@Kidsandliz Most of the commerical tax prep cos offer limited free fed prep and e-filing but think they charge for states-think that is where they get you but doesn’t hurt to ck.
@Kidsandliz We’ve been using FreeTaxUSA for our federal returns for at least a decade. I prepare taxes for a family member who insists on making their taxes more complicated year after year, but we haven’t had any trouble using the service to file. FreeTaxUSA does charge $14.99 to file a state tax return, but our state has free filing online, so I just decline the state option and file state taxes separately.
How long can this be put off until some armed new hire IRS agents decides to visit with a no knock warrant? Asking for a random stranger from Arkansas that was on the bus.
@kuoh one year when I was in my 20s, I just never filed. About three years later, I got a letter in the mail from the IRS inquiring about it and suggesting that I owed them 500 bucks or so to make it all go away. About 2/3 of that was tax I actually owed and the rest was penalty.
@danpritts Maybe back then, but the way things are looking now, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was an “unannounced” midnight to 6am kick in the door with backup from other 3 letter agencies.
@danpritts@kuoh Buddy, you’ve been watching too much Faux News. IRS agents rarely kick in the door and certainly not in the middle of the night, and most certainly not for $500 bucks.
Faux News and the MAGA crowd exists on fear and sells it daily in every way possible. Their message (both hidden and overt) is: “all the world is shit, and “they” are coming to get you.” IOW, the world you knew is going to shit, with non-whites and immigrants taking over.
Somehow, the Internal Revenue Service has been demonized by the MAGA crowd leaders (who are mostly very wealthy (also greedy and corrupt) and resent having to pay tax at all. The poor rank and file MAGA schmuck not so much. But they are mostly blind, complicit, and unthinking followers, who are easily influenced and controlled by the MAGA propaganda, the torrent of lies and mis/dis information, and the “news” outlets that spew this drivel.
The hidden message is then, “The sky is falling, the sky is falling, unless you put US (MAGA stalwarts) in charge.” Unspoken is but implied at every turn: “We will fix it by doing away with free speech (unless we agree with it), a free press (again unless we control it), personal and individual freedom (the war on reproductive rights is just the tip of their iceberg of horrors to come) and a representative democracy (we will control all elections and only those who vote our way will be allowed to vote at all) and replace it with autocratic, repressive government, when we are in charge.”
@phendrickWhat kind of crazy talk is that? Even if they ever admit they did anything wrong, the government moves too slow on good things for anything to happen in your lifetime. Any grandkids you have (or might have in the future) have a chance at seeing something, if they keep on it…
I probably better stop talking. I might say something that sounds like politics.
@Felton10
Didn’t see anything like this in the tax guides:
If I donate something brand new (still packaged) with an absurdly high MSRP to a charity auction, how much can I deduct on income taxes for the contribution? The MSRP? The auctIon’s “sold” price [which might turn out higher than the MSRP]? What I actually paid for it (which was relatively quite low)? it’s a “designer” item.
I’m thinking the difference between what I paid and the bigger of the MSRP and the sold price can be argued to be “capital gains”, which I’d be happy to be tax-liable for, if it’s more than offset by a tax-deduction I can claim for the donation!
Will any 2 tax agents at the ir(k)s agree to the answer on this?
@phendrick Fair market value is usually the guide which the IRS tells one to use in determining what they can and should deduct for contributed merchandise. The trick is having something to document where the FMV came from. Appraisals are required for contributions of over 5k, and that might not be a bad way to document what you deduct regardless of cost.
@Kidsandliz@phendrick Problem is the people answering the phone rarely know more than you do and have to go and look up the answer in the same publications you have access to. Have to go to the tax law section to get a more definitive answer. Us tax professionals have a special line-tax prof priority service who seem to have more knowledgeable people answering the phone.
Appreciate the offer for anyone who needs it. I just have a W2 and some minor dividends/interest. So normally I have everything filled out based on my last paycheck and bank statements, before I even get my W2 or my 1099s. The only issue I’ve had was my company messing up HSA contributions one year. But I knew they were wrong.
For the majority of people the IRS could just ask you to confirm a postcard and focus on real problems but. Heaven forbid they do that.
@phendrick@unksol Certain <unnamed tax prep software companies> lobby too hard to get it simplified. And by “lobby too hard” of course I mean “put too much money into congressional pockets”.
I’d blame the goat, but this is way beyond his power…
@phendrick@xobzoo idk. You’re talking about your self in the third person. Who knows what you can do. Just go try. You got this.
If nothing else its not at all weird that tax companies are subsidized for federal 1040 but then charge for copying a few numbers to a state form. That I used to be able to do via the state website for free.
1: Why does the IRS/my tax prep SW insist that I depreciate the new roof I put on my rental property over 27 years when the roof will likely only last ~20 years ±?
Why can’t I e-file my state taxes for free like I can for my fed taxes ($20 fee for my state)? It seems like the cost to process a paper return would be more than for an e-file.
@macromeh The depreciable life for rental property of 27.5 years is in the IRS code as approved by congress-rarely do the depreciable lives correspond to the how long things last in real life.
That is how whomever makes money-lure you in with free fed e-filing only to charge you for the state e-file.
@Felton10@macromeh I learned the hard way that some sites say, “free” but if you have unemployment income it is no longer free. I think free must apply only if all you have is a W2. Period.
@Felton10@Kidsandliz Well, just out of stubbornness/spite, we use the free federal e-file, but print out the state forms and mail them ($4.95 for postage + proof of mailing).
So H&R Block!
@f00l Most insurance settlements are not taxable. You would have gotten a 1099 if the money you got should be included in income and since you didn’t there is no way the IRS would know about it as copies of 1099s sent to you are also sent to the IRS.
@f00l I had a house fire that ended up in the 500k range spent by my insurance company. Thankfully non taxable.
For those in education in Michigan, I highly recommend MEEMIC insurance. No BS on the claim, did what was right.
I heard from a friend who lost his house in a San Diego wildfire that Allstate treated him very differently. They argued about all sorts of stuff, the example he gave was a garden rake. His advice was to periodically walk through your house and record all your possessions on video, and make sure that the video was backed up offsite somewhere. The last bit is less of a concern, nowadays with cloud storage and back up, but keep it in mind.
The ultimate goal of withholdings is not to owe or get a refund, but rarely is it that exact. At what dollar amount should one consider changing their withholdings?
@narfcake if you start to incur a penalty, then change your withholding. Paying at 4/15 is not bad as long as you don’t incur additional cost to do so.
@Felton10@narfcake
I generally tweak my IRA deposit to make sure I have a wash on my taxes. Since my wife is self-employed I can use it to offset her part of the taxes she owes (all of FICA plus her fed/state burden) This allows me to avoid a penalty and still not have to make quarterly payments. Win/Win
Just realized yesterday that we didn’t get a W2 from a company that paid under $1K. I do have the last pay stub. If I am not able to chase down that info in time to file, what is the best way to proceed?
@callow probably file for an extension. They will generally grant one for six months on request. You still have to pay anything you expect to owe them.
@callow well I am not the tax expert but… you could file for an extension. If you think you will owe any taxes pay them now as an extension doesn’t forgive late payment of taxes due by April 15th.
@Felton10 I filed a 4852 many years ago when a company went under but wasn’t sure I could do it if the company still exists and I expect they will send me a W2 eventually. I was just hoping to be done with this today/tomorrow.
@callow Well since I assume you will be e-filing and you said you have the numbers that will be on the w-2-you can always input the numbers from the paystub as if you had the w-2 and hope it it all works out. Worst that might happen is that the you get a w-2 that is different that the info you put down and you say oops if you get a notice re the difference-don’t think it is that big a deal given the amts on the w-2.
@callow@Felton10 If you have a previous year’s W2 the numbers will be the same. Actually you can do what I did and go to the IRS.gov and look at a transcript from previous years. The numbers will be on an older tax form.
@callow@Kidsandliz Was going to say that or maybe they have to register with the state and if so the state might have a lookup for co’s registered with the state which might contain their FEIN or the company might have a website that might have it also.
@Felton10@Kidsandliz@danpritts Good news! I was able to sign into the employee portal (it was my late husband’s job) and found the W2 hidden away. Taxes done!
Best free online program that sends to the IRS for free to use if all I have is a W2 and unemployment and am getting a refund?
Thanks.
PS I could use a winning lottery number - be glad to pay you to do my taxes if I had one of those.
@Kidsandliz Think you can file via the IRS website for free.
@Felton10 I checked there. Only some states this year. Not mine -but you can in yours.
@Kidsandliz Most of the commerical tax prep cos offer limited free fed prep and e-filing but think they charge for states-think that is where they get you but doesn’t hurt to ck.
@Felton10 @Kidsandliz and they make the actual free version really hard to find.
@Kidsandliz We’ve been using FreeTaxUSA for our federal returns for at least a decade. I prepare taxes for a family member who insists on making their taxes more complicated year after year, but we haven’t had any trouble using the service to file. FreeTaxUSA does charge $14.99 to file a state tax return, but our state has free filing online, so I just decline the state option and file state taxes separately.
Do I have to?
I DON’T WANNA!!! I DON’T WANNA!!! I DON’T WANNA!!! I DON’T WANNA!!! I DON’T WANNA!!! I DON’T WANNA!!! I DON’T WANNA!!! I DON’T WANNA!!!
@yakkoTDI
Yeah I need help with this prob.
How long can this be put off until some armed new hire IRS agents decides to visit with a no knock warrant? Asking for a random stranger from Arkansas that was on the bus.
NOT KuoH
@kuoh one year when I was in my 20s, I just never filed. About three years later, I got a letter in the mail from the IRS inquiring about it and suggesting that I owed them 500 bucks or so to make it all go away. About 2/3 of that was tax I actually owed and the rest was penalty.
This was back in the 90s.
@danpritts Maybe back then, but the way things are looking now, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was an “unannounced” midnight to 6am kick in the door with backup from other 3 letter agencies.
KuoH
@kuoh I don’t think it’s come to that. Yet. on the other hand I’m an old white guy, so what the hell do I know.
I do hear that they are targeting lower level people rather than the big money, because the rich people can afford way more lawyers than the IRS can.
@danpritts @kuoh Buddy, you’ve been watching too much Faux News. IRS agents rarely kick in the door and certainly not in the middle of the night, and most certainly not for $500 bucks.
Faux News and the MAGA crowd exists on fear and sells it daily in every way possible. Their message (both hidden and overt) is: “all the world is shit, and “they” are coming to get you.” IOW, the world you knew is going to shit, with non-whites and immigrants taking over.
Somehow, the Internal Revenue Service has been demonized by the MAGA crowd leaders (who are mostly very wealthy (also greedy and corrupt) and resent having to pay tax at all. The poor rank and file MAGA schmuck not so much. But they are mostly blind, complicit, and unthinking followers, who are easily influenced and controlled by the MAGA propaganda, the torrent of lies and mis/dis information, and the “news” outlets that spew this drivel.
The hidden message is then, “The sky is falling, the sky is falling, unless you put US (MAGA stalwarts) in charge.” Unspoken is but implied at every turn: “We will fix it by doing away with free speech (unless we agree with it), a free press (again unless we control it), personal and individual freedom (the war on reproductive rights is just the tip of their iceberg of horrors to come) and a representative democracy (we will control all elections and only those who vote our way will be allowed to vote at all) and replace it with autocratic, repressive government, when we are in charge.”
Can people of a certain ancestry avoid paying taxes in lieu of Reparations?? They seem to think so. How does Uncle Sam feel??
@IndifferentDude How about reparations for all the times that the government at one level or another has jerked me around?
@phendrick
What kind of crazy talk is that? Even if they ever admit they did anything wrong, the government moves too slow on good things for anything to happen in your lifetime. Any grandkids you have (or might have in the future) have a chance at seeing something, if they keep on it…I probably better stop talking. I might say something that sounds like politics.
Thanks, I always file last minute but don’t expect any issues. But I will vent about last year in a whisper.
Why do I always wait until the last minute? Last year I promised myself I’d hire someone early. Didn’t happen. Haven’t started.
@callow That’s my fault. I do it, too, and it’s contagious.
@Felton10
Didn’t see anything like this in the tax guides:
If I donate something brand new (still packaged) with an absurdly high MSRP to a charity auction, how much can I deduct on income taxes for the contribution? The MSRP? The auctIon’s “sold” price [which might turn out higher than the MSRP]? What I actually paid for it (which was relatively quite low)? it’s a “designer” item.
I’m thinking the difference between what I paid and the bigger of the MSRP and the sold price can be argued to be “capital gains”, which I’d be happy to be tax-liable for, if it’s more than offset by a tax-deduction I can claim for the donation!
Will any 2 tax agents at the ir(k)s agree to the answer on this?
[Thanks for your time.]
@phendrick Fair market value is usually the guide which the IRS tells one to use in determining what they can and should deduct for contributed merchandise. The trick is having something to document where the FMV came from. Appraisals are required for contributions of over 5k, and that might not be a bad way to document what you deduct regardless of cost.
@phendrick
You have to call the IRS at least 3 times to get an answer that might match. Of course that presumes they pick up the phone.
Of course the real question is:
Ask again later
/8ball Do IRS agents actually know what they are talking about?
@phendrick Hmm… that answer sounds about right.
@Kidsandliz @phendrick Problem is the people answering the phone rarely know more than you do and have to go and look up the answer in the same publications you have access to. Have to go to the tax law section to get a more definitive answer. Us tax professionals have a special line-tax prof priority service who seem to have more knowledgeable people answering the phone.
@Kidsandliz @phendrick The 3 phone call rule is easy to explain. Maximum number of coin flips to get 2 to match.
@phendrick @user78628060 Only if you ask a yes/no question. Mine often aren’t.
Appreciate the offer for anyone who needs it. I just have a W2 and some minor dividends/interest. So normally I have everything filled out based on my last paycheck and bank statements, before I even get my W2 or my 1099s. The only issue I’ve had was my company messing up HSA contributions one year. But I knew they were wrong.
For the majority of people the IRS could just ask you to confirm a postcard and focus on real problems but. Heaven forbid they do that.
@unksol
But wouldn’t that mess up all their fun?
@unksol you mean like the UK does?
https://youtube.com/shorts/W8CC-QxNvnA?si=yaKBeonbwZUwPls6
@phendrick i mean let’s be honest. The IRS doesn’t like it either. But the Congress critters have to be corrupt
@phendrick @unksol Certain
<unnamed tax prep software companies>lobby too hard to get it simplified. And by “lobby too hard” of course I mean “put too much money into congressional pockets”.I’d blame the goat, but this is way beyond his power…
@phendrick @xobzoo idk. You’re talking about your self in the third person. Who knows what you can do. Just go try. You got this.
If nothing else its not at all weird that tax companies are subsidized for federal 1040 but then charge for copying a few numbers to a state form. That I used to be able to do via the state website for free.
The IRS uses to have a PDF you could fill out too
@unksol @xobzoo
Don’t think you meant me, but when i talk to myself, usually i am the third person. The other two don’t listen to me.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Not so much questions as just a couple of whines:
1: Why does the IRS/my tax prep SW insist that I depreciate the new roof I put on my rental property over 27 years when the roof will likely only last ~20 years ±?
@macromeh Indiana used to let you key in the info online and submit for free. It’s stupid easy. But you know why they charge now. Lobbiest
@macromeh @unksol And some states still don’t support e-filing as of last I checked.
@macromeh The depreciable life for rental property of 27.5 years is in the IRS code as approved by congress-rarely do the depreciable lives correspond to the how long things last in real life.
That is how whomever makes money-lure you in with free fed e-filing only to charge you for the state e-file.
@Felton10 @macromeh I learned the hard way that some sites say, “free” but if you have unemployment income it is no longer free. I think free must apply only if all you have is a W2. Period.
@Felton10 @Kidsandliz Well, just out of stubbornness/spite, we use the free federal e-file, but print out the state forms and mail them ($4.95 for postage + proof of mailing).
H&R Block!
So
@Felton10 @Kidsandliz @macromeh yeah, I have done the same.
Hr&R block and TurboTax are charging $60 per state e-file. What a fucking ripoff.
My tax structure is 1099 but otherwise pretty simple.
Re insurance settlement $
Do I have to report it? Or just show how I got it if I’m audited?
Unlikely I’ll be audited, they would gain like $2.22 at most if they did.
But … still wanna know.
@f00l Most insurance settlements are not taxable. You would have gotten a 1099 if the money you got should be included in income and since you didn’t there is no way the IRS would know about it as copies of 1099s sent to you are also sent to the IRS.
@Felton10
Ty
This always made me nervous.
Now I don’t need a bong to go along with tax prep.
/giphy bong
@f00l I had a house fire that ended up in the 500k range spent by my insurance company. Thankfully non taxable.
For those in education in Michigan, I highly recommend MEEMIC insurance. No BS on the claim, did what was right.
I heard from a friend who lost his house in a San Diego wildfire that Allstate treated him very differently. They argued about all sorts of stuff, the example he gave was a garden rake. His advice was to periodically walk through your house and record all your possessions on video, and make sure that the video was backed up offsite somewhere. The last bit is less of a concern, nowadays with cloud storage and back up, but keep it in mind.
Have always done my own taxes and my returns have always been approved as submitted. But they’re pretty basic. Not a financially complex person.
@lordbowen
How much did you make?
Send it in.
The ultimate goal of withholdings is not to owe or get a refund, but rarely is it that exact. At what dollar amount should one consider changing their withholdings?
(Thank you!)
@narfcake if you start to incur a penalty, then change your withholding. Paying at 4/15 is not bad as long as you don’t incur additional cost to do so.
@Felton10 @narfcake
I generally tweak my IRA deposit to make sure I have a wash on my taxes. Since my wife is self-employed I can use it to offset her part of the taxes she owes (all of FICA plus her fed/state burden) This allows me to avoid a penalty and still not have to make quarterly payments. Win/Win
Just realized yesterday that we didn’t get a W2 from a company that paid under $1K. I do have the last pay stub. If I am not able to chase down that info in time to file, what is the best way to proceed?
@callow probably file for an extension. They will generally grant one for six months on request. You still have to pay anything you expect to owe them.
@callow well I am not the tax expert but… you could file for an extension. If you think you will owe any taxes pay them now as an extension doesn’t forgive late payment of taxes due by April 15th.
@callow @Kidsandliz irk-jinx
@callow sorry for the late reply-knee deep as usual this close to 4/15/ File form 4852- substitute form w-2 with return.
@Felton10 I filed a 4852 many years ago when a company went under but wasn’t sure I could do it if the company still exists and I expect they will send me a W2 eventually. I was just hoping to be done with this today/tomorrow.
@callow Well since I assume you will be e-filing and you said you have the numbers that will be on the w-2-you can always input the numbers from the paystub as if you had the w-2 and hope it it all works out. Worst that might happen is that the you get a w-2 that is different that the info you put down and you say oops if you get a notice re the difference-don’t think it is that big a deal given the amts on the w-2.
@Felton10 I don’t have the employer’s Federal or State ID. I’ll call in the morning.
@callow @Felton10 If you have a previous year’s W2 the numbers will be the same. Actually you can do what I did and go to the IRS.gov and look at a transcript from previous years. The numbers will be on an older tax form.
@callow @Kidsandliz Was going to say that or maybe they have to register with the state and if so the state might have a lookup for co’s registered with the state which might contain their FEIN or the company might have a website that might have it also.
@Felton10 @Kidsandliz No previous history with the company.
@Felton10 @Kidsandliz @danpritts Good news! I was able to sign into the employee portal (it was my late husband’s job) and found the W2 hidden away. Taxes done!
@callow @danpritts @Kidsandliz Guess persistence pays off
Government is now issuing coupon code APRIL15_SAVINGS, just apply the coupon when filing your taxes to save 50% on your taxes next year!
@OnionSoup That was a one-day code 16 days ago.
Oh shit! I KNEW I forgot something!