Octopus Overlords

It took me 15 minutes and for that I should thank something I'm sure. Phew. Well good luck to all of you.

tjg_marantz wrote:It took me 15 minutes and for that I should thank something I'm sure. Phew. Well good luck to all of you.

Mine is relatively simple (I can get by using TurboTax Deluxe rather than the higher versions) and it took about 2 hours (not counting the time to get all the papers together - probably another hour because I'm easily distracted).

tjg_marantz wrote:It took me 15 minutes and for that I should thank something I'm sure. Phew. Well good luck to all of you.

I think it takes longer than that for my wife to get all the papers together... then we send them to the accountant because I have no damn clue.

It takes me about 15 minutes and then I hand the stuff off to an accountant. No longer being able to itemize makes things very simple. (Our mortgage payments are now low enough that there really is very little deductible there.)

So according to H&R Block online, my fisting this year is on the order of $7,000. My wife is urging me to try a tax guy, but I really don't think it's all that complicated.

Finished my wife's S Corporation return. I'm so happy to have 25% of her business which lost $22 this year and paid her no salary. The most she's made was $800 last year when she didn't reinvest in trying to expand. Sigh.

Getting back 2,500 from the state and 4,100 from the feds. Not too shabby.

I finished taxes for my wife and I a couple days ago...getting about $300 back on federal and $1800 back on state (CT).

I really wasn't sure how things were going to work out due to a lot of big changes in the past year... getting married, claiming two kids, and the first full year of paying mortgage interest and property taxes for the house that we built and moved into near the end of 2014. Fortunately, pulling my wife's income up into my tax bracket didn't put us into the red. I'm just glad that we don't owe this year.

Jeff V wrote:So according to H&R Block online, my fisting this year is on the order of $7,000. My wife is urging me to try a tax guy, but I really don't think it's all that complicated.

Yeah my fisting is in the ballpark of this too. I did consult briefly with an IRL H&R Block guy who did a quick review and while not confirming the exact amount (which would require paying for in-person tax preparation) did confirm that it did look like we would owe substantially. And yeah, it's not that complicated - I took our combined income and subtracted out deductions and whatnot and put that into the IRS progressive tax brackets, and out pops what the tax prep software says we owe.

It was a little tempting to pay for the in-person tax prep, but the 90%+ odds were that the only difference would be that we would owe an additional $150 - $200 in tax preparation fees.

We get to join the crowd. I got to play the part of Kraken's wife this year as MHS was taxed with getting this over the goal line this year (see what I did there?). And after we sent an extra $750 per month in prepayments above and beyond the maximizations we had set up with our employers (including 401k contribution and HSA on my part), we end up getting... two months of those prepayments back. Joy.

Don't be like me. I still don't even have my check in hand and I've been spending like drunken sailor. Clothes and video games and house odds and ends that are all too easy to ignore and splurging on eating out when I should be brown bagging on the cheap when I should just route that money directly into retirement. If I had the constitution for it anymore, I'd probably have gone bar happy too.

I need to get out of spendy mode and I probably won't until my checks actually arrive.

El Guapo wrote:
It was a little tempting to pay for the in-person tax prep, but the 90%+ odds were that the only difference would be that we would owe an additional $150 - $200 in tax preparation fees.

I just have to convince my wife...she has friends who have convinced her that tax preparers have magical cash-giving powers.

About the only possible thing that may be possible is to get more of the approximately $11,000 in tuition, books, and transportation costs for her LPN program deducted. The school did not issue her a tax form, which seems to indicate that they don't play nice with subsidy programs (she could not, for example, get a student loan for this place). There was a lifetime education credit that the software deemed she did qualify for, and while I haven't looked at the form yet to see how much that credit is for, it looks like it dropped the tax owed by around $2000. And this was something her fellow students claim their tax guy did for them. I'm skeptical that it's going to be worth $200, but it wouldn't be the first, last, or most costly "I told you so."

For the last few years, I've been liquidating my library -- I put everything up for sale on Amazon. Last year, I had to file a tax info with Amazon because I came close to 50 transactions that Amazon said required them to send me a tax form. I wonder if I total up all of these sales, then calculate the cost of goods sold (basically, the list price on the books). The net loss could be several thousand $$$, especially when I add in the Amazon fees. Is this even possible?

LM wrote:Don't be like me. I still don't even have my check in hand and I've been spending like drunken sailor.

Not a concern. I'm probably six weeks out from getting the ax, and MHS's company just missed payroll.

The Meal wrote:Not a concern. I'm probably six weeks out from getting the ax, and MHS's company just missed payroll.

Ugh. So sorry. I knew you had job concerns. I didn't know MHS had getting paid concerns on top of that. I hope the job hunt treats you well.

Thank goodness my controller's philosophy is every one on staff gets paid first. We know if we every miss payroll the ship is sunk because there are a lot of vendors not getting paid on net 30 net 60 and net 90 before we don't get paid.

That's not good.

Zarathud wrote:Finished my wife's S Corporation return. I'm so happy to have 25% of her business which lost $22 this year and paid her no salary. The most she's made was $800 last year when she didn't reinvest in trying to expand. Sigh.

Why would someone go to the trouble of incorporating a business making so little money? Although I am sure that making so little money is not by design.

In California you pay $800 in taxes annually just to exist as a S Corp.

Scuzz wrote: Why would someone go to the trouble of incorporating a business making so little money?

One reason is to write off certain expenses against that company. The IRS gets a little fidgety after 3 consecutive years of losses. When I was filing for freelance work that I did, I only showed profit once ever 4 years somehow.

Jeff V wrote:

Scuzz wrote: Why would someone go to the trouble of incorporating a business making so little money?

One reason is to write off certain expenses against that company. The IRS gets a little fidgety after 3 consecutive years of losses. When I was filing for freelance work that I did, I only showed profit once ever 4 years somehow.

As an S Corp you can't continually write-off losses on your personal taxes. At some point you can no longer use that loss. But I guess that probably is the answer. It is a legal way to write-off expenses of a hobby.

Limited liability. My wife makes and sells wholesale scented oils for candles using alchemical recipes. If some moron uses it as lighter fluid and burns down their house or drinks it (due to the "essential oil" craze), I do not want to lose my house and accounts.

For a low investment business, an Illinois corporation makes sense. $150 initial filing + $25 per year +0.15% of capital for issuing shares. An Illinois LLC would be $250 per year. The trick is to make sure I file or extend the S Corporation return by March 15 to avoid a $390 monthly late filing penalty.

Plus, there are some benefits to being married to a lawyer. Not having to pay money for business startup legal fees, for example.

We write off the costs of her reinvesting any profits into the business. New product, developing retailer contacts, etc. She just shut down her limited direct internet sales because it was too time intensive. I have no idea how Kraken makes any money. People ordering online are too often stone stupid.

The Meal wrote:

LM wrote:Don't be like me. I still don't even have my check in hand and I've been spending like drunken sailor.

Not a concern. I'm probably six weeks out from getting the ax, and MHS's company just missed payroll.

Wow, I'm sorry to hear that. I hope everything works out.

We're not spending much of our return either - maybe about 20% - as I, too, am worried about not having a job soon. In my case, though, I would expect it to happen around Christmas. Joy.

LordMortis wrote:
Ugh. So sorry. I knew you had job concerns. I didn't know MHS had getting paid concerns on top of that.

Minimal concern on my end. You may recall that it's happened before with this company, but not for many years (although back when it was happening regularly, there was a period of 3 months with no pay). This looks to be a one-time issue (probably). We'll be caught up by the 15th and hopefully it won't happen again for the remainder of my career here. Meal's position is a little more "ugh" worthy.

Sunuva

It sure is a great big Pain in the ass to have the privilege of watching my pool of money to draw from get smaller.

I just got an amended 1099 from Scottrade informing me that SPDR paid me another $26 on January 29th.

I've already filed and received my return. What the hell am I supposed to do about another $3-7 or so in tax liability (depending on the voodoo they use) and why the hell are they taxing me in 2016 for dividends paid at the end of January in 2016?

LordMortis wrote:Sunuva

It sure is a great big Pain in the ass to have the privilege of watching my pool of money to draw from get smaller.

I just got an amended 1099 from Scottrade informing me that SPDR paid me another $26 on January 29th.

I've already filed and received my return. What the hell am I supposed to do about another $3-7 or so in tax liability (depending on the voodoo they use) and why the hell are they taxing me in 2016 for dividends paid at the end of January in 2016?

You could file an amended return, or you can wait for the IRS to bill you.

Jeff V wrote:You could file an amended return, or you can wait for the IRS to bill you.

How much effort and cost is that going to be?

LordMortis wrote:

Jeff V wrote:You could file an amended return, or you can wait for the IRS to bill you.

How much effort and cost is that going to be?

Waiting for the IRS to bill you? Whatever the interest might be on the tax on $26, plus maybe a 10% penalty. So maybe $1?

Jeff V wrote:

LordMortis wrote:

Jeff V wrote:You could file an amended return, or you can wait for the IRS to bill you.

How much effort and cost is that going to be?

Waiting for the IRS to bill you? Whatever the interest might be on the tax on $26, plus maybe a 10% penalty. So maybe $1?

I meant what's process and cost for amending a return? I suppose I should look that up on Turbo Tax. It feels like impending doom.

We were mailed something by the company that manages our HSA last year, about a month after our taxes were filed that looked like it should have been included with our 2014 taxes. If the IRS is going to put the squeeze on me because I paid my taxes a month ahead of when their extortion was due, then come put me in debtors prison. F paperwork and F taxes.

LM check #3. If they want their $2, they'll ask.

Tips for Filing an Amended Return

Hmm, maybe that's for IRS forms. Eh, I'd still wait for them to ask.

LordMortis wrote:

Jeff V wrote:

LordMortis wrote:

Jeff V wrote:You could file an amended return, or you can wait for the IRS to bill you.

How much effort and cost is that going to be?

Waiting for the IRS to bill you? Whatever the interest might be on the tax on $26, plus maybe a 10% penalty. So maybe $1?

I meant what's process and cost for amending a return? I suppose I should look that up on Turbo Tax. It feels like impending doom.

Seems like more than $1 worth of effort, so I'd just wait for them to come calling for their droplet of blood.

Jeff V wrote:

El Guapo wrote:
It was a little tempting to pay for the in-person tax prep, but the 90%+ odds were that the only difference would be that we would owe an additional $150 - $200 in tax preparation fees.

I just have to convince my wife...she has friends who have convinced her that tax preparers have magical cash-giving powers.

About the only possible thing that may be possible is to get more of the approximately $11,000 in tuition, books, and transportation costs for her LPN program deducted. The school did not issue her a tax form, which seems to indicate that they don't play nice with subsidy programs (she could not, for example, get a student loan for this place). There was a lifetime education credit that the software deemed she did qualify for, and while I haven't looked at the form yet to see how much that credit is for, it looks like it dropped the tax owed by around $2000. And this was something her fellow students claim their tax guy did for them. I'm skeptical that it's going to be worth $200, but it wouldn't be the first, last, or most costly "I told you so."

For the last few years, I've been liquidating my library -- I put everything up for sale on Amazon. Last year, I had to file a tax info with Amazon because I came close to 50 transactions that Amazon said required them to send me a tax form. I wonder if I total up all of these sales, then calculate the cost of goods sold (basically, the list price on the books). The net loss could be several thousand $$$, especially when I add in the Amazon fees. Is this even possible?

The meeting with the tax preparer was yesterday; and let's just say it was a resounding victory for the wife. And now I am considering letting this tax accountant revisit my 2014 and 2013 taxes to see if there is additional riches to be found. Yesterday without a doubt was the best $225 I've ever spent.

How good?

H&R Block Tax Cut: You owe $7,242. Will that be cash or credit card?
Accountant: Uncle Sam owes YOU $7,111. It will be deposited directly into your bank account.

That's a $14,353 swing.

Now, there were some unique things this year that won't apply to the past few years. I took a disbursement from the IRA I inherited after my mom died to pay off some debt, and had them take out 10% towards taxes. I also cashed out a pension account from the hospital to pay for my wife's school. Turns out for reasons I don't entirely understand, the money from that IRA is not taxable, and since it was used to pay for school, the liquidation of that pension account (also having withheld 10%) was non taxable because school is one of 4 things you can withdraw without penalty for. But it's certainly worth her taking a look at my last two returns, even if she doesn't find any more money, she's definitely earned additional fees with this return.

Jeff V wrote: The meeting with the tax preparer was yesterday; and let's just say it was a resounding victory for the wife. And now I am considering letting this tax accountant revisit my 2014 and 2013 taxes to see if there is additional riches to be found. Yesterday without a doubt was the best $225 I've ever spent.

I'm a diy type guy, but the tax guy is the one guy I welcome into my home. If you only have w-2's sure go ahead and let the software do the lifting, but if you are any kind of self employed( and lots of folks are these days) ask around for a good tax guy.

I don't understand the things he deducts. The return is now around 75 pages. Last time I did mine to compare against his, he saved me $2k. I don't even bother anymore.

i went to a tax preparer once, some years back - i was working a '1099 contractor' position at a software company...for $12 an hour. with an office and provided computer/software/tools/etc. the preparer did some odd accounting on the form which didn't look right to me, and refused to sign the return, charging me $300 for it. i managed to talk them down $50 as the company wasn't paying me on time. IRS didn't complain, in any case.

(a few years later i'd try to take this place to the department of labor for unpaid wages, but they couldn't help me, since i was working as a '1099 contractor', imagine that. i talked to a lawyer, and suing them would have cost 2x the money owed me. another coworker sued them and won a judgment for $1000, which to this day he has not yet received. lessons have been learned.)

Isn't our modern economic/legal society a great thing?

dfs wrote:

Jeff V wrote: The meeting with the tax preparer was yesterday; and let's just say it was a resounding victory for the wife. And now I am considering letting this tax accountant revisit my 2014 and 2013 taxes to see if there is additional riches to be found. Yesterday without a doubt was the best $225 I've ever spent.

I'm a diy type guy, but the tax guy is the one guy I welcome into my home. If you only have w-2's sure go ahead and let the software do the lifting, but if you are any kind of self employed( and lots of folks are these days) ask around for a good tax guy.

I don't understand the things he deducts. The return is now around 75 pages. Last time I did mine to compare against his, he saved me $2k. I don't even bother anymore.

Yup, 1099 income is tricky. The first time we hired our CPA saved us several thousand dollars over my own calculations. Lately, though, Wife's 1099 income has dwindled and the standard deduction has exceeded our itemized deductions, so I'm tempted to take it over again next year. At $399 I think we're overpaying our guy, even if he does deliver a 75-page document showing all the worksheets.

He also gets $600 to do my corporate return. I'm pretty sure I'm getting ripped off there. My business is very small and straightforward and my bookkeeping is clean. I send him my Quickbooks file and a few weeks later he delivers the return, usually without needing to ask me any questions. Anybody here know a CPA who will do a S Corp return considerably cheaper than that?

LordMortis wrote:Sunuva

It sure is a great big Pain in the ass to have the privilege of watching my pool of money to draw from get smaller.

I just got an amended 1099 from Scottrade informing me that SPDR paid me another $26 on January 29th.

I've already filed and received my return. What the hell am I supposed to do about another $3-7 or so in tax liability (depending on the voodoo they use) and why the hell are they taxing me in 2016 for dividends paid at the end of January in 2016?

The 1/29 dividend had a 12/18/2015 ex date for shareholders of record on 12/22/2015. Meaning that it was all sorted on 12/18 and technically paid on 12/22, even though it didn't post until 1/29.

FWIW, you don't need to wait for the 1099. I always just do a G/L spreadsheet and include dividends and the accountant says that works. If the 1099s are done, great. If not, as long as my numbers are correct no big deal.

Just make sure your 1099 matches what you filed and you're fine.

This year was the most I paid to have someone do our taxes. I've been trying to get my finances in order preparing for retirement and worked with a tax preparer to help me adjust my W4 and 401k contributions to get as close to zero for a return as possible. Instead of large tax returns that I normally received, this past year I've been taking the extra money and funding a Roth IRA for both me and my wife and will put more into our HSA account.

Everything was balancing nicely until we sold a small piece of land we held onto when we sold our house. Apparently, that land was never "purchased" as it was part of the house when we bought it and we rezoned our land (originally had 4 lots, the house sat on two and the other two were building lots) so the entire amount was recorded as a capital gain and I'll be owing the gov't a few thousand for the first time. I expected that and set aside some of the land money to pay the taxes so moving forward things should be a little easier to plan tax-wise.

Dammit. I mentally put tax pain out of my mind and now I need to write the checks today. F taxes.

JeffV wrote:H&R Block Tax Cut: You owe $7,242. Will that be cash or credit card?
Accountant: Uncle Sam owes YOU $7,111. It will be deposited directly into your bank account.

You could also have my dad prepare your taxes and get the same result. Every year he tells me that on Friday he works up his returns and he owes thousands of dollars. Then on Sunday he does it again and he's actually owed $500. So of course the second one is correct and that's what he submits. Every year I hire an accountant and every year I get hosed - this year by more than I've paid in probably the prior 3 years combined. But my dad's accounting pulls through for him again. It's amazing.

So I have decided to do our taxes myself for the first time in years (have been using the spouse's family's tax firm since we've been married). I've avoided it until now because she has some weird miscellaneous investment things that spawn a strange alphabet soup of Schedules and Forms. But this year, I figured I wanted to learn more about the more obscure stuff while saving on prep fees and hey, how hard can it be right? I also have years of professionally done returns to look at, so I have that going for me.

Stay tuned for my "I've made a horrible mistake" post, perhaps coming soon to a thread near you!

Grrrrr!

Pyperkub wrote:And the first pass in Turbo Tax is done. Owing 5 figures (as expected, though a bit more than I'd planned). I know I need to buckle up and setup my Estimated Taxes rather than pay the underpayment penalties, but every year they want money at the same time as the taxes - 1st payment is due at the same time. Grrr... I pay the underpayments, but that went up substantially last year (from about $30 to about $330). It's just a hassle to put together all the extra money at tax time when I owe a big chunk anyways. I have managed to get it done a couple of times, but most years it's just too much of a PITA.

Finished the first pass for this year. Due to the drop in oil prices we didn't have as much income, and we had a lot of medical expenses. As a result the bill is about 1/10th of last year. Whew! Added bonus, probably no estimated taxes for next year either.