Boy oh boy... how crummy...lol

I'm retired... my only lousy little income is my SS and some rent from my tenants. This year I had to start taking fixed minimums out of my meager IRA... but that's it.. that's my only crappy little income.

PLUS.. I already have to pay ( after recent tax reduction fight) nearly $12k in property taxes too.

NOW ...
The other day I get word from my CPA that my IRS tax forms are done.
.. but THIS year is different for me since my $3k/yr "loss carry forward" deductions are all used up.
...... so I'll have to PAY nearly $4k. yikes !!...lol

(Back in the 80s I had some major stock losses after the market collapsed... but they don't let you deduct it all ... just $3k per year.)

Anyway.. I swallowed hard this year while writing that check... and put the forms and my check in the biz-letter-sized envelope... maybe 6-7 sheets of paper.
Tuesday I stuck a stamp on it and dropped it off at the post office feeling sad... but a little tiny bit virtuous...lol

Today, Saturday, I open my mail box only to find my tax envelope in there staring back at me... with a BIG rubber stamp " postage due=20 cents."

OMG.... those lousy bastids...lol

It was only 6 or 7 pages... I wonder how much over one ounce it was?

Luckily it's only the 14th and I just put another 47 cent stamp on the darn thing and ran back to the now closed post office... and dropped it in the inside lobby mail slot.

Had it been a day later I would have missed the filing dead line.... sheesh!

Great story, Peter. This stuff can't be made up

Today at the store I was asked if I wanted cash back. I told them I wanted cash forward.

"O Peter boy, the pipes, they are a calling...."

That's funny, Peter Not so many years ago one of the tax agencies, I forget if it was Federal or State, printed right where the stamp goes on the envelope, 1-4 sheets place 1 stamp, 5-8 sheets place 2 stamps, etc. I guess they cut out that convenience because the extra ink cost them money.

Can a person still claim against stock investment losses today? My CPA hasn't ever mentioned anything of that sort. Perhaps that partial allowance has changed since the 80's? I would've been taking advantage of that right along.

Well sure. Your broker has to send you a 1099 on any sale and its up to you to put the bought price vs the sale price on your tax form and claim the loss.
Is that what you are asking? You can't claim a loss until you sell, of course.

Yah, If you sell stock for more than you paid, it's a capital gain. Sell for less, and
you have a capital loss. The loss can offset the gain. Peter spread his Cap. loss
over more than one year. Another form or two of course. More stamp money

I do my own taxes. When I send em in, the mailing is certified, fireproofed,
Bullet proofed and radiated. I don't want a late penalty. Seems like I work harder
doing the taxes than I did making the money in the first place.

Might be the last year I do my own.

MY cousin has this phobia about the "big man", how he gets all of the money. Guess who the "big man" is?

Charlie

My CPA sends my return electronically via the internet.

Think of it this way Peter. You're tax bill let's the government run another 1/1000th of a second.

I finished my taxes yesterday. Federal was no problem, to fill out that is The M1 Minnesota form now requires 2 forms to fill out so that the form can be filled out.

Our are sat on top of the printer, waiting to be mailed.

Like Peter, I deduct $3000 every year, though I took my beating in the 2008/9 crash. I actually booked a Net Operating Loss, that year and carried it forward to the next, which was a whole lot of extra forms and such. Unless I make a major capital gain, I'll be deducting 3K each year for the rest of my life.

This thread got me thinking, though. I do my taxes the old fashioned way, working everything out longhand on paper. Others have said that they use a CPA. I think I'll start a poll - "How do you figure your tax return?" It would be interesting to see what we all do.

Never figured my own taxes after I started up in business....

For what it costs me, I find it money well spent. My CPA, who's been with me for 30+ years, has been a good advisor and I can never remember him charging me for answers to my questions over the phone. My wife, who's a utilities account clerk for Freeport Electric, collates all the info needed for a smooth transaction on both Fed and State levels. Throughout the year, all I do is make sure all the daily transactions are documented and stored for her to collate the quarterlies, sales tax and income taxes. (whew)

Peter

You can put 4 pages in an envelope for 1 stamp. Might get away with 5. More than that you will need two stamps.

Jim, only advantage of a person doing their own is understanding how to keep taxes low. After awhile a person may forget what are the deductions.

Postal rates changed last year in that, weight is not the only factor on a "letter", there is a thickness gage as well. Something like anything over 1/4"; That might be what happened here. The bonehead who thought that up probably got a bonus.

More than a decade ago, I had been living back in SoCal,
due to some "Life Changes" (a 'separation', lack of work, and
quite frankly, to be amongst old friends and 'lick my wounds'.

As part of my 'restructuring' I was taking some classes, and
also got my CA. Real Estate Licence.

My classes and another venture were taking up alot of my time,
and I only worked the Real Estate gig part-time. This was right
before the beginning of the Boom, and as a new Agent,
it can take a while to start generating any sales. I was more
concerned with moving back to Oregon to be with my daughter.
As such, I did not sell any houses in the less than a year
period that I was an Agent there.

So you can imagine my shock and surprise when almost 5 years
later, I am reviewing my FICO and...WTH?!
There was a TAX LIEN of $33K for Unpaid Ca. Income Taxes!
HUH?!!

I contacted them and received a letter stating that because I
had not filed for that year that I was working as a RE Agent,
they had simply came up with that figure$ because it was
a ''Probable amount"

Apparently, there had been many agents who made a good deal
of money during the subsequent years of the Boom, didn't File,
and I was just lumped right in with them !
MORE Letters and Phone Calls: "WHY wasn't I contacted BEFORE
you placed a Tax Lien on my Credit Report?"
"We didn't know where you had moved to"....
"REALLY"?
IT was a Nightmare getting them to even believe me, and a
headache getting the Lien removed. Bureaucracy!

Now THAT is a real horror story!

The Beatles had something to say about this...

The Taxman


Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman

Should five per cent appear too small
Be thankful I don't take it all
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah I'm the taxman

If you drive a car, I'll tax the street,
If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat.
If you get too cold I'll tax the heat,
If you take a walk, I'll tax your feet.

Don't ask me what I want it for
If you don't want to pay some more
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman

Now my advice for those who die
Declare the pennies on your eyes
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman
And you're working for no one but me.

RadioNut -

I hope you're sitting down, because I read an article a year or two back in the L.A. Times to the effect that the tax board would simply "make up" income to impute to tax payers in order to scare them into contacting them to start a negotiation.

You, apparently, are a victim of this tactic.

Should be a huge scandal, but in California, men are sheep so it passes as par for the course.