The past 4 years Linda and I been using tax act to do out taxes. Our returns are pretty simple since we don't have much, don't owe much and don't make that much. This year though what with this health care stuff and yet another IRS form of gibberish to read thru and fill out I was sure we were going to be totally colostimitized. As is our normal habit, we print out the paper IRS forms and sit down and fill them out to go over any figures and see where we are at before filing. After double checking our figures on the paper forms I realized my worst fears had been right. Not much money compared to some but still a good bite out of our income due to the fact that the health care was an issue. Fast forward to this morning. Got on tax act and got started. My wife Linda does most of the heavy lifting since for some reason wiminz seem to be able to type with 10 fingers and I can only type with 2. Well after much sweating and gnashing of teeth, tax act was telling us that things are better than we had originally thought. We thought that's kewl but how could that be so back to our paper work we go to verify the out come. (I don't want no IRS surprises come summer time like I have had in the past) Turns out we had made a small mis calculation and read a tax table wrong but the computer program caught it and we is all even Steven. While it would be nice to get some huge amount of money back from the goobermint this spring I would much rather have it come out as a Mexican stand off. I didn't give money away all year long to some entity that would just waist it, and I don't have to cough up a bunch of cash in April when I really cant afford it. Now, if some one who actually reads and writes these tax forms could do their best to make it easier for the common man I would be happy.
I am still a little skittish about using 3rd party software, I don't want to put out all that personal information on the web. I guess I am just being a Luddite, and every year I resolve to bite the bullet and do it electronically. Your post will give me some encouragement, maybe next year... I got as far as the IRS screen that wanted me to get a PIN, and said screw it, and just filled out and printed then mailed 'em in.
We just had a news article here, one of the companies (tubotax? not sure) , some users went to file and a crook had already filed in their name. Refund gone, spent by the crook. Those people have no recourse.
Trust me, I know how you feel. I remember the first time I used my 1 and only credit card to order something on the web. I was just sure that something very bad was going to come of it. In this electronic age though, I am pretty sure you have a better chance of personal information being stolen from something as simple as using a credit/debit card at a restaurant or buying a set of tires at a chain store or even 1 piece of mail that accidentally gets mis delivered. When you think about it, the only piece of info on a tax return that isn't readily available to any one with time, your name and addy and a modicum of computer skills, is you SS number. It sucks that things have to be like that but it is what it is anymore.
Yes but, that wasn't the fault of the turbo tax software. The crooks that did it had the victims personal info before hand.
Yeah, I was looking at a piece about this: https://krebsonsecurity.com/2015/02/turbotaxs-anti-fraud-efforts-under-scrutiny/
Good to know. I haven't done our taxes in many years but when I did I used turbotax. Confident my personal info is ok luckily.
Just another thought on the matter. If you go to H&R block, or even a private accountant to have your taxes done, how do you think they file them with the IRS? if you should choose to have the e-file them for you? And the mail? well, I live in a rural area where no one would even see if someone would drive up to the end of my lane and open up my mail box that sits right out on the road and grab every piece of mail in there. A big part of the problem is (I aint getting political here so calm down) the tax laws in this country have gotten so complicated and out of hand that even those who write the tax mumbo jumbo don't understand them.
You bring up a lot of important points. I have read that the most UNSAFE place to put your return is in your mailbox! I do mail mine, and sadly, most of the time from my own receptacle. I went to H&R exactly once, the year my hubby died, and they charged a fortune and still made a mistake. I didn't get audited, but I just did my own ever since. I should woman up and start doing them electronically, but I have to be motivated. This thread is helping.
"colostimitized"... perfect description of the bottom suction that happens dealing with the IRS Butcher
I use TurboTax Canada and I purchase and download the software to my computer, do the income tax returns on my computer and then e-file them to the government. the only time my info is on the internet is when I am actually e-filing. I have done it this way for years and it is nice to have software that catches mistakes or suggests tax breaks that I might not know about.
For me personally, I refuse to pay to get my own hard-earned money back. 'Course, I am a natural born cheapskate; I also refuse to pay for cable TV when I can get it clearly with my rooftop antenna where I live. The Government already knows what you owe, they should either send you a check or an bill. If you contest it with itemized expenses, then you can file. They can leave the rest of us alone. I know, I know, last statement made with tongue firmly in cheek.
