Tax Forms and Tax Laws

[DJD]

They Sukk major butt! Gives me a dang headache dealing with this crap!!! Why can't it be simple???

[Tyme2fish]

I've been using TurboTax for years. They ask the questions and you plug in the information. Very user friendly.

The main reason I use it is that it imports all my data from Merrill Lynch so I don't have to "plug" those numbers in. Long term,shortterm,date of purchase,etc. That alone saves me a bunch of time and worry that I missed something.

[RoadToad]

Ditto on TurboTax. It rocks, especially once you've used it for multiple years, because it'll import data from last year's return so that anything that hasn't changed you don't have to re-enter.

[HURRICANEBOB]

They Sukk major butt! Gives me a dang headache dealing with this crap!!! Why can't it be simple???

I agree it should be and I think can be. And how come the state tax forms are easier than the feds? Is it because the states have less funding for people to recieve and process the forms, and so therefore make the forms easier?

[eddie_m]

Don't get me started. I'm a CPA and I HATE taxes. 80% of Americans pay someone or a some software company for help with their taxes. Any moron can see that the tax code is too confusing. WAKE UP, politicians!

Now that I'm out of public practice, I volunteer doing taxes for free as part of this VITA program (volunteer income tax assistance). Many of the large tax companies, prey upon poor people by charging higher amounts to complete some forms than others. In other words, schedule B, the interest and dividend form, may take five minutes to complete and "cost" $20, while Schedule EIC, the earned income checklist (yes, Geo, it's not a refund, it's welfare), takes about 30 seconds to complete but "costs" $150. It's common for some of the large tax companies to charge $300-$350 to do the return of someone who makes less than $20,000 per year. I may sound like a liberal, but I don't think it's right to take advantage of folks because you think the poor must be stupid.

In Louisville, we do returns for those making $49,000 or less for free. Look us up at labcservices.org. If you're not in Louisville, do a search for VITA and you'll probably find it. There are over 2,000 sites nationwide.

[MsgMills]

Been using turo tax since it came out..never had any problems using it.....

Got audited by the state once and when i gave them all my receipts for charity work that I didn't fully deduct..I got another refund in the mail from them. Haven't been bothered by another audit since......

[GeoFisher]

Taxes is probably the single most complicated MESS I deal with.

Just yesterday I got a letter in the mail that my homestead exemption is in question in Indiana. I've lived in the same house for 15 years, have not changed anything, pay my taxes on TIME, etc, etc.

NOW I have to go downtown, take some time off, and handle some poo form due to someones incompetence in government.

GOTTA LOVE IT.

How about we eliminate Income tax, gas tax, sales tax...........all the other poo taxes, and replace them with a single VAT or usage tax..........the reason we don't is because if you added up all the TAXES we pay on poo that are hidden, the amount would probably be something like 35 or 40 percent.........

[know1]

I'd love to have a consumption tax instead of the mess we have now.

I'm getting ready to write a check to the government this week for $3K. Not much fun when you're unemployed.

I like turbo tax as well, but last year I used an accountant and she saved me more than the cost of her fees.

[GeoFisher]

Edits noted.......I will try better..................

[HURRICANEBOB]

I think next year to do taxes I'll use "TURBO-LIGHTER".

[DJD]

I'd love to have a consumption tax instead of the mess we have now.

I'm getting ready to write a check to the government this week for $3K. Not much fun when you're unemployed.

I like turbo tax as well, but last year I used an accountant and she saved me more than the cost of her fees.

Yikes that does hurt! I wrote a check as well but just a few hundred bucks. Putting comma's on my check hurts my feelings.

[GeoFisher]

Yikes that does hurt! I wrote a check as well but just a few hundred bucks. Putting comma's on my check hurts my feelings.

Yea, me too.......pretty much no mortgage exemption and both kids are 18 yrs old this year.

I'd like to qualify for something for a tax break.....I guess I will have to try to sock more away to lower my taxable income.

I also don't qualify for GSL's for my kids or any of the new Obama exemptions for college........gotta LOVE THAT.

Oh well.....according to Obama, I'm RICH, and don't need a break......I pay more in taxes this year, than I made the first year I worked.......THAT *****.

Later,

Geo