Taxes

I filed for a tax filing extension back in April.   My H&R Block software did my Federal return, but the State software kept saying "network connection not found".  I couldn't solve that.  And there was no way I was going to call the H&R Help Center 2 days before the April filing deadline!

So I filed for an extension and sent the IRS $5,000 to cover possible extra tax required.  Every month after, I tried to solve the "network connection lost" problem.  It was baffling.  But by early September, I could put it off any longer and I decided it was safe to call the H&R Block Help Center without being on a 2 hour waiting list.

An agent come online in about 20 minutes later.  The agent said network problems were not really their problem.  I pointed out that the Federal return software did not show that problem, nor did I have that problem anywhere else.  I pointed out that we were both looking at my account over the internet, so there was obviously a "working network connection".

So she agreed there had to be an H&R Block problem.  After 20 minutes of trying various solutions, she said, why not try re-installing our software?  I was worried I would lose the Federal return.  She said that the Federal return was saved under a different name (which I knew but hadn't thought about) and that the re-installed software would know what file to look for.

So I did.  And the Federal return was still there and the State return form seemed suddenly perfectly happy with my network connection.  I thanked her and hung up.

So I proceeded with the State return.  This is where things get bad...

I won't go into details about my taxes, but I have stocks, bonds, and a Government Savings Account (called the TSP if you know what that is).  My stocks and bonds are all Index Funds and some portion of those have some foreign investments, which complicate things.  I have no control over the Index Fund investment choices.  Plus, the TSP requires that I withdraw a portion of my savings from it each year now that I'm older than 72.

I hadn't known that in 2023, so they forcibly sent me 2 checks since then.  I had included one on my Federal return, forgetting about the 2nd.  So I had to adjust my Federal return in the software.  Did that, and shut down for the night.

The next day, my Federal return was blank!  Nowhere to be found.  I have no idea why.  Even my backup program (Time Machine) is acting weird.  I tried to recover the Federal return using that, but failed.  Each time I open a date, it sends me back to "choose a date". 

ARGHHH!

If I was 50, I could probably solve this.  I think I have to just redo the Federal return.  Fortunately, I have all the previously-printed tax forms, so it won't be like starting from scratch.  And then I can do the State return.  I have until October 15, so I will sort out the 3 different versions of the Federal return (as I said, I found errors before I mailed them) tomorrow and go from there.

But I think this is my last year using tax software (unless the Govt provides a better one).  Next year, early March, I will just take all my forms to a tax-preparer and say "tell me what I owe" and have them file the returns!  

This has finally become just too hard!

Tax Day

 LOL@ me.  I meant the previous post to be a draft to be added to later.  It slipped past my noticing...  I guess I left it "scheduled" rather than "draft".

But I did my taxes yesterday.  It was miserable even with helpful software.  There are questions I don't truly understand, so I just do my best.  I probably make some mistakes.  But I bet I overpay rather than underpay.  I'll survive.  If I get audited, they will probably owe ME money.

The annoying thing is that my e-filing was rejected for the wrong PIN.  My taxes took 2 hours to do and trying to figure out the PIN error took 3.  I will probably never try to e-file again.

So I printed the damn forms out and will snail-mail them as usual.  I'll have to stand in line at the Post Office to get the proper postage and a receipt.  I'll get a few $100 back on the Federal and pay a few $100 to the State.  It balances out, so I don't really care very much.

But it sure could be simpler...  If H&R Block and other places can offer tax software that the Govt accepts as accurate, so could the Govt.  And it would be more official that way.  If they made a mistake in the software, it wouldn't be MY error.  Maybe that's why they don't.  😀

Tax Day

Damn, need to clear the computer desk for the tax day.   I hate doing it.  I get some slight money back, but it is always a pain.   The software sure helps. but I put it off as long as I can.  "Helps" doesn't make it easy... 

I bet the IRS knows exactly how much I owe.  Why can't they just tell me to send them that?  LOL!

Good, Bad

The bad news is that I had to struggle through my tax software with the old Mac Mini.  

The good news is that it still worked.

The bad news is that the taxes were hard as hell because I needed a statement from my Credit Union and my password wouldn't work.

The good news is that the Credit Union emailed me the statement.

The bad news is that it needed a paasword, too and in a pdf format my computer refused to open..

The good news is that I got it open in Preview "eventually".

The bad news is that I couldn't print the whole page full size (needed a magnifying glass to read the numbers).  

The good news is that the numbers were about right.

The bad news is that my inkjet printer decided to run out of ink.  

The good news is that I finally found the dedicated printer cable for the "new" color toner printer that has been sitting around for a year refusing to connect to the Mac Mini.

The good news is that it worked (after "many bad words" at the "add a printer app").  

The good news is that the toner printer printed out the Credit Union statement, full size.

The bad news is that it was so unexpected to work, I almost had a heart attack when it began to print.

The good news is that I completed and printed my tax forms.

The bad news is that I owe some additional taxes to Federal and State.

But in general?  More good than bad.  The color toner printer works great.  Loud, but who cares?  And my taxes are done.  I'll call that a "win".

More Random Stuff

Some good news:  My newest Mac Mini has mostly really tiny ports I am not familar with.  I looked them up, but I can't find the notes on what they are called.  Most of my stuff has USB plugs.

I bought a 4-multiplug device months ago, and it works but I needed 6 ports.  Hey, I discovered there were 2 more on the new keyboard!  I have "enough".  But I would rather plug stuff directly into the Mac Mini (seems  more direct).  But at least I don't have to keep switching the printer cord and camera cord.

The new keyboard is a bit weird.  It wants 2 ports.  It works on one port, but every few days it fails to communicate and I have to restart the computer.  The discovery of the extra ports on the keyboard means I can plug the 2nd keyboard plug in.  So far, no fails.

And I like the new keyboard (dasKeyboard).  The keys are slightly engraved, not stenciled, so they aren't wearing off like most have.  And there are the 2 USB ports.  It's black with white letters, which I prefer.  But it has an odd reflection that keeps making me think I have cat furs on my fingers.  Nothing is perfect, LOL!

I got my vegetable and flower seedlings outside several days ago to get them used to actual sunlight.  The area was dappled.  I carried the lettuce trays onto the deck for easy harvesting.  The seedlings stayed down for another day.  Later tomorrow, I will plant the tomatoes and peppers in full sun.  They will have had 3 days of partial direct sunlight.

Watered them thoroughly yesterday.  Had to change nozzles 3 times to find the most appropriate one for delicate lettuce leaves.  In fact, I went to a soaker nozzle for "next time".

The flower seedling need more growing time.  They look a bit weak.  A few days of dappled then full sunlight should improve them.  Besides, the place I want to put them has grass growing. so I need to dig that out or at least damage it a lot tomorrow. 

Every day my Federal tax form DOESN"T come back "insufficient postage" is good.  The State owes my a small amount, so I don't worry about that.  They don't penalize you about a refund.

The Mews are doing well.  Laz hardly bothers Ayla at all these days.  She is actually the hissy one.  And I don't worry about it.  Each of them lick foreheads mutually these days, so it can't be too bad.  Yeah, it took Laz a full year (nearly to the day) to " settle".  

A hiss is not the claw/tooth fight.  I'll accept a hiss.  Next challenge is the Tonkinese female kitten due for pickup in early August.  I so much hope The Mews accept her immediately.  Marley is definite, being so calm; Ayla has always gotten along "OK" with any female cat; Laz is so much calmer now and has 2 months more "calm" to experience.  It should be OK.

Yeah 4 cats is more than I expected.  Maybe I should have just gone with Marley and Ayla.  They like each other.  But Laz was a rescue.  Not the normal rescue.  But the breeder I've dealt with in the past DID literally reascue Laz from a bad home and was looking for a Forever Home.

I sure almost gave up on him a few times.  But on his Gotcha Day here, he changed rather suddenly.  Maybe memories fade or he finally realized it was a safe place.  Whatever.   Who knows with cats?  He is only 3.5 and I think mostly he just wants to play.  Laz an Marley wrassle happily and gently often.  So I think "now" he just wants to do that with Ayla.  

His attacks on her ended months ago.  Maybe it was status-seeking in his new home.  Ayla doesn't forget (and I don't blame her).  But lately, they meet, sniff noses, and lick foreheads.  I'll accept the peace as a good sign for the future.

My car made "hot metal noises" when I came back from shopping last week.  I noted there were drips under the car.  After it sat for a day, I opened the hood and set up a lamp under it.  I'm not a mechanic and Dad never taught me stuff about cars.  But I understand enough to know what basic parts are.

The stuff that dripped was water.  Yeah it could have been air-conditioning condensation except for all the hot metal.  So I checked all the fluids.  

Oil level was fine.  Windshield washer lever was low so I refilled it, but that stuff being low doesn't heat the engine.  The coolant reservoir was empty.  I opened the radiator cap (it was cold after a day).  It was filled.  So I added water.  Not coolant; I didn't have any.  But that should las a trip until I schedule maintenance work at the dealer.

You are going to laugh.  I bought the car in July 2020.  It has 500 miles on it now.  But you should have a maintenance visit after the 1st 500 miles and I was planning it for next week.  The manual said I should expect "greater than usual" oil usage, but it was the coolant that was low.  

I'll let the dealership figure that out.

Time to go to bed...

Tax Form Troubles

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.

Ah, Tax Day

 Aren't doing the taxes a thrill?  I'm glad there is software for that.  I wouldn't stand a CHANCE of getting it right otherwise.

I once read of a simplified tax plan:

1.  How much did you earn last year?

2.  How do you have left?

3.  Send item 2.

Actually, I'm not against taxes.  I pay them (and accurately as humanly possible) for several reasons.  First, the government does do many things of overall benefit.  Second, it's a civic duty.  Third, I'm scared to death of the Internal Revenue Service(IRS)!   I worked for the Federal Government, and they CAN be relentless down to the dime.

Soldiers, food inspectors, bridge inspectors, medical researchers, etc don't come free.  Just as in olden times, we must each pour some wheat into the granaries.  

I just wish it was fairer.  Some multibillion corporations and individuals paid less tax that I did this year.  And some people cheat!  Those ads on TV from companies promising to negotiate with the IRS irritate the heck out of me.  They encourage people to cheat on their taxes and pay "dime on a dollar" in settlement.

The tax software sure makes it easier though.  It just asks multiple choice questions and puts the answers in the right boxes.  I have some mutual fund stock investments and I don't have the slightest idea what some of the terms mean (how would I know what "foreign taxes" the index funds paid?  

My index fund used to send pages of data and I had to add up all the columns.  Now (finally) they total them.  And how would I know "qualified dividends" from "unqualified dividends"?  I also donated a car to a charity last year.  All sorts of details required about that.  The software organizes all that.  It is a relief to be told just "enter the number in box 3b of form 1099".

And it STILL took 3 hours!  Part of that was answering "no" to a lot of questions that didn't apply to me, and some took time to download my stock detail report.  There was a time that I could use the "EZ1040 form" (income, standard deduction, subtract the 2nd from the first, pay or get a refund), but stocks and dividends are worth it.

But it really should be easier.  I spent 2 hours proving I owed the Federal Government an additional $6.   I have to mail a check (credit card payment costs more than that). Had they just told me, I would have paid $20 for the advice!  I will get a refund from my State and that is nice.  They starting crediting senior age people (I am one) some income exclusion.  I'm getting $400 back.  Well, I used to owe some.  Not that I didn't pay the taxes; now just a bit less.

Well, I just glad it is over for another year...

Doing Income Taxes

I finally got around to doing my income tax forms today.  I had started in early April, but the software kept refusing completion.  Try as I might, I could not figure out why.  But knowing there was an extension, I dropped the matter intending to get back at it "in a few weeks".

Of course I didn't!  I my career, I was a natural self-starter and never needed a supervisor to ask "How is the X Project going".  And around the yard and house, I normally do stuff when needed on my own (like who else is there to tell me to do anything?).

But set a deadline on something I don't really want to do, and I will use all the time available to do things I think more pressing.  So here it is July 12th and taxes are due in 3 days, so I sat down to figure out what had bedeviled me in April.

I opened the existing Federal form and went through it step by step.  Everything seemed accurate.  This time, the software said a review found nothing wrong.  Well, that's because the software believes what you tell it.  I got to the end and realized it said my gross income was about $19,000.  Whoa, way wrong.

I managed (somehow) to miss the part about my retirement annuity!  No wonder the software was unhappy in April.  Why it wasn't bothered this time is beyond me.  But after I got all that part in, the results looked right and normal, and the software allowed me to complete the Federal and State forms, and print them out.

I owe, I owe, so off to the checkbook I go...

I need to increase my withholding slightly for both, but at least it isn't so much that I owe an underpayment penalty, but I think it was close.  My goal is to make it a tiny refund on both just so I don't have to bother writing a check to both. 

But I just HAD to tell you about the really silly mistake I made the back in April.  If you can't laugh at yourself, you have no right to laugh at others for any reason!

BTW, I did discover one sad fact.  I donated my old car to a charity a few days ago.  It turns out that, with new tax rules, the standard deduction is way more than my charitable giving.  Like by $12,200 (standard deduction) to $3000 (charitable giving) and the fair market deduction for the old car ($2,000?) isn't going to get me above THAT!  So the maybe $1500 I could have sold the car for is lost money. 

Well, in a financial sense, so is the $3,000 I gave to other causes, and I will treat it the same way.  Good deeds...  In fact, I think I will give more this year. 

At least my taxes are done for another 9 months!  And I don't mind them.  They (mostly) go to good purposes.

I'll add an image in slight jest, though...



And as long as I'm here and typing, I'll mention George Carlin about class and taxes.  He had one routine where he "explained it all".  Basically, the Upper Class doesn't do any work and runs off with all the money and doesn't pay taxes. The Middle Class pays all the taxes and does all the work.   The Poor are there to scare the heck out of the Middle Class.

Funny stuff, though I will say he ignored the unpleasant and hard work of the Poor.  No analogy is perfect...

OK, time to play with The Mews before dinnertime.  I wonder how Laz will react to wand toys and the Red Dot!

Tax Day

Today is Tax Day in the US.  Many people are shocked that they aren't receiving a big refund.  Well, the Trump tax law changes gave people slightly more money in their weekly paychecks withholding less.  So they get a smaller refund or owe more today.

Most of the tax law changes benefited the wealthiest among us.  By peculiar circumstances I actually owed slightly less.  But mostly, for the first time, my Federal and State taxes refund/owed came out close to nothing.  A few hundred to the State, a few hundred refund Federal.  I'm pleased with that.  It means I don't have to adjust my withholding.

But a whole lot of people are screaming mad about it because they depend on the Big Refund Check.  And I get it.  A lot of people who have trouble saving money use the Tax Refund as a sort of forced saving account.  I feel for them.

Trump and the Republicans thought that people would notice the increased paycheck net.  They were SO WRONG!  They don't understand that people who live paycheck to paycheck don't notice a $30 increase much because they spend it as fast as they earn it.  And mostly on legitimate things like food, shelter, credit card debt, and medicine.

I agree completely that the way to savings is to pay of existing credit card debt.  But when paying an extra $30 per month on a $20,000 credit card debt doesn't make much of a dent in the total bill, it is hard to see how a weekly increase helps.   I am personally fortunate to be debt-free; others aren't.

What most debt-ridden people WANT is a manageable (if forever) debt and a tax refund to splurge with.  That's not the way to managing debt, but it IS what most people do...

There HAS to be a better system for those folks...

Taxes

Three words...  Tax Preparation Day!

The good news is that with software, all the bewildering income, interest, dividend and State annuity exclusion (since I am now over 65) work for Federal and State taxes only took an hour, plus I filed both electronically this year.  There was a charge for State, but I even made a few bucks there since my credit card gives me 2% back.  LOL!

Ah, Tax Day

I don't mind Tax Day too much.  There's no avoiding it, my taxes have gotten more complicated over the years, and I procrastinate more, but tax software is SO much better than figuring out everything myself.

It used to be that it was so simple:
A.  How much did you earn last year.
B.  How much do you have left.
C.  Send B.

Ok, old joke, but it used to seem like that.

NOW, I get to fuss with deductions, donations, inheritances, death benefits, explanatory statements, foreign taxes, health benefit forms, energy-efficiency credits, etc.  Only God and H&R Block know what else.  There was probably a trans-fat tax in there somewhere.

Seriously, I just buy the software, answer all the questions, stare at the forms that print out, and hope for the best.  I hope I never get audited.  I try to be scrupulously honest, but sometimes I haven't the slightest idea what the forms are asking for!  The worst is looking at a document sent by some company saying "copy sent to the IRS" and trying to figure out where to enter it in the software.  For example, it took me 15 minutes to figure out that my share of Dad's  Civil Service "Death Benefit" was considered "income".  That is a sad of a way to get "income"!

But it beats the non-software way.  This year it only took 4 hours.  Mostly because I had so much leftover Dad stuff to donate, which lead me to donate a lot of MY unneeded stuff, both of which included new and used items.  The IRS does NOT like mixed categories of donations!

But, for better or worse, its done and the forms mailed...  Next year will be a lot easier; no leftover Dad stuff, no unused "my" stuff, no inherited stuff to declare.

One really cool thing I discovered is that Maryland excludes $29,000 of income when you turn 65!  THAT saved more than a few dollars in taxes...

And then there was the filing options.  I could pay the extra I owed to the Feds by credit card if I filed electronically, but there was an unspecified "convenience fee" to H&R Block for that.  Which apparently I couldn't learn until I went through giving them a lot of information first.  And I had a refund coming from MD, which I could get in a week electronically, but my bank has this weird thing where what is normally the routing number on your check ISN'T and I was worried about getting it wrong. 

So there I was putting everything in envelopes the old-fashioned way and wondering if I put enough stamps on the envelopes for the 6 pages of paper in them.  And I LAUGHED out loud (at myself)!  I was paying X $1000 in taxes in worried about an extra 42 cent stamp.

So I slapped on 2 extra stamps on each envelope and put them in the mailbox... 

DONE!

Taxes

Oh man, do I LOVE tax software!  Been using H&R Block a few years and I couldn't manage the damn forms without it.  Seriously, I'm intelligent enough to discuss several science subjects, gardening fertilizers with professionals, and the history of Europe.  But tax forms just baffle me. 

I can't tell a dividend from a capitalization or where a foreign stock byback goes.  Even donations can get tricky.  But the H&R software knows.  I love just "filling in the blanks" to the questions.  I don't know where that information is supposed to go!  But they do...

Took 10 minutes to download the software, 2 hours to answer the questions, and when I hit PRINT, out came all the nice pages, ready for mailing (and backups for saving)...

I reviewed it all of course.  Even I can tell if some number is "generally" right or wrong.  It all looks good. 

The whole process from start to finish was 2 hours.  Without the software, it would have been 2 DAYS!

Taxes

I am gonna say that H&R Block tax software is GREAT.  Others might be great too.  But H&R tells you what the next questions are going to be, them asks them.  Its pretty much impossible to get the questions wrong.  Geez, they even tell you on THIS form, put the number in 1A here and 1B there, etc. 

It only took an hour and a half and I had investments to include.  Adding up all the columns on the investment report (most of which have nothing to do with earnings) took 15 minutes.  Can you believe an investment company that basically sends you a printed spreadsheet and DOESNT have the sense to put totals at the bottom!  But I filed electronically so that saved some time.  That sure was better than standing in line at the PO for an hour...

Dadisms

The continuing voyage of Mark and Dad (and 3 cats) through the changing universe of ElderHeisenbergish uncertainty.  Stardate 2012.10.16...

SOCIAL SECURITY CARD - When getting Dad's 2011 Social Security payment tax document, I found a place to get replacement social security cards.  I lost mine years ago (lost wallet).  So I downloaded the form twice.  One for me and one for Dad.  I asked him (then) and he wanted a new one.  When I got around to filling out the form for Dad, I didn't have all the information.  I had no idea where Dad was born!  And it asked his parents' SSA numbers which I didn't have, plus needed Dad's birth certificate (which I couldn't find.  So I waited until we sat down to pay his next bill (that focuses his mind on documents).

We paid his FL house electric bill today (house still unsold because Dad WAY overvalues it) and I brought out the replacement SSA form.  He decided he didn't want a new one because his was "in great shape".

I challenged him to show it to me, because I hadn't seen one in his wallet.  I should know better...

He spent an hour fumbling through his wallet (stopping to shave for 15 minutes in the middle), and FINALLY came out with his Medicare card.  Well, it does have his SS# on it.  I went around and around with him about that NOT being his SS card.  He said it was the original SSA card and I pointed out that Medicare didn't exist when he was issued his SSA card!  Blank stare...

Eventually, he refused to sign the replacement card form and I shredded it (there was personal information I had filled out).  THEN, he says, "well, there are some other cards in my jewelry box".

Other cards?  After 5 months of asking about cards?  Argh.  Well, he went and brought them out.  Most were useless cards.  Old hunting license, golf club membership from 20 years ago,  etc, AND a beat-to-death SSA card.

So he said "see, I TOLD you I had it"!  This after insisting over and over that his Medicare card WAS his SSA card...  Well, at least we found it.  And it IS beaten all up and not very readable.  So he decided he could use a replacement after all (because I suggested that his beaten-up card was historical and should be saved while he used a replacement card for "everyday".

Now I have to find the replacement card form again because he REALLY wants one now...  LOL!  I'll do that happily...

2011 TAX FORMS - I've been struggling to get replacement forms for Dad's 2011 taxes (overdue as of yesterday).  I had sorted out ALL the documents he said he had months ago, found his tax preparer a while ago and contacted them about missing documents, and gotten a list of documents the tax folks still needed.  The problem was that Dad seems to have decided back in March that most documents were just "trash" and he stopped keeping them.

I value govt workers.  Thet do the best they are allowed to do.  I was one of them.  But I can see why some people don't like govt agencies.  I went NUTS trying to find how to get replacement 2011 tax forms for SSA and OPM annuity tax forms.  It took weeks.

When I needed the same from 2 banks and one investment firms, they emailed the documents to me the same day.

I don't want to blame the govt workers because they are constrained by laws passed by Congress to protect private information and businesses can just send it to anyone immediately*.  But the last documents I will get are govt ones.

Dad is convinced I am wasting time by not just using last year's numbers (which he also doesn't have because they seemed not worth keeping at the time),  He doesn't believe that false numbers are worse than no numbers.  He might be right; I doubt the IRS will throw a 90 year old guy in prison for filing taxes a month late, or even assign penalties (the tax preparers say penalties are also very unlikely given his age).

But he drives me nuts with the irrationality.  I know he isn't to blame.  I can see he is doing the best he can.  I bite my tongue a lot and sit patiently for an hour while he fusses through things most times.  OK, I invent excuses to leave the table (bathroom, mail, cats, laundry).


WHERE DAD LIVES - Dad has lived in 4 places in the past 32 years.  One is here, for 5 months.  The others are almost completely lost to him. Vague memories if specific facts are mentioned. 

There's more, but I'll save it.  This is getting too long...  And the one most lost to him is the immediately previous one.  If Dad went to assisted living (not that he will be any time soon) he would not recall living with me after about a month...

* All the businesses needed was an account number I could have gotten from a neighbor's trash and an old guy who claimed to be Dad on the telephone.  The govt agencies practically needed a life history and fingerprints.  Think about that when you complain about govt...

The "Project" We All Hate

Income Tax Preparation Day - Who loves it?  I could have done it earlier, but at least I didn't put it off to the very last day, like some people do.

I've used software for it the past 3 years.  It isn't really any faster, but it sure is EASIER!  And it saves money.  And writing!  The last is because I have to make an effort these days to write legibly.  The "easier" part is that the software imports all the basic data from the previous year's file (you do get to review and change it) AND you just answer "interview" type questions and the software puts the answers in the correct places on the tax form.  It also provides a lot of examples of the items to be included on each tax form line.

I especially like that the software does both Federal AND State forms (the Maryland tax form is worse than the Federal one).

Printing out the forms is wonderful.  I was able to print out all the backup forms and worksheets for my files, so everything is well-documented.

The "saving money" part is most appreciated.  The first year, I did the taxes by hand and then compared that to my software-provided return.  I saved about $600 with the software!  Not any sleazy tricks, just things I didn't understand or hadn't known about before.  I was very careful to research the savings the first year, but they were indeed legitimate.  Mostly, those were details of reportable stock and dividend exclusions.  I can discuss a lot of subjects knowledgeably, but financial terminology drives me crazy!

I have even learned (too late) about credits I could have applied in the past that I knew nothing about.

The "it isn't really any faster...  Actual preparation is faster, but it does take time to buy and download the software, save and print the forms and backup worksheets, and answer some of the questions you automatically know don't apply.  From start to finish, it took exactly 3 hours, 2 beers, and 1 pack of cigarettes.  About the same as "before software".  But so much easier.  And I am more confident the submission is valid and accurate.

The software cost $60 (Federal and State), but it was well worth it.  Next year, I'll try to remember to do it in March!  LOL!