TurboTax and I are sitting down to do our 2024 taxes while the global economy melts down around us, courtesy of King Donald. It’s kind of an odd sensation, surreal at best. I could finish today, or the job could stretch out most of the week. It depends on whether or not I set aside the needed information during the year as I had planned. I’m not sure how to bet on that.
Perhaps I shouldn’t bother finishing the job, since there will be few employees at the Internal Revenue Service checking to see whether returns are filed as required. But, on the other hand, I guess I should factor in that they will be targeting anyone who has uttered an angry word against the King, while letter the billionaires skate.
In any case, I hope to get back around to post something substantive here later today.
It depends whether I run into one of those pesky undocumented TurboTax hiccups that happen from time to time. That could slow me down.
Here’s a look at the calm this morning before I started the taxes.
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We all need the calm. I am glad that I did my taxes in February and have received my refund. Waiting for my bank statement to see if my social security has been deposited. Impeach Trump is essential now! No messing around, we have seen enough of his utter evil as well as Congress etc.
I was ready to file in February, but as usual some of my 1099’s, etc were late. Seems that many deadlines are not being enforced by the IRS. From my experience, the IRS has become easier to deal with than the State of Hawaii that likes to send out nasty and nonsensical letters.
Spot on comment about the IRS being easier to deal with than HI DoTax! And by a wide margin. I always tell people that if you can’t afford to pay both the IRS and the HSTC, always pay HI first. The IRS has many payment options and they will always work with you, make monthly payments, etc. HI DoTax offers many of the same options as the IRS does, but HI’s penalty regime is much harsher and good luck trying to obtain penalty relief from DoTax. I believe that HI considers penalties and punitive interest rates as revenue tools instead of deterrents, and that’s why DoTax is so intransigent when it comes to penalty relief; even when the taxpayer has a good ‘reasonable cause’ defense to a penalty.
Thank you for the gorgeous pic! Much needed during tax day anxiety. There’s that guy again on the right on the beach. He must be a regular.
Was the status quo trade imbalance sustainable?
“Perhaps I shouldn’t bother finishing the job, since there will be few employees at the Internal Revenue Service checking to see whether returns are filed as required. But, on the other hand, I guess I should factor in that they will be targeting anyone who has uttered an angry word . . . .”
I think there are many who are thinking along the same lines. Of course, my recommendation would be to finish them, otherwise the statute of limitations would remain open.
I had to file extensions anyway due to health problems slowing me down. You’re supposed to pay the tax due on time regardless, but we have business income too and I don’t have a clue how much we owe. I’m a numbers person and usually keep better records than this so I just have to plug them in.
My only hope for the crumbling IRS is that they fail to notice or collect on the penalties and interest we will owe. Until ten years from now, that is, when I receive a letter saying I’m going to prison for tax evasion.
I feel that any temporary benefit to me does not outweigh the harm done to so many federal workers who have lost their jobs. Some of us don’t only care about ourselves. We pay taxes so everyone has what they need from the government, including ourselves when we need it. It often fails, but that is because of selfish, greedy, morally bankrupt and power-hungry people who are willing to lie incessantly to get in the way of anything that would help anyone besides themselves . And the misinformed citizens who believe and vote for them don’t get a pass either.
Kiplinger published a survey that said 17% of millennials said they weren’t going to bother to file returns this year because they feel the IRS is in such a state of disarray that they won’t know the difference.
On another note, I was wondering if you’re pleased overall with the job TurboTax does for you?
I’ve used TurboTax “forever”. It was reportedly released in 1984. I doubt we were in the intial adopters, but jumped in not too long after that. So it’s been at least 30 years that I’ve relied on Turbotax to do our annual taxes. Some years were not simple. There have been a few times when I had trouble deciphering how Turbotax was doing certain functions, but a quick search usually turned up the “help” that I needed. Without TurboTax, I would have had to pay a professional tax preparer years ago. Any mistakes turned up by IRS to date have been the result of my errors. So, yes, I’m a faithful customer.
It would be nice if Donald had to take time out to file his own taxes too, He clearly has too much time on his hands now,
DOGE is apparently pushing for the takedown of the free filing service the IRS started in March 2024 called Directf File. It offers free filing and assistance for federal income tax returns for citizens in about 25 states.
According to AP News:
“…the IRS has face intense blowback to Direct File from private tax preparation companies that have made billions from charging people to use their software and have spent millions lobbying Congress. The average American typically spends about $140 preparing their returns each year.”
Full story:
https://apnews.com/article/irs-direct-file-musk-18f-6a4dc35a92f9f29c310721af53f58b16