Kat's Notebook » tax filing

Filing more tax return

Katkat — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 21:25:00 +0000

I have completed filing my income tax return this year and I’ve already received my refund. I thought that was it for taxes this year. Unfortunately my mom is recovering from her surgery so I have been tasked to file both my parents’ and my brother’s ITR. My mom usually does my brother’s but she’s not well so… It’s easy to file my brother’s ITR because it’s very straightforward. I have already completed filing his and darn he’s going to receive a big refund. I told him that he pays me tax preparer fee. And he agreed to my demand of 1 dozen of original glazed Krispy Kreme doughnuts.

As for my parents, they have many different tax forms other than the W2. Added to that I have to itemize their deductions because it seems bigger than the standard deduction. Filing their ITR is actually a good training ground for me when my life

gets complicated as I grow older. With the help of free e-filing companies listed by the IRS, it’s easy to file tax return despite my grumblings. This year I have opted efiletaxreturns for my federal ITR and fileyourtaxes for my brother’s and parents’. For the state tax return, I used calfile. I just input the figures the program is asking and they compute the refund for me. They efile the return to IRS and I get my refund straight to my bank. When I compare the refund figures using different efiling companies, the results are the same so whichever company you choose, you will get a fair refund as long as you input the figures correctly. I believe that filing it through these efiling programs are more reliant than computing it and filling out the tax forms on your own.

So I guess we should not ignore filing tax because it’s easier to do than it seems.

It’s tax season again!

Katkat — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 04:57:00 +0000

Yup this is my annual rant on filing tax. As you know me by now, I hate filing my income tax. Not because I hate the government or the system, I just don’t like numbers. Just looking at the numbers in my W2 form and then writing it down on the 1040 is making my head spin. But to give the tax its due, filing income tax is really easy. There’s no algebraic or geometric formulas involved. The only mathematical functions tax filing uses are addition, subtraction, and multiplication. Oh..yeah…there’s also rounding off numbers. But this easy approach only applies to people who are like me: single, no dependents, no itemized deductions, and salary/wages as form of income. For those with other stuffs like property tax, dependent inclusions, itemized deductions…well, good luck. I’m not there yet so it was easy for me to file my tax despite my grumbling.

Last year I received quite an income because I had a steady job for most of the year so I was worried that this would give me a corresponding higher tax bracket, like what happened two years ago. I was anxious that I would have to pay tax this year. I computed it in paper and was dismayed that I do need to pay tax, as I’d predicted. So I e-filed my tax a while ago and…I just thanked God that math was really not my forte.

I’m going to have refund again this year. Thank you Lord!

I got tax refund!

Katkat — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 01:11:00 +0000

I hate filing income tax return. But it’s one event I am excited about because I can get free money from the government! Of course it’s not free – they were paid by my salary but still it’s a free bonus. Last year I didn’t get a refund. The year before that I got more than 500 refunded. And there was that stimulus package of 300USD. But that was long time ago. Now the idea of a stimulus package is unfounded.

Anyway, I finished my ITR filing mid-March. 2 weeks later I found out that I missed filing one more form. Uggghhh. I thought I needed to do the amended tax return form for next year. But fortunately, the IRS wasn’t able to process my ITR because there was an error. I was able to correct that error and added the other tax form I forgot to file. I filed it a week ago. 5 days after, I got my refund!!! Ka-ching!!!

My refund is comparable to a round-trip ticket to the Philippines during lean season. But I already saved money for that ticket. I’m debating whether to reward myself with 2 pairs of Nike rubber shoes or a shopping spree or set it aside for some future travel plans. It’s so tempting to spend when it’s free money.

I am thankful to God for this blessing.

It’s Tax season!

Katkat — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 02:48:57 +0000

It’s one of the times in the year when I am expected to be a grown-up. Filing tax is a chore for me. When I see numbers and calculations, I become cross-eyed. But I have to do the tax. I could let my mom do it for me but she has a lot on her plate right now, so…

It is important to file an income tax return. I’ve never filed one in the Philippines. Even though I take up a temporary or seasonal job, I never file in an income tax return. It’s because the employer doesn’t give me any tax documents. So every cent just goes into my pocket – tax free! In the US, I’m afraid to try not filing tax. The IRS sounds scary and the penalty is mortifying. It’s fairly easy to file tax. The government provides the resources for the taxpayer to encourage them to file tax. They have free tax forms, free online filing help, free electronic filing, etc. Hence there is no excuse not to file tax return.

I’ve just finished filing my income tax return electronically today. I chose the CompleteTax efiling. The past weeks I have dallied with calculating my tax in paper wanting to double check it later online. I got past my cross-eyedness to get down to business. You don’t need to be a CPA to file your own tax. The forms are easy to comprehend and instructions are presented well. I followed all the directions and with a little bit of help from my mom, I was able to calculate my refund. Yup I’m having refund this year!!! Yahoo!

Initially I thought my refund is under 200USD. But when I filed it electronically, they found some deductions that actually increased my refund. Double yahoo! I couldn’t believe it. I rechecked everything and I was sure I didn’t miss out on anything. My parents said that it’s ok if there were some errors in the calculation because the IRS will review it anyway and they will correct the amount. So I hope there’s no correction and I’m truly going to receive more than 500USD refund based on their calculations. For my state resident income tax return however, I’m only getting under 50USD. hehehe.

So for all tax-filers, do not perish. There’s light at the end of the IRS tunnel.