HA_DC9 From United States of America, joined Jul 1999, 625 posts, RR: 1 Reply 2, posted (3 months 3 weeks 6 days 12 hours ago) and read 1260 times:
Yes, it's tax time! Time to file your taxes.
Are you living with your parents or a college student? If so, it is possible that your parent's may be claiming you as a dependent. This would help them out on their taxes. You could still file though...you would probably get back whatever was withheld in taxes for the federal (and state if your state has income taxes).
If it is simple enough, you can file taxes for free such as Turbotax.
Alternatively, the IRS has a huge community program across the US called the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program or VITA for short. The IRS partners with hundreds of community agencies and coalitions and provides training to volunteers to help people file their taxes for free, especially in the low to middle income bracket.
It sounds as if your return is simple enough so you shouldn't pay big bucks to a paid tax pro like H&R Block do it....you would just be throwing money away.
I would contact your local United Way office to see if they have a listing of a VITA site you could go. Or you could go to your local IRS office and ask them to steer you to a nearby VITA site or provide a listing of sites in your community.
IMissPiedmont From United States of America, joined May 2001, 6049 posts, RR: 50 Reply 3, posted (3 months 3 weeks 6 days 11 hours ago) and read 1228 times:
You don't have to file a return unless you want the refund or you owe money.
I think a test for people to live in the southwest US should be no A/C in the car for a summer.
Pyrex From Portugal, joined Aug 2005, 3212 posts, RR: 30 Reply 4, posted (3 months 3 weeks 6 days 11 hours ago) and read 1215 times:
If you are like over 50% of the U.S. population, you will get everything you paid in taxes back plus a little sweetener just so you remember to vote Democrat in November.
Read this very carefully, I shall write this only once!
AirframeAS From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 12883 posts, RR: 30 Reply 5, posted (3 months 3 weeks 6 days 11 hours ago) and read 1202 times:
Quoting tz757300 (Reply 1): You must file with the federal government and with the state (unless your state doesn't have income tax).
That is not exactly true. See below....
Quoting IMissPiedmont (Reply 3): You don't have to file a return unless you want the refund or you owe money.
A Safe Flight Begins With Quality Maintenance On The Ground.
PPVRA From Brazil, joined Nov 2004, 8202 posts, RR: 48 Reply 8, posted (3 months 3 weeks 6 days 10 hours ago) and read 1162 times:
Try turbotax. If it doesn't work out for you, go into an H&R Block. . they are not expensive especially if you have a simple return, which is probably your case.
Quoting AirframeAS (Reply 5): Quoting tz757300 (Reply 1):
You must file with the federal government and with the state (unless your state doesn't have income tax).
That is not exactly true. See below....
"You must file a federal income tax return if your income is above a certain level; which varies depending on your filing status, age and the type of income you receive."
tugger From United States of America, joined Apr 2006, 3556 posts, RR: 4 Reply 9, posted (3 months 3 weeks 6 days 10 hours ago) and read 1157 times:
Quoting Pyrex (Reply 4): If you are like over 50% of the U.S. population, you will get everything you paid in taxes back plus a little sweetener just so you remember to vote Democrat in November.
There was a reason for doing it too, the cost to monitor and pursue any tax issue with the "lower 50%"is (was) equal to or greater than what was collected. I do however disagree with the concept as I firmly believe that everyone should have skin in the game.
Tugg
everything I have learned I have learned by mistake
AirframeAS From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 12883 posts, RR: 30 Reply 10, posted (3 months 3 weeks 6 days 10 hours ago) and read 1137 times:
Quoting PPVRA (Reply 8): You must file a federal income tax return if your income is above a certain level; which varies depending on your filing status, age and the type of income you receive.
I forgot to add that part. But there is no law really that say you MUST file. I think if you make $13,000 on the year or more, then you are required to file.
Quoting PPVRA (Reply 8): What you don't have to do is claim any deductions.
True. But when you do, it makes or breaks your income. If you owe, you owe less. If you are entitled to a refund, then sometimes you get a bigger refund. It really depends on the deductions you put down.
I did Turbo Tax again this year. Compared to last year, it asks way to many questions and complicates everything this year. I wished that they would keep it simple. This year, they ask you about pretty much everything. Is that really necessary?? Why do they care how much I pay in excise taxes on my car? I don't get that. I did not have to put that down last year. (Just one example of how ridiculous the filing was.)
A Safe Flight Begins With Quality Maintenance On The Ground.
The whole point of turbotax is to get the maximum refund possible. How the hell do you expect to do that if you cut corners and do the quick and easy route? I did the quick and easy way at first just out of curiosity and it was calculating a $500 refund. Then I redid everything answering every single question and that bumped it up to a little over $800. And that's just with one of my W2's. I'm still waiting for my other one, plus my student loan forms and other junk. This was just a dry run so I could get the process started. I figure once I get all my forms sent in I can get well north of $1k if not just shy of $2k.
Turbotax is great if you're completely retarded when it comes to taxes (I sure as hell am myself). It can be a tedious process but it is well worth the effort.
KaiGywer From United States of America, joined Oct 2003, 11740 posts, RR: 49 Reply 12, posted (3 months 3 weeks 6 days 6 hours ago) and read 1070 times:
My state allows free e-filing this year, so I just filed yesterday using www.1040now.net which was not very pretty like some other sites, but it got the job done. I compared it to TaxSlayer which I've been using since 2005 and looks pretty, but wanted $15 to file both federal and state. Refund amount was the exact same on both sites.
Quoting AirframeAS (Reply 10): I forgot to add that part. But there is no law really that say you MUST file. I think if you make $13,000 on the year or more, then you are required to file.
geezer From United States of America, joined Aug 2010, 715 posts, RR: 1 Reply 13, posted (3 months 3 weeks 6 days 5 hours ago) and read 1058 times:
As usual, a lot of good advice here; however.............I heartily recommend, stop by a local I.R.S. field office, if only to see........."how NICE they are ! "
( be a great learning experience, and it's free too ! ) ( then you'll know why it's so important not to "mess around" with your income taxes )
4holer From United States of America, joined Feb 2002, 2708 posts, RR: 12 Reply 16, posted (3 months 3 weeks 6 days 3 hours ago) and read 1022 times:
From the IRS website is a link to several free (If you make less than about $65K or so) software programs including HR Block. That should take care of ya!
zippyjet From United States of America, joined Sep 2001, 3808 posts, RR: 13 Reply 17, posted (3 months 3 weeks 6 days 2 hours ago) and read 1005 times:
First, secure it in a safe place. Make copies and scan to your computer if needed.
Go to one of the free tax sites like Turbo Tax or H & R block. Sign up for the free Federal filing. They charge a nominal fee for filing your state tax forms. Depending on the year, how I feel and how cheap I am, I sometimes pony up the roughly $25 and let them do the state taxes. However as of last year Maryland has a pretty user friendly self filing interface that if I can do it anybody can do it. Back to the W2, allow yourself time and follow the instructions of say Turbo Tax or H & R Block.
Good luck. If you are in the mucho dinero/Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich or Charlie Sheen tax brackets hand it over to the pros. It must be nice to have that kind of income.
AirframeAS From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 12883 posts, RR: 30 Reply 18, posted (3 months 3 weeks 4 days 17 hours ago) and read 890 times:
Quoting Fly2HMO (Reply 11): Turbotax is great if you're completely retarded when it comes to taxes
I feel that way every year. Sometimes, I wished the company would just send me my W2 to the IRS so that I don't have to deal with it.
Quoting Fly2HMO (Reply 11): I did the quick and easy way at first just out of curiosity and it was calculating a $500 refund. Then I redid everything answering every single question and that bumped it up to a little over $800.
I did the same thing you did, but the amounts came back the same.
I was talking about the Federal return (the State I resided in at the time did not require a return, which was sooo nice!). I did not have to do it one year. This was a few years after I graduated high school.
A Safe Flight Begins With Quality Maintenance On The Ground.
Goldenshield From United States of America, joined Jan 2001, 5039 posts, RR: 14 Reply 19, posted (3 months 2 weeks 6 days 21 hours ago) and read 689 times:
Quoting Cadet57 (Reply 6): Since 2008 I haven't seen a tax refund. Nov 2012 can't come fast enough.
I haven't seen a refund since 2000. What's your point?
Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun.
SmittyOne From United States of America, joined Feb 2012, 215 posts, RR: 1 Reply 21, posted (3 months 2 weeks 11 hours ago) and read 487 times:
Quoting einsteinboricua (Reply 15):
My turn here. I just got sent the W2 form as well. This year I made around $5k on an internship. Will I need to file?
Look at your W-2 to see if the IRS withheld any money. If they did, you will definitely want to file because you will probably get it all back. If they didn't withhold anything, check the IRS website to see if you are above the threshold of income that would require filing.
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