I like to write in detail. I hope you like to read in detail, LOL!
It's been a bad several days. I thought I had struggled through my tax form software and gotten Federal and State forms printed out to mail. But a couple of the questions and even how to mail them bothered Saturday.
I'll dispose of the mailing issue first; it's just less complicated. I had more sheets of paper to send than would fit in a legal size envelope, so I would have to actually GO TO the Post Office with a large flat envelope to have them tell me the postage. I know what the lines are like there on Tax Day and would do almost anything to avoid it. I eventually resolved that, but I'll tell you at the end. But the immediate concern was that I tried e-filing the tax form earlier today (Sunday).
The 2 items in the tax form itself were the US Stimulus checks and the credit for the car donation I made last year. I found a deposit for the 1st check, but not a 2nd one. I checked all my bank statements for 2020. Either the Govt didn't send me the 2nd one, someone took it out of my mailbox, or I didn't recognize it as legitimate (they warned later it arrives as non-govt mail). But I was worried about the consequences of not reporting it.
Saturday I saw a report on TV reminding tax-filers that the stimulus checks are non-taxable, so I stopped worrying about whether I reported the 2nd one or not.
The worse part was the car donation tax form. I had assumed that a 15 year old car wasn't worth much even with only 30K miles on it. So I donated it. I should have checked at the time. When I checked a standard professional estimation site last week, I found that this year it would have been worth $7249 (so surely would have been worth more last year when I donated it). And Carmax offerred to buy it for $8800 (of course it was long gone).
So I entered the $7249 on specific donations form. I got a receipt from the charity organization. It had the vehicle make/model, VIN, date, and a signature on a form naming the charity. What else could I need? Well, apparently an appraisal document and a tax form from the charity...
I donated a previous car to the same charity, and I didn't need that then. So that part was missing from my tax documents. Being that I was using tax preparation software, I assume any question it doesn't ask is not applicable or necessary. And the tax software "accuracy review" found no issues when I printed out the forms to mail.
That's where the mailing issue resurfaced. Not willing to stand in line at the Post Office for an hour or more, I decided to e-file. Which meant I would have to pay a "convenience fee" to use a 3rd party for a credit card payment but it seemed worth it. It used to be $20, but it is down to $2.95 for a $6 payment, so OK. I'll gladly pay $3 to not stand in line for an hour!
Guess what? The tax software that happily allowed me to print out the forms with a missing donation appraisal form said the IRS would not accept an e-filing without that form. So instead of standing in line at the Post Office, I spent 3 hours trying to provide the required information on the form or get it elsewhere.
If I mail my tax forms, I can include explanations for missing information. E-filing does not permit that. E-filing is only for "perfect forms". If I mail it, they have to receive it and read everything. If I e-file, their computer can "just say no".
So I was really in a situation. Tomorrow is the filing deadline. So I could stand in line mailing printed forms with 1 incomplete or file for an extension. All my numbers on the tax forms are accurate; I am WAY too honest (and scared of the IRS) to lie about anything.
If I mail the forms (all with accurate numbers) all they can do is tell me I need to complete one specific form more properly, and I can contact the charity for that.
So I went to the US Post Office website and found the most accurate estimate of the mailing cost. $1.50, so I added a couple more stamps for safety and put it in the mailbox. My $6 check is in there. The IRS can't say I didn't pay (my total taxes were rather higher; the $6 was just the additional amount owed).
Done, finished, will be picked up Monday. I tossed the Sate tax forms in the mailbox too. It is based on the Federal tax form, so no reason to wait. At least THEY owe ME money.
I may never donate a car to a charity again. The IRS makes it altogether too annoying at tax time.
A weight off my back... Now I can get back to the cats and garden.
