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Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2019 6:21 pm
by killbot737
I upped my 401k contribution after I paid off the house last year, my AGI this time is actually lower than when I had the mortgage (and interest) the year before. That evened out against my investment debits so I pretty much came out the same as last year, owing state and fed combined about $200. Not bad at all.

Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2019 7:00 pm
by Kraken
I got my corporate return back today and discovered that my already-expensive CPA jacked his fee by $50. With Curio City now gone and Blue Hills far, far simpler, I need to find a new and cheaper CPA or persuade him to cut his fee in half. I don't think I'll ever be able to file the corporate taxes myself. If anyone can recommend a good CPA for a reasonable price I would appreciate a referral.

For our personal return, I've filled out his questionnaire and am ready to hand it off to Wife, who just laughed when I asked her when she could do her part. I got her to commit to the end of February, but I suspect that her fingers were crossed. I'm sure it will come down to the wire as it always does.

Her teaching jobs both underwithheld by large amounts and her day job underwithheld by a lesser amount, so I expect to get reamed. On the plus side, I'll find out if we can still itemize because our medical expenses hit a record high last year. If we end up taking the standard deduction in spite of that, I'll be doing my own taxes again from here on out. Running all of her 1099 income through Kraken Enterprises will simplify things a lot.

Anyway, I'm bracing for a huge tax bill in April. If we owe less than $4,000, it will mean that we really did receive a tax cut.

Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2019 4:41 pm
by LordMortis
Still waiting on the last of my forms.

I got an email from TurboTax informing their online rates are about to go up, so I'm annoyed and when I get annoyed I do research. So they force me in to premier and then charge extra state and then extra to file for state, where they bury these prices. Depending on which route I take to get to my account it could cost anywhere from $130 to $180. Come March 1st it will be between $140 to $180. As it turns out Michigan charges nothing to file taxes, so the $40 turned to $80 to file state is something they could put in the price up front and don't and the difference between free filing and crazy expensive is one Schedule K form. Then I come to find out, if I buy a DVD for TT I can get premier from Amazon for $70 with state included, but you really have to dig deep on on TTs site to find out you still need to spend $40 for a state efile. Even then it's $110 with no early bird penalty vs $130 to $180 depending on how you sign up for using the online service.

The Michigan Treasure department also informs me I can do my taxes for free according to the state of Michigan with no restrictions on income or forms through Credit Karma.

Anyone here use Credit Karma to do their taxes? Reviews? Opinions? Do they allow me to fill out a schedule K (or really three identical schedule Ks for reasons I don't understand)

https://help.creditkarma.com/hc/en-us/a ... -Karma-Tax

https://help.creditkarma.com/hc/en-us/a ... ot-support

Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2019 5:11 pm
by coopasonic
LordMortis wrote: Thu Feb 21, 2019 4:41 pm Depending on which route I take to get to my account it could cost anywhere from $130 to $180. Come March 1st it will be between $140 to $180.
That's in the neighborhood of what we pay a professional accountant for preparing and filing our fairly complex joint Federal return.

Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2019 5:35 pm
by LordMortis
I think about paying a pro but I have no frame of reference for this and I fear change. My taxes should be simple and should only require a few forms. TurboTax is just out of cost control for my purposes and inertia will likely be defeated this year one way or another.

Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2019 6:18 pm
by Exodor
Went through the initial steps in Turbo Tax last week. As expected it makes more sense for me to take the standard deduction - before the Trump overhaul I always itemized thanks to the mortgage interest deduction and some charitable giving. Looks like I'll get ~$500 back from the feds - and owe the state of Oregon ~$1000.

:doh:

Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2019 7:48 pm
by Lassr
I use H&R block Deluxe w/ state software. I don't like it as much as I liked Turbo Tax but my taxes are not overly complicated (standard deduction and college student credit on Fed and itemized on State) Amazon always runs a sale on the SW. I got it for $18 this year, free federal filing and $19.95 for state filing. Turbo Tax got really expensive a few years ago so I switched.

My taxes came out about the same as last year. A modest refund from Fed & State.

Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2019 7:53 pm
by Kraken
Wife is theoretically doing her part of taxes this weekend, if she doesn't weasel out of it. Then we can send them to the CPA with some hope of getting them back by 4/17.

I really need to find a new CPA. We pay this guy way too much and our returns aren't as complex as they used to be. Now that all of Wife's former 1099 income is being filtered through Kraken Enterprises, our personal return will almost surely use the standard deduction. I could do that myself. Still need someone to do the corporate return, though.

Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2019 1:58 pm
by stessier
Officially filed today. Effective tax rate is -0.99% (due to electric vehicle). Thank you all for you contributions. :)

Comparing last year to this year without the car, I would have gotten back $250 more from federal and $81 more from state. I did not make any changes to our W4s and earned marginally more this year than last.

Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2019 2:10 pm
by RunningMn9
My effective tax rate went up about 2% due to getting jobbed on the SALT deduction limitation.

Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2019 3:50 pm
by Kraken
Today was supposed to be Wife's tax day. As of this morning she had backed her commitment down to "starting" them. As of this afternoon, I doubt that she will. Grading papers has a harder deadline and therefore legitimately takes priority.

If I can't send our package to the CPA by 3/1, odds are against having them finished before 4/17. At least the IRS isn't assessing late payment penalties this year.

Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2019 10:33 am
by LordMortis
Tried using CreditKarma this weekend. They said I need to either unfreeze my credit with Transunion or provide my DL Number. I figured DL was easier. So they said download an ap to my smart phone, take picture of my DL and upload it. No smartphone. So they said send a picture by snail mail. So I try to go back to see if thawing Transunion was worth it and I can't go backwards. My only option is not DL by snail mail.

So then I go HR Block to see pricing. HR Block won't let me off their "free to file" page to check pricing and then I spend all my time googling tax package pricing through third parties one of which actually gets a backdoor in to HR Block pricing and feature page. None of the packages list Schedule K for partnerships, though third parties suggest the form is in Premier.

Turbo Tax is likely to win the war of inertia again this year. HR Block's premier package is likely what I need but they've already annoyed me enough that saving what amounts to $15 while having hand key too much after having to do end arounds to get an idea of where I am at doesn't excite me.

I should just bite the losses and get rid of my K1 based stock and have easier taxes for 2020 (as 2019 is already a year I am still holding the stupid security)

Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2019 12:36 am
by Papa Smurph
I'm not completely done with my taxes yet, but it's not looking good. Last year: owed about 1,500. This year, will owe somewhere around 5,500. Yay for the tax break!

This big reason seems to be the removal of personal exemptions. Last years deductions: about 39,000. This year: the standard 24,000. And since one kid is in college, I only get on child deduction (doesn't count if child is over 17, so only my child still in high school counts). But, I get the American Opportunity Credit for the child in college right? Nope, I don't qualify.

On top of which my wife's job (started at beginning of the year) withheld state taxes for the WRONG STATE. So, I get to file a tax form for that state asking for my money back. Meanwhile, I have to pay my actual state the difference.

Man, taxes were much simpler (and cheaper!) before the Republicans forced through their poorly thought out tax reform. On the good new front, the rich are paying a lot less taxes!

P.S. No, this increase is NOT because they are withholding less. I mean, they withheld about $200 less this year than last. That doesn't make up for a $4,000 increased tax bill, just saying.

Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2019 12:48 am
by Isgrimnur
So would you say that you are in a blue state?

Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2019 2:35 am
by Kraken
There are no red Smurfs.

Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2019 9:30 am
by Papa Smurph
I am kinda blue, with red clothes, wishing I had more green (I am a bit green with envy at some of your reports). That is black and white. And blue.

Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2019 10:52 am
by Isgrimnur
Kraken wrote: Mon Mar 04, 2019 2:35 am There are no red Smurfs.
Image

Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2019 1:13 am
by Jaymann
This is my last year of a decent refund ($650 state and $2,850 fed) but only because I got a $7,500 one time credit from my Tesla purchase. Uber doesn't withhold anything, so I will need to do some estimated payments this year so I don't end up owing next year.

Edited to add: The electric car purchase credit is only good up to your tax liability, no payment if it exceeds that, so this was a good year to owe some taxes.

Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2019 10:07 am
by LordMortis
I thought reports were that taxes return refunds were going to go out slow this year. My federal refund took all of 8 days to come through, which includes the day it sat in limbo waiting to be accepted.

No word on state but my state refund will pretty much just cover the cost of filing a state return.

Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2019 10:20 am
by stessier
I got my state return today. Still waiting on Federal. This is day 10.

Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2019 8:38 pm
by Laura
I finished my taxes yesterday and will be paying more, but we had more income. I was surprised on the 401K RMD part that a question was asked if we had a qualified disaster distribution. I answered no, but the next two questions were about what kind of disaster and how were we going to repay the distribution. I went to Google and the Turbotax Community had an answer--just skip the questions. This seems sloppy of Turbotax. There was also a question about business expense. I said we didn't have any and the next page asked what kind it was. I jumped to the standard deduction. I've used Turbotax for 20 years and hope they do better next year.

Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2019 12:55 am
by Punisher
Just some overall history for me..

Back in the 90's my wife and I (we married in 1990) used the CPA her parents had used since forever... We used this CPA for years and generally got about 500-700 back from fed each year and 15-50 from NJ. We were also charged about $300 for it each year
One year I decided to just go to H&R block and talk to them. For everything we needed, they only charged $150 at the time. My wife was deathly afraid of changing this, but I figured it might be worth a shot just to see what happens.. We ended up getting back around $2400 from fed and $150 from state. I was both ecstatic and deathly afraid.. I decided to stick it out and pay the extra $25 for their Peace of Mind program. Basically they backed you if you were audited and if there was a mistake on their part, they would cover it. I think there was a limit of $100,000, but there was no way in hell the IRS would owe me that much nor I would owe them. We filed and got the check. no issues at all. I was shocked and realized that by going to the CPA, we were losing thousands of dollars each year. I checked my past Tax forms and other than minor differences to account for our minor raises over the years, the input numbers were pretty much the same. We used them for years.. Then one year while working for Staples, employees were eligible for huge employee discounts on H&R Block software. I think the Standard was free and the one I needed was $20 (compared to about $50 for the retail. I decided to do a test. I went to their office as usual and filed through them, then bought the software and tried it on my own. The end results, while not identical (I think mine was short by about $25 vs what the office came up with.) At this point the office was around $200. Since one time could have been a fluke I did the same thing the next year (no big H&R Block software discount, just my normal 10% employee discount). Again, the numbers were not far off and the small difference in loss was far below the cost of the office visit. I attribute it to them knowing more than me and knowing places they could safely play the system whereas I went with better safe than sorry and if the IRS ended up having to pay me less than I was entitled too, they probably wouldn't say anything about it. Every year after that, I started using the software and doing it myself. I haven't used it in years, but I think they still have free tax support you can call. Not tech support mind you, an actual tax preparer you can contact to go over your form for questions you have (They dont go over the whole thing, but they will answer tax questions)

TLDR. It might not be a bad idea to get the software after your CPA does your taxes and without using their forms at all, do your own taxes on the H&R Block software, then compare the two when done. You may find out that you CAN do your own taxes. Maybe test it two or more years in a row until you are satisfied you can do it (or realize you cant)

Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2019 2:36 am
by Laura
I checked all around when I got this year's Tubotax, but I couldn't find any number for tax assistance. If anyone knows better, let me know. I have used it in the past and they can be very helpful. Once when I had a problem, they had me install Team Viewer and took me through many pages to get me back where I needed to be. I was pretty lost without that help. Their Community is a great help too, but not like having a person to talk to.

Edit.... I did some searching and could find no number (except for tech support) in the pamphlet with the DVD or with any information by Turbotax online. I did find a number by a third party that makes it look like they still give tax assistance over the phone. They will even call you back rather than waiting. I assume the info is good and not outdated.

Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2019 2:53 am
by Punisher
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/18992 ... one-number
https://turbotax.intuit.com/lp/ty18/ppc ... lsrc=aw.ds

One of these might help. The first one gives a phone number at the bottom, but I tell if its for tech support or tax support, either way they should be able to point you in the right direction.

The second link definitely looks like tax assistance, but it also looks like you have to pay for it. Not sure if that is the cost of the software or in additional to the cost of the software.

Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2019 2:56 am
by Laura
Looks like the first link should work since it is dated. Thanks.

Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2019 3:05 am
by Kraken
This is going to be the last year I pay our CPA to do our personal taxes. I'm running Wife's non-W2 income through my corporation now. Our return will get a lot easier when there's no more 1099 income.

Still gonna need a pro to do my corporate returns, and I really need to find someone a lot cheaper than the guy who's done it for the past 13 years. The Blue Hills taxes will be much easier to figure than the Curio City taxes were.

Wife is doing her part on Saturday, so I can finally get our stuff to the CPA on Monday.

Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Fri Mar 08, 2019 5:30 pm
by Scuzz
LordMortis wrote: Wed Mar 06, 2019 10:07 am I thought reports were that taxes return refunds were going to go out slow this year. My federal refund took all of 8 days to come through, which includes the day it sat in limbo waiting to be accepted.

No word on state but my state refund will pretty much just cover the cost of filing a state return.
Electronic filing should be as normal, unless there is a mistake at which point the refund will be delayed. Mailing in your return could be slower than normal do to the back log of work.

PS.....I work seasonally for an agency that goes by three initials.

Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 1:18 am
by Zarathud
Oh my.

:)

Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 8:39 am
by Punisher
Scuzz wrote: Fri Mar 08, 2019 5:30 pm Electronic filing should be as normal, unless there is a mistake at which point the refund will be delayed. Mailing in your return could be slower than normal do to the back log of work.
PS.....I work seasonally for an agency that goes by three initials.
Based on your profile pic.. MLB?

Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 8:42 am
by em2nought
My taxes should be simple for the first year in quite awhile, I'll procrastinate anyway. :roll:

Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 10:09 am
by Smoove_B
Just heard back from my accountant and for the first time in about a decade, I'm actually seeing a tax refund (~$500) from the federal government. Of course, I still owe the state of NJ about $150 (which is absurd) so I'm right where I want to be. I don't attribute the change to any adjustments in the federal tax code either. Last year we dialed in more adjustments to my wife's withholding amount and I also voluntarily added additional deductions to my own paycheck to help. It would appear the voodoo finally worked. Of course for 2019 it's going to be wonky again because I lost a job contract, but by all accounts it seems like maybe we're finally on the right side of the equation now.

Still, f taxes.

Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 1:14 pm
by pr0ner
I did my first pass of my taxes today, and the best news of all is that I lost almost $7k in deductions I would have gotten last year!

Will have to do some extra number crunching when I review my final return to see how much the tax law changes really affected how much I paid in taxes in 2018 vs. what I would have paid under 2017's laws.

Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2019 2:17 pm
by Cylus Maxii
Sent off all my docs to the accountant today. Wish me luck!

Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2019 6:05 pm
by Zarathud
Less than $200 refund from the IRS, and owe the State of Illinois at least $200. While that's a wash, I usually receive a federal refund of $4-$5,000 and even out with Illinois.

Lost $17,000 of federal deductions for 2018. The cap on state and local deductions alone eliminated $8,000 of deductions and pushed me into the standard deduction. No personal exemption this year. While my effective tax rate fell by 1%, I'm reporting a LOT more income from the changes. I'll bet my refund that Trump will make as his talking point that "most people are reporting so much more in income in 2018."

Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2019 8:25 pm
by Isgrimnur
$68 refund, $64 to e-file.

Effective Tax Rate
2018 - 11.31%
2017 - 10.16%
2016 - 10.33%
2015 - 11.65%
2014 - 11.03%
2013 - 13.47%
2012 - 15.81%
2011 - 13.10%
2010 - 12.85%
2009 - 12.87%
2008 - 12.35%
2007 - 9.82%
2006 - 9.42%
2005 - 10.66%

Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2019 8:50 pm
by LordMortis
Zarathud wrote: Sun Mar 10, 2019 6:05 pm Less than $200 refund from the IRS, and owe the State of Illinois at least $200. While that's a wash, I usually receive a federal refund of $4-$5,000 and even out with Illinois.

Lost $17,000 of federal deductions for 2018. The cap on state and local deductions alone eliminated $8,000 of deductions and pushed me into the standard deduction. No personal exemption this year. While my effective tax rate fell by 1%, I'm reporting a LOT more income from the changes. I'll bet my refund that Trump will make as his talking point that "most people are reporting so much more in income in 2018."
He tried to fix it but you voted Democrats into the house and ruined your taxes. That and you are in blue state so you don't matter anyway.

Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2019 10:28 pm
by Kraken
Wife just announced that she has finished doing her part, so I can finally mail it off to the CPA tomorrow. I expect to owe a lot, and the IRS has waived penalties for underpayment this year, so I'm not in a rush to file. But I do need to find out if the damage is as bad as I fear before I can plan any summer expenditures (home repairs and a vacation, I hope).

Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2019 1:44 pm
by stessier
stessier wrote: Wed Mar 06, 2019 10:20 am I got my state return today. Still waiting on Federal. This is day 10.
Got my federal return yesterday - so looks like 18 days.

Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2019 5:04 pm
by coopasonic
Our paperwork went to the accountant on Tuesday. Hopefully I will have an idea how much trouble I am in in a couple of weeks.

Re: Taxes are done!

Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 4:39 pm
by Jaymann
Got my fed refund today (state was a week ago) so 17 days since electronic filing.