Historical Photo:
Cotton Pickers in town 1940 southern cotton country
OKAY, IRS has my attention:
We will get our first refund in years, nearly $150. Of course that isn’t much in today’s world, but we usually write them a check. Looking back to our first years together. Oh, how I looked forward to February, we would get our refund of $25 to $50! Once we did get $100 back.
(33% of Americans do their own taxes. It is on the increase with available software, younger Americans are now filing their own)
I still do our taxes, but because the forms are all on line now it takes me much longer. I am used to having the forms, instructions and tax tables right on the desk in front of me. For the forms I use the instructions are 93 pages long now, I certainly do not want to print out the whole book. So I have to save a document and go back to the instructions on line when I have a question.
Hey, I have more time than money and I really don't mind. I cannot complain to Sherry, she just says, "Take it to H & R Block."
The government must save a BILLION dollars NOT printing IRS forms. Do you remember going to the post office and seeing thousands of tax forms stacked in the lobby? Boy, I sure do.
That was a long time before it got so cumbersome (5000 changes since 2001) and all the Tax form filler-outers were used as more people paid to have their tax forms filled out. Mostly it was due to the PROMISE OF LARGER TAX REFUNDS by those companies. Individuals began to think they might miss some deduction if they filled them out.
I always smile as I do the math gymnastics i.e. Multiply line 10 by 85% (0.85) enter on line 11. Is 11 larger than 4? enter the smaller amt on line 12. Divide line 12 by 50% (0.50) enter on line 15. Is line 15 smaller than line 3?
ETC. they crack me up, this continues thru 25 lines, and that is just to get the standard deduction. LOL
It took much longer last night because I printed out the wrong form and wasn't paying attention. I tried to make the form work. I was blaming the IRS for not matching the lines up. When it said, “Take this SS total to line 10 on form 1040a” Line 10 on 1040a was Capitol Gains not SS. I kept making notes of what was wrong with the form until I realized it was me, not the IRS that was wrong. Dang, I “shoulda knowed” ------ “The IRS ain’t never wrong!.” LOL
So I trashed all my notes to the IRS! LOL I guess that is another of the ‘GITTIN' OLD THANGS’ that I didn’t notice had slipped up on me. LOL H & R Block next year? Probably not, I will just keep on griping.
Nite Shipslog
PS: Cousin Tony sent these little known facts
about the USA: The Los Angeles Coroner's Office has its own quirky gift
shop called Skeletons in the Closet.
***** ***
***** ****** ***
Remember Sunbeam Bread?
+018.jpg)
+040aa_edited-1.jpg)
10 comments:
Wait..So you thought you were out smarting the IRS? Hahaha. I remember daddy sitting at the table with piles of papers and being grumpy a couple days before rushing off to the PO late at night to meet the deadline.
We take ours to a tax preparer. So far we have never had to pay in. Sometimes I think we pay out more money during the year than we make. We add every deduction we can. Insurance being the highest as it cost us 25%of our earnings. Tithe being the 2nd biggest deduction. But thats a good thing.
Your refund will buy Sheri a lot of chocolate..
Lisa
Oooooh, now my gums are aching! Aside from what I'm doing here, my longest tenure was at a CPA firm. BEST boss in the history of Ever. (OK, I digress.) Yes, I well remember ordering all those forms; we had a specially-built case with cubbyholes for each one.
And those were the days we secretaries still typed every one. (Random factoid: I left there in the late 80's, but to this day I can recall their Employer Identification #76-1441303. LOL!)
I think the prevailing philosophy of taking one's taxes to a professional is/was, the IRS is less likely to audit you if your return's signed off by a CPA.
... Then again, we discovered TurboTax a couple years ago, and I think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. LOL.
Boy do I love that joke - seems like reality.
Congrats on your money back.
We are paying this year. :(
But on the bright side - it should be our last time to pay!
Sandie
Oh its that time of year again .You just reminded me I better get cracking. I keep a book going all year long and jot deductions in it so all I have to do is add it up and hand it to my lady. I noticed everyone was asking her questions so the next year I ask for her and been with her ever since even though she works on her own out of her house now.
It all sounds very complicated to me...I prefer the old fashioned way.
Fun fun fun, tax time lol....I've always done my own taxes and when I was working, I always got a refund. I went once to an H&R Block office and he claimed I owed hundreds. I took my stuff and left, did them on my own and got back money. I'm very grateful for the tax software, it makes things very easy for me. But since I'm on workman's comp, I never get a refund and always have to pay because my income is net zero. Every year I owe about $700 for this FORCED prescription plan from the Quebec government that I never use. Can't wait to leave this province. :)
Now that we are considered 'old,' we have been having our taxes done by the volunteers that work for AARP and it's always a free service. The couple people that do the final check are retired CPA's and even one that worked for H&R. We were told last year that we didn't have to file for that year. It was ok/fine with us. I still hate tax time tho., the IRS makes me nervous. They make themselves out to be so much bigger than me, the average Jill, so ya, I get skert! lol Enjoy your refund.
love n' hugs from up north where we are still ' chillin ' under blankets. Man, it's cold out
I usually have a CPA do our taxes but this year, I’m diving in. I may cuss the IRS too:$
R
Following a mistake a couple of years ago, I found a nice accounting single practioner ~ she is awesome and charges a pittance vs the hassle of filing online and messing it up! Your post reminds me to get out that file folder and make an appointment, certain I could do it, however...selling my house last year makes me real happy to have a "final authority" do the filing.
p.s. you manage to make an IRS post interesting, thanks!!!
enjoy getting your money back. it's better than owing.
Post a Comment