Posted on 12/14/2009 8:31:14 AM PST by usalady
If you are like most Americans, you won't start thinking about working on your income tax return until long after ringing in the New Year. However, if you want to avoid the stress of digging through an accumulation of bills and invoices to provide proof of income and/or expenses, the time to begin is now.
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Think we should use Turbo Tax Timmy as an example?
That’s good advice, but somehow I wonder if this is what Washington, Franklin, Madison, and Jefferson, et al, had in mind.
beat me to that pun
Nah, I’m just going to adjust the data into a different format and then destroy the source data.
You see I don’t have the room to store all of that data.
I’m sure the IRS will understand.
You wouldn’t believe the refund that I’m going to get.
I’d like to show you how I came up with the data but that’s a secret.
IF you file taxes. LOL. Sometimes it IS possible to fly under the radar.
I agree. I was audited twice in the 1980’s and owed nothing.
We did an estimate a week ago - still really PI$$ED off that we owe more than last year too. yes, we forgot to change withholding, but that “making work pay” reduction in withholding - it hurt us - it’s part of what we owe...
The fact that we even have to do this is an affront to the intent and wishes of the Founders.
Long past time for the FAIR TAX.
To the extent such things are possible in the increasingly corrupt and power-questing atmosphere of Washington, it reduces or, hopefully, ELIMINATES the social engineering/behavior modification capabilities of the current system so beloved of the Utopian idiots who seem to gravitate to positions of power and control over others. It also removes their ability to tinker with the “code” — so named because it is written in a code not even grasped by the current Sec. of the Treasury — to PUNISH THEIR ENEMIES and REWARD THEIR FRIENDS, the RENT SEEKERS who inhabit Gucci Gulch and K Street.
As I believe I have commented here before, when the criminal level in the Georgia prison system was pointed out to our late friend Lester Maddox, he responded that “...what we need is a better class of criminal.” Until we have a better class of politician (currently often a synonym for “criminal”), no tax system will achieve complete fairness or perfection but the Fair Tax is about as close as we might hope to get in our lifetimes.
And, as we all know, the REAL problem is that we have a thoroughly corrupt and dishonest “money” system allowing the current crop of criminals to use it (that’d be what we call “spending”) for whatever they damn well please without — except every 2 or 4 years — a thought to what WE think because, thanks to over 100 years of government school indoctrination, fewer and fewer of us actually THINK.
Thanks to that indoctrination, the failure of a dumbed down populace to aggressively exercise the INFORMED citizenship for which so many paid so dear a price, we now have the thoroughly corrupt political and TAX systems we see today. And control freak criminals like Pelosi, Reid, Fwank, Dodd, etc., etc. ad nauseum, were not just to be expected, they were INEVITABLE.
Finally, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that the corruption, criminality and abuses are so egregious and obvious that not even the dullest American can fail to see them. The bad news is that there is precious little time for those Americans who still possess critical thinking skills to fix things.
I always get TurboTax in the middle of December. I spent part of the weekend putting in our preliminary 2009 numbers (some are just reasonable estimates from last year’s entries).
Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome. There are several changes to the tax code that helped us:
1). An $800. tax credit for ‘making work pay’. ($400 apiece for myself and spouse).
2). A $2500. tax credit for our son’s college expenses. [Previously, the max was a $4000. DEDUCTION.] - This is an expansion of the Hope scholarship program funded by the Stimulus boonedoggle.
3). Some non-taxable income we have was allowed to be added to our income to be used in the calculation for how much state tax we paid in 2009.
Lastly, I had increased my 401K pretax savings to the absolute maximum allowed and we also increased our charitable giving in 2009. (Starve the Beast!)
Bottom line: last year we had to pay $800. to the gov’ment on April 15, this year we’ll get $2100. in refund.
... Sweet
Next year we will get the college tax credit - I read something where the deduction vs. tax credit was definitely something to check out. I’m happy for you!
I'm really hoping that most people find that they actually owe the government money at the end of the year. The only way to change the system is to get people to see what it is they're actually paying. Far too many people are happy that they get something back from the government at the end of "tax season," without realizing just how much they paid. Withholding is absolutely evil.
Mark
Mark
Way ahead of you. And since total receipts are a third what they were a couple years ago, tax time will be a snap this year.
ThankX RINOS and Dims!!
We have been pretty good at making the “additional amount” due VERY small until last year. Darn kids got older! Getting a refund means an interest free loan. We took our own sweet time paying the additional this year. Might happen next year too. Would love to just say “KMA”
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