Personal Finance and Investing

paper record to easily refer to. And to check to make sure that every input I made is reflected in it correctly, because sometimes I get confused by TurboTax's questions, so I want to make sure it all ended up right.

The main 2 pages is 1040-SR because I had to give it my birthdate so TurboTax knows I'm a senior (that's the "SR" in 1040-SR).

The only reason I brought up a specific line on 1040-SR is to make clear what total taxes paid in 2023 is and where to find that amount when looking at one's tax return. So as not to be confused by some who confuse it with a refund amount or additional tax due or amount withheld and paid in during the year or something else, as many do. It's a critical number for Safe Harbor purposes.

I would NEVER attempt to do my taxes with paper forms and paper and pen (pencil for a working draft) and do all the arithmetic involved in my complicated tax situation. WAYY to much math and way too many ways to screw up, and a nightmare to have to correct or change some number that affects several forms.

I'm glad to hear you use tax software too.

Edited to add - Even with tax software, it's not easy to figure out what one's estimated tax payments should be. If I'm OK with using the first safe harbor amount -- 100% of last year's actual taxes -- then it is easy. But some years I have a big taxes year and I want to use the 2nd safe harbor rule (greater than or equal to 90% of this year's tax amount) if I expect this year's taxes to be substantially less than last year's, so as to avoid paying in a lot more than I need to, thus giving the IRS a big interest free loan. In which case coming up with an estimate is difficult, even with tax software, i.e. making projections of what some input numbers will come out to be.