Did you file your taxes yet?

[ice grillin you]

im on it....

[Susquehanna Birder]

Pennsylvania lets you file via the web (and has for the past couple of years). It's pretty easy, and quite a welcome change to the dumb paperwork. The PA tax code is much simpler than the federal one, though.

[MURP]

roundtrip from DC or Philly to New Orleans runs about $150 round trip on Southwest Airlines

that may be true but i dont know a single person who went that paid under 220


so what your saying is that you have such little will power that you have decided to pay the IRS more in tax money so you dont go and spend that money at the pub instead?

thats EXACTLY what im saying (and/or im an alcoholic)

but the thing is i already put mad money in my govt tsp (401k equivalent) and into my own ira and roth ira...plus x amount of dollars into my bank savings account each month...in other words my savings/investments are well taken care of...everything after that is spending money to me...and the less spending money i have coming home each week the less money ill spend

plus i like the feeling of getting a huge chunk of change the same time every eyar to pay for my eagle tix and my big vacation i take every year

to answer your next question as to why dont i just up the amount im putting into my investments each yeah and pay less in taxes?

because i dont want to

Hey to each his own.   You are just the first person I've heard say that they dont want to make more money and would rather have the government take your profits.   Just a last thought from me...  you say you have x amount of your money going to bank savings each month.  You could set up an automatic withdraw program with a bank or a no load mutual fund that would automatically take that money you were going to give to the IRS and instead deposit it in your bank or fund.  That way you would collect the interest on the money and at the same time it wouldnt be sitting there for you to spend at the bar.    anyway, enough on the subject for me.  I just wanted to throw that out there in case you were not aware of your options.

[General_Failure]

Nope. My shtein is easy though. I do the eFile on the IRS site and don't pay a lick

my girl is a programmer for the irs and writes a lot of the programs that efile uses

Your girl cost me a job, and I'm gonna beat her up.

[MURP]

 

[mussa]

Do you file quarterly?

No, I did not the past two years, so thats why I am still paying. My own dumb fault.  I'm setting up separate accounts this year to help keep this under control. In theory it will be under control.  Its tough when you don't get a weekly or even bi-weekly paycheck.

[Beermonkey]

One of dads of a kid I coached in soccer is a CPA & has been doing our taxes for the past 5 years & only charges me $70. As our returns have been getting more & more complex each year, it's more than worth it to pay someone to do all the work.

[Rome]

Do you file quarterly?

I send nothing to those corksuckers.  They get the whole wad on April 15th.  I've had to pay interest and fines before but  the money I made by not sending them their dough more than made up for the fines I've paid.

farg the U.S. Treasury.  The way the U.S. Govt. mismanages my money, they can choke on every last penny I send them.

[Feva]

Still waiting on my W2... my sorry ass company always waits 'til the last week of January to get them out.  Should be here any day now.  When it does get here... TurboTax it is.  It's the shtein.

[Philly_Crew]

This year was year I went to Jackson Hewitt, they charged me a little over $100 with a "military discount".  The only reason I went to them was I was having trouble with my loan repayment program.  Turns out it is taxable income and it hadn't yet been taxed.  So instead of getting the $1800 I thought I was getting back, I only will be getting $438. 

Does anybody know the status of military personel as it relates to taxes in PA? My uncle said he was never charged state taxes his entire time in and he just got out, they have however been charging me the entire time. 

Turbo tax is free for the military.  When I get the link at Guard, I will IM you.  Also, for the military it is possible to establish your residence by opening a PO Box in a no income tax state (such as Florida or New Hampshire).  Establish that as your residence and you won't pay PA taxes.

Also, when it comes time to prepare and file your 2006 tax return, make sure you don't overlook the federal excise tax refund credit. You claim the credit on line 71 of your form 1040. A similar line will be available if you file the short form 1040A.

What is this all about? Well the federal excise tax has been charged to you on your phone bill for years. It is an old tax that was assessed on your toll calls based on how far the call was being made and how much time you talked on that call.

The IRS has now conceded this is obsolete. Phone companies have been given notice to stop assessing the federal excise tax as of Aug 30, 2006.  You will most likely see the tax on your September cutoff statement, but it should NOT be on your October bill.

But the challengers of the old law also demanded restitution. So the IRS has announced that a one time credit will be available when you and I file our 2006 tax return as I explained above. However, the IRS also established limits on how BIG a credit you can get. Here's how it works.

If you file your return as a single person with just you as a dependent, you get to claim a $30 credit on line 71 of your 1040.

If you file with a child or a parent as your dependent, you claim $40.

If you file your return as a married couple with no children, you claim $40.

If you file as married with children, you claim $50 if one child, $60 if two children.

If IGY, you pay it and thank God you live in a country with some many benefits for its citizens and don't claim it.

In all cases, the most you get to claim is $60.

One final point - this credit is a refundable credit. That means you get this money, no matter how your tax return works out. If you would end up owing the IRS a balance, the refund will reduce that balance you owe. If you end up getting a refund, the credit will be added and you get a bigger refund by that $30 to $60, depending on how many dependents are on your return.

[Philly_Crew]

If you're like me and try to file your tax return as soon as possible you might want to wait a little while this year. I was listening  to some financial shows on NPR and local radio and both sources commented that last year our outgoing congress passed several new tax amendment/changes before they departed, but this was done after the majority of the tax software used buy tax prepares and yourself was released. To catch up with the new changes tax software companies are having to rewrite or upgrade their programs to reflect theses changes and the new/amended programs should not be available until mid February or later.

The long and short of it is, if you e-file like me you might not be getting all the refund you are due if you file too early this year. And if you use a tax preparer you might want to ask them about this.

I am a nerd of FFPat proportions.

[Wingspan]

If you're like me and try to file your tax return as soon as possible you might want to wait a little while this year. I was listening  to some financial shows on NPR and local radio and both sources commented that last year our outgoing congress passed several new tax amendment/changes before they departed, but this was done after the majority of the tax software used buy tax prepares and yourself was released. To catch up with the new changes tax software companies are having to rewrite or upgrade their programs to reflect theses changes and the new/amended programs should not be available until mid February or later.

The long and short of it is, if you e-file like me you might not be getting all the refund you are due if you file too early this year. And if you use a tax preparer you might want to ask them about this.

I am a nerd of FFPat proportions.

That happens almost every year, which is #1 reason why I wait now, and use a person, instead of the software package.

Wasnt a big deal before I was married, with a house. Just me being a single schlub in a 1 BR apartment, it was only a difference in a few $'s. Now having someone look at everything can mean the difference between a week in the Carribean or a week in Europe.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

The long and short of it is, if you e-file like me you might not be getting all the refund you are due if you file too early this year.

I am a nerd of FFPat proportions.

Yeah, because a Congress suddenly controlled by the left will definitely throw some quick laws in there to give you more money back on your taxes.  Definitely.

You can only hope to be as big a nerd as me, but you obviously are more organized about your tax knowledge.

BTW, TurboTax has the excise tax as a question in their normal program.  The only way you can avoid claiming it if you use TurboTax is if you choose not to or claim you aren't eligible.

[PhillyPhreak54]

Drunkmaster,

Texas is a state-tax free state. At least it was when I was down there. Establsh residence there and you're good.

[Susquehanna Birder]

Yeah, because a Congress suddenly controlled by the left will definitely throw some quick laws in there to give you more money back on your taxes.  Definitely.