Anyone Doing Income Taxes

[blueyedgirl5946]

I had completed the finished copy of my Federal return to send it. Then I came across the Schedule M, which allows a $400 credit for single or $800, married filing joint. I knew nothing about that and so had to redo my whole return. The amount of the economic stimulus check has to be deducted from the credit, but hey, it still comes out $550 credit. Only one of us received the $250 rebate. There is also another tricky form, Schedule L, which allows a deduction for those claiming standard deduction, in the amount of property taxes paid, depending on single or joint status. We were able to get the $1,000 allowed for joint. Just putting this info out there in case someone needs to know. I have since read of many folks who have already sent in their returns and not taken the Schedule M credit.

 

[larussa]

Yes mine is done and already got back my refund.

 

[rahma]

I totally didn't know about this. I may have to take my taxes to a preparer. I've been doing them myself since I was 16, but they just keep making it more complicated.

Thanks, you may have saved us $800!

 

[tomcat38134]

Ive heard that if you just bite the bullet and take to say a walk in type preparer sometimes they will even review your year prior and guarantee to find even more money for you this year and last. May be worth it in the long run. Im going to try it this year. My parents always paid hundreds taking to a CPA, now go to HR Block (i think thats right) and have been for about 4 or 5 years now. They swear by it now....and my dad is a, well, hmm, how should I say nicely...."stickler" about accuracy. Ok, cheap a**. lol!

 

[darlili]

I'd suggest people take a look at any of the major software packages, like Turbotax. That program definitely takes you by the hand and asks you a million questions to determine exemptions/deductions that you are entitled to. I use the on-line version - you don't pay anything until you actually file electronically - it was under $50. In February, got my refund back in five working days.

If nothing else, just don't hit the file button and you'll get an idea of what your taxes should be without incurring any costs. You could always do your return manually at that point, but at least you'd know what to look at. Also, should your income be under certain levels, e-filing is free with any of the major software companies.

Myself, not a fan of storefront preparers - they seem to charge an awful lot to prepare relatively simple returns (several hundred dollars). That said, those preparers are looking for business this year - you may be able to cut a deal. And a lot of people are happy with them - just not me.

The key, I think, is to have all your paperwork together - but, if nothing else, looking at the tax software packages will allow you to gather all the necessary information for a live preparer, if you go that way.

 

[gloriajh]

Ours is off to the CPA - guess this time of year the unemployment rate for CPA's is less.

If the IRS is now the main collector for the health insurance law - more CPA's will have jobs - Now THAT's job creation.

 

[darlili]

Just FYI - not all CPAs do tax returns - in fact, many do not as they specialize in other areas, such as audit, transaction assistance services, or tax in areas such as business or international tax. So, make sure that whoever is doing your return actually is an expert in preparing individual returns. Any reputable CPA will be up front on that.

That said, for most individuals working for a company, a CPA is overkill as far as preparing a 1040.

Actually, you can learn personal tax preparation (from simple to military, etc.) from irs.gov. http://www.irs.gov/app/vita/basic.html - that's where a lot of volunteers with various groups, such as AARP, learn how to prepare taxes.

 

[3catsn1dog]

I took mine to H&R block but after seeing how cheap it would have been to do it online I sooo regret taking it there because it was easier. Next time I do taxes Im going to use something like Turbo Tax and do it myself.

 

[darlili]

Maybe it'd be 'fun' to go on line to Turbotax or one of the other packages and 'do' your taxes again to compare to the ones already prepared (don't file, just walk through the steps). Most of the time, they'll be dead on, and you'd be more confident next time. Or, if one or the other is clearly better to you, you'll have a head start that way too! Usually the paid preparers are using Pro-Series or something along those lines - another software package.

That IRS.gov site is actually sort of fun - the basic course is 9 hours, but it's self-paced. It's interesting just to go through to get a handle on all the terms that are thrown around come tax time. Of course, for complicated taxes you need experts, but the software really has come a long way to make it do-able for people. And, software really helps with arithmetic errors - that's the error most common in returns. Anyway, good luck and it must feel great to be done!

 

[addiebee]

Working on pulling mine together. They are complicated and I use a CPA who DOES specialize in tax prep. He is not too expensive and is available all-year round for questions.

 

[icklemiss21]

Already sent mine to the accountant, between personal and business returns, its easier to let him deal with it

 

[babyharley]

Yup, ours are done, filed & recieved our very nice return!

We take ours to a local CPA and he does them for us - much easier that way

 

[cheap sushi]

Schedule M for Money!!!!!

 

[2dogmom]

Originally Posted by blueyedgirl5946

I had completed the finished copy of my Federal return to send it. Then I came across the Schedule M, which allows a $400 credit for single or $800, married filing joint. I knew nothing about that and so had to redo my whole return. The amount of the economic stimulus check has to be deducted from the credit, but hey, it still comes out $550 credit. Only one of us received the $250 rebate. There is also another tricky form, Schedule L, which allows a deduction for those claiming standard deduction, in the amount of property taxes paid, depending on single or joint status. We were able to get the $1,000 allowed for joint. Just putting this info out there in case someone needs to know. I have since read of many folks who have already sent in their returns and not taken the Schedule M credit.

Thanks so much for posting this, I'm still working on ours but hadn't heard of this!

ETA I found an online tool that helps to figure out what additional schedules might need to be filed.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/recovery/tax-saving-tool

 

[cheap sushi]

I agree! Thanks!

 

[grogs]

I had never heard of the Schedule M until I saw this thread, but it's very timely. I saw last weekend that my return had been deposited, but that it was $400 larger than I expected. I just got a letter from the IRS today explaining that they had credited me with the "Making Work Pay" credit and added it to my return. So for anyone reading this who forgot to file the Schedule M, you'll probably be OK.