check statement, so we'll see if not answering that question causes any issues. I owe this year, so I don't have to worry about a delayed refund.

[C(-)ris]

I put the wrong amount in on accident for the child tax credit. Same deal, I never received the info so I had to go back and look at bank statements as I too am not signing up for ID.me. This was way back in Feb, but they amended my return but it took an extra 2 or 3 weeks to get the refund compared to others I know that files on the same day.

[mattkime]

This year I owe about a grand more on federal than I get on state. I'm fairly certain I don't pay a penalty although I might if I start to owe much more. TurboTax printed quarterly payments of roughly 2x what I owed this year - it makes zero sense to me. Talking about this makes me realize I should probably increase my withholding....just another stupid part of our tax system.

[Speedy]

Our federal ‘marginal tax rate - ordinary income’ - (on $100k+ a bit more) was 22.0%. On capital income it was 15.0%. It sucks to pay more on work income than on investing income but that’s just one way the rich pay less in taxes.

Our marginal rate for state income tax was 7.050% and our effective rate was 6.300%. I’m not thrashing through my return to figure out the difference between the marginal and effective.

It was worth every penny we paid.

[Sam3]

I think I'm done with TurboTax after this year. I got so angry that my wife, after having quietly let me have my way, started laughing. First off, we don't have anything complicated, all I wanted to do was enter in our income, and then take the personal deduction. But noooo, TurboTax makes you enter all income and deductions and credits "to get you the most back", which, after three hours, nets me what i first wanted to do.

Then, they don't have all of the forms and letters in their help section, I had to go to the IRS website, and then spend time signing up for ID.me just to be able to read about the dependent tax credit.

Third, it somehow put an income entry in that duplicated my wife's information, except my name was on it, as if I had worked at my wife's place last year, in addition to my workplace. That, at least I was able to finally delete, unlike at the end, where I am on my state's return, specifically working on my city return. In addition to the normal income sources, there appears and entry called "untitled", where it wants employer ID number, wages earned, etc. Well, the damn thing said untitled, and I didn't have any other employer. Do you think I could get rid of it? NO! There was no way to kill this phantom employer/income source entry. But yet, TurboTax would not verify my return unless it was taken care of. I finally gave up and just submitted and e-filed it.

[wurm]

But noooo, TurboTax makes you enter all income and deductions and credits "to get you the most back", which, after three hours, nets me what i first wanted to do.

That's just one of the things I like about FreeTaxUSA. It states something to the effect that "Most people find that taking the Standard Deduction is more beneficial than itemizing deductions. But if you choose to, here is a worksheet where you can figure....blah blah blah." with a SKIP button.