Tax

[Cloral]

Tax time! Did everyone get their taxes done yet? Who's waiting until the last minute?

[DarkDragon]

Me :(

Does anyone know a good free e-file program? I'm tired of getting suckered in by "free" services that wait until you've entered all of your information before telling you that there's a fee for filing state tax :sb:

[Anthus]

I did my federal the second I got my W-2s back in January. I did my state in.. I think about a month ago in March. I had my dad do the federal for me using "TurboTax" but I dunno if it is free. I got the refund in about eight days via direct deposit. I'm still waiting on the State one though which I did by hand, and mailed it in.

... And I ended up owing the city about 9 dollars because my boss did not increase the amount being taken out when the city tax increased by .25 percent.

[Cloral]

I had my dad do the federal for me using "TurboTax" but I dunno if it is free.

It depends on which version you use. The simplest version is free but it doesn't do most of the deductions. If you were to take anything other than the standard deduction you wouldn't want to use it. And let's be honest: if you're only taking the standard deduction, you really don't need to be using software to do your taxes for you.

DD: The IRS loves to claim how eFile is free but I have yet to find anywhere where that's the case unless you qualify as a low-income filer. It's really strange to me that you can't eFile directly with the IRS but have to do it through a third party tax preparer. Especially when you consider how much they seem to want people to use it.
I don't know what the case is in your state, but in California the state provides a free web-based filing service that's really convenient. Try going to your state's home page and see if you can find anything like that.

[Brasel]

I'm getting a TON of money back this year due to my first time homebuyer's tax credit. Unfortunately, it all goes toward the new roof I put on last month.

[Starkist]

I make a good amount of money and was able to eFile for free.

If I owe money to the government I wait until April 15. If I am owed money, I do it as soon as possible. I do my best to get it as close to zero as possible, or owe money. Better to have my own cash throughout the year then loan it to the government at 0% interest.

Happy tax day. http://www.hulu.com/watch/18138/the-simpsons-tax-day

[AtmaWeapon]

Man I don't know why everyone all waits to the last minute. I did my taxes way back in early March the weekend after we got our W-2s. Even if I owed money, I want to clear that garbage up and get it over with.

[Nathaniel]

Plus, the sooner you do them, the sooner you get your refund (unless you owe, of course). This is why my brother gets his done very early, yet seems to procrastinate on almost anything else. If it involves him getting money (and it always has), he won't procrastinate. As for me, I did mine in March, with several weeks of comfort there. I got all three of my W2's a while back, but I was waiting for my form for an additional tax refund for paying off student loans. As for why people wait until the last minute? I think that is just your common procrastination, not much different from kids procrastinating on their homework.

[Orion]

I actually have a tax guy, who I've used since I've lived with my parents. I always have him do it the minute I get all of my forms in (usually the end of January), to get my money sooner. He also does my property taxes (in MN, since I live in an apartment, it ends up being about an extra $700 back this fall). He gets me a pretty good income tax return, usually in the ballpark of $1500, but he costs about $130. I'm curious at how much TurboTax gets for anyone else, because I know the software is cheaper than my tax guy.

[gdorf]

My dad is a CPA so he always does my taxes for me. I got some back this year, but not as much as usual. I am working in Oregon for the first time (I live in Washington) and it was really painful to see how much of my money Oregon took this year. :(

[Flash Man]

it was really painful to see how much of my money Oregon took this year. :(

Is it not just awesome? This is my first year that I have not gone to school full time so I did not get any large benefit from tuition; the end result was paying up, but it was not too bad. I waited until April 1st to pay, but I would have paid earlier had I been expecting to pay; "You require more vespene gas."

[Aliem]

I did my taxes in February. I only got like $40 back from state and nothing from fed., but I don't get a whole lot taken out of my checks, so no harm no foul.