2021. Gonna do that this weekend.



https://www.consumeraffairs.com/finance/taxslayer.html

TurboTax had so many problems that I just cannot file with them.

I have regular income, a little self employment income and 2 rentals. The Turbotax allows me to do my own taxes because it's so easy to follow. I learned a couple of years ago that it's much better to buy the software and download it. That way you can do 5 different FED returns for friends or family and file them electronically. You only get to file 1 State return electronically for free though.

They offer a selection of free software that you can use for your taxes. There are certain restrictions, but we used one. It was easy and we ended up with a refund for the first time in several years. You just use it, and file from the site. No charge.

Federal return..

When we did ours, the program went on to states. But our state doesn't require it. Good luck

as I don't trust a system that is probably easily hacked. I use turbotax but print it and file by mail. OK, so I'm a bit paranoid, but turbotax has been hacked before.

I use TaxAct. Have been for the past several years.

and have for years. They are cheaper than other options like Turbo Tax.

that I cannot proceed.

to a tax professional. The software just asks you questions and you answer them and you put the numbers in the appropriate places. If you have a question they have a "FAQ" for that question..Too simple. I don't know about the business side of it but they also double check for deductions on the home software. YMMV works for me...
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kind of problem. Good pricing, user-friendly.

Submit pics of documents, CPA files taxes. Only a few questions to answer. Used to use TurboTax but this is faster & easier with great service.

Two years ago was my first year with TurboTax and I had a few questions and never had trouble reaching someone reasonably knowledgeable. (Last year I didn't need any help).

First, my mistake. In previous years one could not print the return until one paid. Which made sense.

So I went ahead and paid which means I cannot restart.

But here are the points:

It started with Form 8606, I could not find it. A specialist told me that this year one had to download and mail it separately... What nonsense. I finally found it.

Next. I downloaded 1099 from my broker which included, in addition to Interest and Dividend and Capital Loss also.. carryover losses. From where? I did not have any. My broker insisted that it did not come from them. A specialist suggested to go to the Tools and delete this carryover loss form. Did not do anything. So I went out, tried again and the third time was the charm - it was not there. Still not clear where it came from.

Next, the 300 loop. The special charity adjustment of $300 can be used only with standard deductions. But with our medical expenses - specifically long term care insurance - it was concluded that we should itemize deductions. So far so good.

But then I was in a loop. "need to take care of one thing" - the screen had the image of that 1040 with Line 10b: enter a value, I was directed. So I entered 300, and.. back in the loop: this box has to be blank. So I deleted it and again, enter a value, no, it has to be blank. Back and forth. I think that I spent more than an hour with two different specialists who could not understand it. Yes, I gave them permission to look at my screen. I finally decided to switch to a standard deduction and - problem solved.

Then the state refund all of a sudden was doubled. I tried to edit it, would not accept it. Finally I just deleted and reentered. Again, the specialist was no help.

And last - really last straw. Specialists cannot view all supporting documents. In this case the Social Security Benefits Worksheet. And I noticed that the taxable benefits were lower than what should have been. Yes, I use Excel Spreadsheet. I found those infamous $300 on Line 6 coming from... Schedule 1 Line 22. Except, Schedule 1 Line 22 is blank! There are no entries in the Part II Adjustments to Income. Where did they get it? I tried to reenter the Social Security benefits, nothing.

And here came my second big mistake: Since I found out that one can delete a from - Carryover Losses - I decided to delete this Worksheet Form and now I was done. Cannot undo it, cannot start again.

I talked with many specialists and in all the cases I resolved the problems with them looking over.

It does not seem that anyone can resolve the issue of starting again after paying. And once a form is deleted, it cannot be undone. So, yes, will forfeit the payment and try someplace else. Yes, my mistakes but still there were so many problems.

Funny, I printed the various returns with all each change. One 1040 has a Standard Deduction but no 300 adjustment. The other has both Itemized Deductions and the 300 adjustment.

Perhaps I was too smart for my own good but when I could not get rid of the carryover loss... and then the 300 loop, everything just went downhill from then.

Thanks for listening.

That's INSANE!

What is especially distressing is to hear of your difficulties after paying for it ...

For me, pre-pay, after entering some stuff, it gives some summary numbers, that well, it's really hard to tell from those if some data I entered got in there right, was interpreted by TT correctly and all that (sometimes the questions they ask are kind of obscure, and often, it was like I was guessing at what they mean). And what they summed up for some of the summary numbers was, well, a strange choice of things to add up.

But I would know right away it something I entered got in there correctly if, for example, Form WXYZ Line 22 or whatever had $210 on it -- to see that, or any specific line(s) on my return, I'd have to pay for it.

I was reluctant to pay the first 2 years until I was pretty well done and things were looking good as far as I could tell from the summary numbers.

For this year (I haven't started yet, probably won't until early March at the earliest), I was resolved to trust and pay just about right up front so I could check these things out rather than trying to figure out if things were going OK from the summary numbers.

Well, maybe not. This is very distressing.

Brokerages don't keep track of that because they can't -- carryover losses are based on the sum of all losses from all sources of losses (I have 3 brokerages - Vanguard, Fidelity, Schwab), so any given brokerage won't know about the losses from the other brokerages. Nor would they know your tax history, i.e. carryover losses depend on the previous year less this year's net gains and losses less the $3,000 regular income thingy ...

The starting carryover loss can only come from your prior year's tax return.



Mail one form in separately? The specialist must have been joking. I have never heard of electronically filing a return that is missing a form, and then snail-mailing in the missing form! I thought it was all or nothing -- either file the whole return electronically, or snail-mail in the ENTIRE tax return.

And yuh, Form 8606 is one of the forms that is part of my tax return every year, sigh.

And it took me several years to carry all of them $3,000 a year.

He's excellent, knows all the ins and outs, and keeps up on the yearly changes in things. I consider his fee to be well worth it.

I like to have last years tangible copy to work from. So I print 2 copies.

I did find errors in the forms since Trump scrambled the 1040 into 6 pages. One worksheet asked for info from line 3b. There is no line 3b.

And the Recovery Rebate Credit Worksheet is loaded with landmines. Did you get notice 1444? A or B? It tells you to put zero in line 16, when you get to line 16 it wants you to look up EIP 1 online, and put that amount in line 16. So line 16 is now filled with two numbers - $0 and $1200. EIP 1 is the actual payment from 1444-A. Got it?

Whatever happened to the Paperwork Reduction Act Notice on the 1970s? They were going to simplify the tax code. Only accountants can be happy with this mess, and they're making money from it, and wearing very thick glasses.

Has Congress ever simplified the tax code? Did I read it would take years to read the whole thing? Does any of these credits, worksheets, deductions, promote growth? Are we better off with them?

I went to a pro tax preparer for one form about 10 years ago. They were impressed I had gamed out the rest, which was not an uncomplicated timing move on taxable income, but the one page I couldn't figure it out. They did it. It was $115 for one page with about 8 lines filled in. That's why I do my own taxes.

Parts of the tax instructions have been rewritten over these last 4 years into simpleton gobbledygook. Please put adults back in charge of the Federal government!

To begin with, Form 1040 for 2019 had 24 lines. For 2020 - 37.

If one uses the 1040-SR for seniors, one ends up with three pages!

Line 3b is for Ordinary dividends. Line 16 is the tax... Are you sure you are looking at the right forms and instructions, or are these just theories?

If you received both EIP 1 and EIP 2 you should not bother with any of that.

Interestingly, last year some people at the WSJ proved that hand filing a return, not using a software, is full of errors. Where could they find a hand written return which was available for the public to see? Why, Bernie Sanders, of course. He released 10 years of return and the one from 2009 was by hand. And, yes, they found mistakes both for his benefits and for his losses.

Just make sure that if you use the Standard Deductions, and you gave at least $300 in cash to charity, that you can adjust your income by entering 300 on Line 10b.

Good luck!

I didn't get EIP 2. I have no idea why. They could find me in the spring, but not in December? I worry someone stole my ID. Guess I'll find out. Maybe the bank misdirected it. When you have the worries, you have the worries. At least my paranoia is over actual things that could go wrong, and not generalized line Trumpers.

Thanks for that tips!

(Yes, the IRS does not call on the phone, does not send an email but communicates via snail mail)

It is about the second EIP that it is not taxable and no need to report.

And then it says:

If you haven't received your EIP2 within 7 days of receiving this letter, check the status by going to "Get my Payment" at irs.gov/eip or by using the "Where's My Economic Impact Payment" app on your smart device. Or call 800-919-9835.

but it could be there, I don't get to the PO Box often in the winter.

However, I did go to irs.gov: Payment #2 Status - Not Available

The first one came by direct deposit.

It says on the site they will only trace the payment if you received a 1444. I got that for the first one, with a letter from Trump.

Second one ... zilch. No 1444, no check, no direct deposit. Sounds like they won't issue any more checks, so I have to take my chances and claim it on the income tax form.

Thanks again for the info.

Update: I think this is what happened. IRS.gov says they used 2018 tax returns for EIP1. 2018 I got a refund and had direct deposit info on my tax return. 2019, used for EIP2, I didn't get a refund. I sent them a check. I think that's the glitch because it matches what little they're telling us with my situation.

Yes, even if s/he is an R. This is what they are for, after all, helping their constituents.

Talk to someone in person. This way you will not get a form letter generated after a computer scanned your letter for keywords..

Oh, and the worksheet for getting credit is on page 59 of the 1040 instructions. Not too bad..