A relatively short post this week. It is the “end run” of tax season.
I managed to finish the last two returns for clients on Monday - out in the mail to then on Tuesday - whew! One of them was a 2015 return for a friend of mine. If she does not have it in the mail by Monday she will lose her refund. Just a reminder - if you have been procrastinating and haven’t filed your 2015 return yet - you will lose your refund if you don’t file it by Monday (April 10, 2019). If you owe taxes though - the various governments will keep trying to collect it - so file your return also. Filing your late 2016 or 2017 returns is a good idea too! Also it always best to file the current return - 2018 on time! If you can’t finish it in time apply for an extension of time to file - Form 4868 from IRS, state forms vary by state. This does not give you extra time to pay your taxes -so if you will owe taxes, try to estimate how much and send the payment along with the extension.
I have the two hardest returns left to do - ours and our little corporation. I more or less finished ours today. I will wait to clear to my head and check it over tomorrow and then print it out.
Now that our return is done I can do our corporation return - some items are paid from our personal accounts for the corporation - and I have to figure out the cost of the use of our van for the corporation (which is why I have to do ours first). Barring some strange occurrence -which if you read my posts regularly you will know we have had a lot of lately - I should have both returns finished, printed and ready to be signed and mailed in plenty of time.
Only one problem remains. As mentioned we pay for some items from our personal accounts - particularly since the corporation does not have a credit card or have much money (I never said it was a successful business). I have to keep track of what we paid for the corporation and sometimes what the corporation paid for us (it has an online payment account and we don’t so for rare online payments we sometimes use the corporation’s account).
The amounts paid out by us for the corporation and paid out by the corporation for us should be the same (in reverse) on both sets of “books”. They are not. I spent all of last night looking for the error(s) and could not find them. So as soon as I post this I will be back to trying to figure out what is wrong. It is more than one error as I searched the books on both ends for the amount I am out and it does not exist.
And while writing this and working on our taxes - I am also doing the laundry!
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK -
Remember get your income taxes done - now - don’t procrastinate. You will be glad you did whether you get a refund or you owe you money and won’t have to pay late fees and interest if you file on time.
Showing posts with label government forms. Show all posts
Showing posts with label government forms. Show all posts
Thursday, April 11, 2019
Wednesday, February 6, 2019
ARE YOU CHECKING THE FORMS COMING IN WITH INCOME, ETC. TO DO YOUR INCOME TAXES?
I was reminded yesterday that one should always check the forms that come in with income, etc.at the year end to help you prepare your income taxes. I am sure you understand what I mean all the W2, assorted 1099s maybe some K1 forms... NEVER ASSUME THAT EVERYTHING IS OKAY UNTIL YOU CHECK THE NUMBERS!
I thought that I was doing well, doing as I always do. I use a bookkeeping program all year, so all I have to do is compare the totals for the year as I always do - well maybe. Husband has an IRA at each of 2 credit unions. (Credit unions function like banks, but the depositors own it. Originally they were “affinity” organizations - one had to work for a certain type of company or live in a certain area to “join”; they are now allowed to have people joined who are not members of a limited group.) We have been making withdrawals as we need to supplement our other income from one of the two credit unions - we like the other one better and the other one has slightly better interest rates. Last year, however I noticed that the IRA money in the other as his account had gone over the insured amount, so we took money from it once last year. I keep on eye on what we might need and will have husband transfer money from a CD (fixed time saving certificate of deposit) in the IRA into a savings account in the IRA so that we always have some money not in a CD that we can go in and make a withdrawal from that account - we do this as if we withdrew money from a CD not when it renews there would be a bank penalty.
To protect the (not really) “innocent” I will refer to the credit union that we have been withdrawing from over the years as “Union A” and the other one - the one we like and just started withdrawing from - as Union B or none of this will make sense.
For those of you not in the US - Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) are so that people who work and do not have a pension at work can set aside money for retirement. I will not go into all of the details of same as you will all have headaches if I do - but basically one must be 59.5 years old or older to take out money without an IRA penalty and one pays income taxes on the money one withdraws. The IRA can also be used if one had a pension and leaves work by one having the pension money transferred (rolled over) into a IRA (at bank, credit union. stock broker and a variety of other financial institutions). In our case, husband’s IRAs are the rollover of his pension when he quit his job. (This is not something called a Roth IRA - which I will not go into explaining as it has no relation to any of this.)
As an accountant I consider myself good at keeping track of our money. Every bank statement is timely reconciled - including those for the IRAs. I also have a (very) small IRA at Union B as I had no pension.
When the year end forms showing the income (withdrawals from) from husband’s IRA at Union
A arrived, I looked at the amount of income (withdrawals) it showed for the year and compared it to the total in my bookkeeping software and it matched. Remember, through 2017 we had only made withdrawals from the Union A IRA.
Well, yesterday the paperwork arrived from Union B and I went to check it against the total in my bookkeeping software and I realized something was wrong - MAJOR WRONG. The Union B form showed that he (we) had withdrawn three times as much as I showed we did. Then I remembered that the entire amount withdrawn on my software was the same as what was withdrawn from Union A. I pulled out the year end Union A paperwork to figure it out.
Remember I said that we transfer money within the IRA at Union A and also within the IRA at Union B (each credit union separately - not between the two IRAs)? Somehow both credit unions had made a mistake in a transfer within the IRA at that credit union. The paperwork from Union A had looked right as the amount transferred within same (from CD to savings account) happened to be equal to the withdrawal we made at Union B. The form from Union A actually showed several thousand dollars more than we had actually withdrawn.
At Union B we had gone in and taken money during the year (as I said, just happened to be the same amount as the transfer at Union A) and at the same time - on separate paperwork - we had transferred money within that IRA into the IRA savings account at that credit union. So - it was by chance that the paperwork from Union A looked correct when it was not. At Union B we had transferred twice as much as we had withdrawn - hence, since the same sort of error was made there - the paperwork showed that we had withdrawn 3 times as much as we did.
So today - after a quick “fun” stop at the doctor for followup blood test - we drove to Union A. We went there first as in general they don’t always seem to know what they are doing and there was no paperwork for the transfer there - only a withdrawal and deposit slip. As we thought about it and looked at the paperwork I did have, we remembered the problems the day we transferred (or thought we transferred) the money. We had gone to the branch of Union A we normally go to - a small branch closer to us than the main branch. There has been a very nice and competent employee there that would we wait for. She was not there. The fellow who was there did not have any idea what he was doing and we left and went to the main branch. In the main branch they were having a “summer beach party” theme event (banking is not suppose to be fun - it is business). I did not have a business card from the employee - who seemed competent at the time - and had written his name down as he did not have one. I remembered when thinking about it that it had all seemed too quick.
When we went in today I asked for a manager or supervisor and was questioned at the reception desk as to why I needed one and told that any of the employees can do that - I told the woman at the desk, we preferred to deal with a manager to do this. An employee came out - based on where she had come from I knew she was not a manager. When we shook hands I asked what kind of manager she was - she was not and I repeated my request, which again, she tried to talk me out of. We eventually met with the assistant manager. Luckily she understood and she was able to correct the error. We are to get new paperwork - both the required paperwork for our income taxes showing the amount he received for the year and we also requested a new “summary statement” as we will need that later in year to apply for the real estate senior deduction (the one seemed not to have arrived at the township back in December). Hopefully we will have correct copies of both in about a week.
Oh, this manager said something that no one should every say about their business to a customer. I had told her that we have not been happy with the credit union in general -“Really? How come you have not moved your account elsewhere then?” Instead of “I am so sorry to hear that - what can we do to make it better for you?” (Which husband basically told her - employees need better training in IRAs and don’t have event parties.”) She basically suggested to us that we should not bank with her credit union and we should move our money elsewhere!
We then drove to Union B. I was not as concerned about dealing with the problem at same as the employee ( a very good one that we ask for when we go in) had filled in the form to have this processed correctly - it just had not been done correctly by whoever processed it. What a difference! We asked to speak to a manager. Other than being offered someone else to help as the manager was with a customer, there was no question about us speaking with her. When we speaking she commented (in reference to something said) “Some customers just like to stop in and say hello to me.”
She corrected the error - and apologized it for it. She could not get us a replacement summary statement for the year. She came up with an idea and printed out each account for the year, stamped it with the bank’s rubber stamp and signed it as an alternative. So much more pleasant and not at all adversarial as the other credit union had been!
Hopefully this all is resolved now other than our receiving the amended forms. I have now decided that whatever is going on and making us redo things a second time is some sort of curse and I don’t know where it came from or how to get rid of it.
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK -
When you get financial papers - make sure they are correct. Always reconcile statements. Do the math to make sure that those W2, 1099, etc forms to prepare your tax returns are correct - do the math. We have not had a problem before - but this year we had two problems from 2 separate sources.
Check things when you receive them. Some banks will not correct statement errors after the month you receive the statement. In this case if I had put these papers aside until I was ready to do our taxes - instead of checking right away - in addition to being concerned about getting them corrected, I might be facing a tight deadline to get them corrected to file our return. Keep the assorted slips and papers you receive when making a deposit, transfer or withdrawal. The more paperwork you have to back up your side if there is a problem - the better off you are - even if you scan the papers into the computer to keep them there.
Start now keeping things organized for your 2019 taxes due in April 2020. No - really - start now as papers come in. I have a folder in my paid bills accordion holder marked “1099s”. Anything I receive during the year that is a form like this I toss in this folder. I also have folders for our car and our van (both are partially business expenses) - I put receipts for cash paid for either, plus the invoices from the mechanic, etc for either, in the appropriate folder. There is also an “accounting” folder for receipts for cash paid for same also - including receipts for parking and for subway fares when I go to clients. At the end of the year all these folders - except the “1099" are pulled out and put in a holder I have for clients (and us) that holds the papers for taxes. This lets me start putting in the new year’s receipts (took out 2018 papers, now can use for 2019 papers). The “1099" folder still holds items for 2018 right now as they are coming in the mail and it is extremely rare to receive any of these forms for the current year this early in the year.
I thought that I was doing well, doing as I always do. I use a bookkeeping program all year, so all I have to do is compare the totals for the year as I always do - well maybe. Husband has an IRA at each of 2 credit unions. (Credit unions function like banks, but the depositors own it. Originally they were “affinity” organizations - one had to work for a certain type of company or live in a certain area to “join”; they are now allowed to have people joined who are not members of a limited group.) We have been making withdrawals as we need to supplement our other income from one of the two credit unions - we like the other one better and the other one has slightly better interest rates. Last year, however I noticed that the IRA money in the other as his account had gone over the insured amount, so we took money from it once last year. I keep on eye on what we might need and will have husband transfer money from a CD (fixed time saving certificate of deposit) in the IRA into a savings account in the IRA so that we always have some money not in a CD that we can go in and make a withdrawal from that account - we do this as if we withdrew money from a CD not when it renews there would be a bank penalty.
To protect the (not really) “innocent” I will refer to the credit union that we have been withdrawing from over the years as “Union A” and the other one - the one we like and just started withdrawing from - as Union B or none of this will make sense.
For those of you not in the US - Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) are so that people who work and do not have a pension at work can set aside money for retirement. I will not go into all of the details of same as you will all have headaches if I do - but basically one must be 59.5 years old or older to take out money without an IRA penalty and one pays income taxes on the money one withdraws. The IRA can also be used if one had a pension and leaves work by one having the pension money transferred (rolled over) into a IRA (at bank, credit union. stock broker and a variety of other financial institutions). In our case, husband’s IRAs are the rollover of his pension when he quit his job. (This is not something called a Roth IRA - which I will not go into explaining as it has no relation to any of this.)
As an accountant I consider myself good at keeping track of our money. Every bank statement is timely reconciled - including those for the IRAs. I also have a (very) small IRA at Union B as I had no pension.
When the year end forms showing the income (withdrawals from) from husband’s IRA at Union
A arrived, I looked at the amount of income (withdrawals) it showed for the year and compared it to the total in my bookkeeping software and it matched. Remember, through 2017 we had only made withdrawals from the Union A IRA.
Well, yesterday the paperwork arrived from Union B and I went to check it against the total in my bookkeeping software and I realized something was wrong - MAJOR WRONG. The Union B form showed that he (we) had withdrawn three times as much as I showed we did. Then I remembered that the entire amount withdrawn on my software was the same as what was withdrawn from Union A. I pulled out the year end Union A paperwork to figure it out.
Remember I said that we transfer money within the IRA at Union A and also within the IRA at Union B (each credit union separately - not between the two IRAs)? Somehow both credit unions had made a mistake in a transfer within the IRA at that credit union. The paperwork from Union A had looked right as the amount transferred within same (from CD to savings account) happened to be equal to the withdrawal we made at Union B. The form from Union A actually showed several thousand dollars more than we had actually withdrawn.
At Union B we had gone in and taken money during the year (as I said, just happened to be the same amount as the transfer at Union A) and at the same time - on separate paperwork - we had transferred money within that IRA into the IRA savings account at that credit union. So - it was by chance that the paperwork from Union A looked correct when it was not. At Union B we had transferred twice as much as we had withdrawn - hence, since the same sort of error was made there - the paperwork showed that we had withdrawn 3 times as much as we did.
So today - after a quick “fun” stop at the doctor for followup blood test - we drove to Union A. We went there first as in general they don’t always seem to know what they are doing and there was no paperwork for the transfer there - only a withdrawal and deposit slip. As we thought about it and looked at the paperwork I did have, we remembered the problems the day we transferred (or thought we transferred) the money. We had gone to the branch of Union A we normally go to - a small branch closer to us than the main branch. There has been a very nice and competent employee there that would we wait for. She was not there. The fellow who was there did not have any idea what he was doing and we left and went to the main branch. In the main branch they were having a “summer beach party” theme event (banking is not suppose to be fun - it is business). I did not have a business card from the employee - who seemed competent at the time - and had written his name down as he did not have one. I remembered when thinking about it that it had all seemed too quick.
When we went in today I asked for a manager or supervisor and was questioned at the reception desk as to why I needed one and told that any of the employees can do that - I told the woman at the desk, we preferred to deal with a manager to do this. An employee came out - based on where she had come from I knew she was not a manager. When we shook hands I asked what kind of manager she was - she was not and I repeated my request, which again, she tried to talk me out of. We eventually met with the assistant manager. Luckily she understood and she was able to correct the error. We are to get new paperwork - both the required paperwork for our income taxes showing the amount he received for the year and we also requested a new “summary statement” as we will need that later in year to apply for the real estate senior deduction (the one seemed not to have arrived at the township back in December). Hopefully we will have correct copies of both in about a week.
Oh, this manager said something that no one should every say about their business to a customer. I had told her that we have not been happy with the credit union in general -“Really? How come you have not moved your account elsewhere then?” Instead of “I am so sorry to hear that - what can we do to make it better for you?” (Which husband basically told her - employees need better training in IRAs and don’t have event parties.”) She basically suggested to us that we should not bank with her credit union and we should move our money elsewhere!
We then drove to Union B. I was not as concerned about dealing with the problem at same as the employee ( a very good one that we ask for when we go in) had filled in the form to have this processed correctly - it just had not been done correctly by whoever processed it. What a difference! We asked to speak to a manager. Other than being offered someone else to help as the manager was with a customer, there was no question about us speaking with her. When we speaking she commented (in reference to something said) “Some customers just like to stop in and say hello to me.”
She corrected the error - and apologized it for it. She could not get us a replacement summary statement for the year. She came up with an idea and printed out each account for the year, stamped it with the bank’s rubber stamp and signed it as an alternative. So much more pleasant and not at all adversarial as the other credit union had been!
Hopefully this all is resolved now other than our receiving the amended forms. I have now decided that whatever is going on and making us redo things a second time is some sort of curse and I don’t know where it came from or how to get rid of it.
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK -
When you get financial papers - make sure they are correct. Always reconcile statements. Do the math to make sure that those W2, 1099, etc forms to prepare your tax returns are correct - do the math. We have not had a problem before - but this year we had two problems from 2 separate sources.
Check things when you receive them. Some banks will not correct statement errors after the month you receive the statement. In this case if I had put these papers aside until I was ready to do our taxes - instead of checking right away - in addition to being concerned about getting them corrected, I might be facing a tight deadline to get them corrected to file our return. Keep the assorted slips and papers you receive when making a deposit, transfer or withdrawal. The more paperwork you have to back up your side if there is a problem - the better off you are - even if you scan the papers into the computer to keep them there.
Start now keeping things organized for your 2019 taxes due in April 2020. No - really - start now as papers come in. I have a folder in my paid bills accordion holder marked “1099s”. Anything I receive during the year that is a form like this I toss in this folder. I also have folders for our car and our van (both are partially business expenses) - I put receipts for cash paid for either, plus the invoices from the mechanic, etc for either, in the appropriate folder. There is also an “accounting” folder for receipts for cash paid for same also - including receipts for parking and for subway fares when I go to clients. At the end of the year all these folders - except the “1099" are pulled out and put in a holder I have for clients (and us) that holds the papers for taxes. This lets me start putting in the new year’s receipts (took out 2018 papers, now can use for 2019 papers). The “1099" folder still holds items for 2018 right now as they are coming in the mail and it is extremely rare to receive any of these forms for the current year this early in the year.
Thursday, January 10, 2019
2018 SEEMS TO BE CONTINUING INTO 2019
Well, this year seems to be a continuation of last year. Not only did husband hurt himself again (as I mentioned last week) - although a lot less than he did last year, I am doing things over again.
I still have one client who has an employee - herself. I have to prepare an IRS W2 form for her each January, along with a covering form named (appropriately) W3. Then since I don’t use a business name, I also have to prepare a similar form for people one pays that are not employees called 1099-MISC which also needs a covering form named 1096. Unlike most IRS forms which one can download from their website and fill in, these forms have red markings on the copies which go to IRS and can only be filled in as a preprinted form - available from IRS for free and can also be purchased at stationary stores and online. One can also buy software to fill in the forms, The alternative to filling in the forms is to do it online free at the IRS website (or various companies that charge to do so). Most companies have payroll companies which take care of their payroll for them and deal with this for them.
Knowing I will need to do this and knowing that my typing is terrible, even with the word processing typewriter (lets one type a line, check it, and then print it) I have, I always order more forms than I need to have spares. I do this in December so I will have them in January to fill them in. I did so last month - in December 2018, ordering forms for the 2018 year. The forms arrived within the 10 days they are suppose to arrive. I opened the envelope - remember all the craziness last month - and I checked the form numbers and how many of them had been sent - all okay. I put them under my desk where I keep the forms to wait for this month. I am so organized about this since I do it every year.
Last Thursday I decided to fill in the forms while I had some time. I know what the client’s payroll is and can do so without having gone to her yet this month. These forms used to be that the form to the employee/other person had to be given to them by the end of January and mailed to IRS by the end of February. Due to the increasing number of fraudulent tax forms being filed, as of 2 years ago the IRS copies also have to be filed by the end of January. So I fill in the forms before I go to my client so I can have her sign them and mail them out. (I used to bring them to her in February and they were signed and mailed then.)
It took me all 6 copies of the W2 forms I have, and at least 2-3 of the other forms to get a correctly typed form and over Thursday and Friday. I breathed a sigh of relief and scanning them into my computer to keep a copy of them on same. I scanned in the W3 and W2 forms. I then scanned in the 1096 form and was about to scan in the 1099 form when I noticed something and got extremely upset. I had not received 2018 forms - I was sent 2017 forms and none of the forms I had typed were usable. Not only that, but since one can no longer pick up forms at local IRS offices, I had to order them again - during the Federal government shut down!
We went looking online. I can buy the forms - they will run me around $60 for all 4 forms as they sold in much larger quantities than even I with my terrible typing would need to make one form of each. I also would have to make sure that the forms were attached multiple parts that allow one to type all copies at once (W2 forms are 6 part, the 1099 forms are 4 part and the others are 2 part) as if they are not I would have to type each copy of the form separately. (The forms have extra copies as there are copies for IRS, state, employer, and the W2 has 3 copies for the employee - the 1099 has one copy, and the other two have a copy to file with IRS and copy for the employer to keep.)
I can file them directly online with IRS, but I don’t like the idea of putting the client’s and my Social Security number through the Internet, but if nothing else works, that will be what I have to do.
So, I am waiting to see if I receive the forms from IRS before I go to the client - and then start typing them all over again. If I don’t received them in time, I will have to file them online. If I do receive them in time - I have to type them all over again!!
I am not sure why we are in a “place” where it seems that everything we do - from something as simple to as buying a Barbie doll to tax forms that I prepare every year to ordering checks has to be redone.
On the other hand, I did get the second order of the checks I ordered and this order seems to be correct. I am currently shredding the incorrect ones. (I held on to them in case they wanted them back.) To make sure I did not “muck it up” I stored the second, correct set before starting to shred the first set. I am shredding them a bit at a time to not overwhelm the shredder.
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -
Sometimes when we are in a “bad” time it just goes on and on. I know that at some point - hopefully soon - this will end and I will be able to go back to doing things once. One just has to do what needs to be done until there is change in karma.
I still have one client who has an employee - herself. I have to prepare an IRS W2 form for her each January, along with a covering form named (appropriately) W3. Then since I don’t use a business name, I also have to prepare a similar form for people one pays that are not employees called 1099-MISC which also needs a covering form named 1096. Unlike most IRS forms which one can download from their website and fill in, these forms have red markings on the copies which go to IRS and can only be filled in as a preprinted form - available from IRS for free and can also be purchased at stationary stores and online. One can also buy software to fill in the forms, The alternative to filling in the forms is to do it online free at the IRS website (or various companies that charge to do so). Most companies have payroll companies which take care of their payroll for them and deal with this for them.
Knowing I will need to do this and knowing that my typing is terrible, even with the word processing typewriter (lets one type a line, check it, and then print it) I have, I always order more forms than I need to have spares. I do this in December so I will have them in January to fill them in. I did so last month - in December 2018, ordering forms for the 2018 year. The forms arrived within the 10 days they are suppose to arrive. I opened the envelope - remember all the craziness last month - and I checked the form numbers and how many of them had been sent - all okay. I put them under my desk where I keep the forms to wait for this month. I am so organized about this since I do it every year.
Last Thursday I decided to fill in the forms while I had some time. I know what the client’s payroll is and can do so without having gone to her yet this month. These forms used to be that the form to the employee/other person had to be given to them by the end of January and mailed to IRS by the end of February. Due to the increasing number of fraudulent tax forms being filed, as of 2 years ago the IRS copies also have to be filed by the end of January. So I fill in the forms before I go to my client so I can have her sign them and mail them out. (I used to bring them to her in February and they were signed and mailed then.)
It took me all 6 copies of the W2 forms I have, and at least 2-3 of the other forms to get a correctly typed form and over Thursday and Friday. I breathed a sigh of relief and scanning them into my computer to keep a copy of them on same. I scanned in the W3 and W2 forms. I then scanned in the 1096 form and was about to scan in the 1099 form when I noticed something and got extremely upset. I had not received 2018 forms - I was sent 2017 forms and none of the forms I had typed were usable. Not only that, but since one can no longer pick up forms at local IRS offices, I had to order them again - during the Federal government shut down!
We went looking online. I can buy the forms - they will run me around $60 for all 4 forms as they sold in much larger quantities than even I with my terrible typing would need to make one form of each. I also would have to make sure that the forms were attached multiple parts that allow one to type all copies at once (W2 forms are 6 part, the 1099 forms are 4 part and the others are 2 part) as if they are not I would have to type each copy of the form separately. (The forms have extra copies as there are copies for IRS, state, employer, and the W2 has 3 copies for the employee - the 1099 has one copy, and the other two have a copy to file with IRS and copy for the employer to keep.)
I can file them directly online with IRS, but I don’t like the idea of putting the client’s and my Social Security number through the Internet, but if nothing else works, that will be what I have to do.
So, I am waiting to see if I receive the forms from IRS before I go to the client - and then start typing them all over again. If I don’t received them in time, I will have to file them online. If I do receive them in time - I have to type them all over again!!
I am not sure why we are in a “place” where it seems that everything we do - from something as simple to as buying a Barbie doll to tax forms that I prepare every year to ordering checks has to be redone.
On the other hand, I did get the second order of the checks I ordered and this order seems to be correct. I am currently shredding the incorrect ones. (I held on to them in case they wanted them back.) To make sure I did not “muck it up” I stored the second, correct set before starting to shred the first set. I am shredding them a bit at a time to not overwhelm the shredder.
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -
Sometimes when we are in a “bad” time it just goes on and on. I know that at some point - hopefully soon - this will end and I will be able to go back to doing things once. One just has to do what needs to be done until there is change in karma.
Thursday, December 13, 2018
HOW MANY THINGS CAN NEED TO BE REDONE?
I know I complain a lot. Life used to be relatively organized. I would do things and be done with them. Lately everything seems to be awry. I do things and they have to be redone.
One of the things I do in November is reserve the meeting room for the following year for my embroidery group. This was relatively simple at first. I would receive the paperwork in the mail early in November, fill it in, have my signature notarized and mail it back - and we had room - free - to meet in for another year.
We had met in a series of churches over decades - back to before I joined the group in the 1990s. (The group is around 40 years old.) We would pay for our meeting room. The group used to be over 400 members. The group would have workshops and interested members would pay for same which would allow the group to pay for a meeting room. Over the years members aged (with the inevitable result) and moved away. Women were working and could not come to day meetings. (A new group had broken off from ours and meets at night in the next county - some members belong to both groups.) Interest in embroidery waned. We were down to around 20 members. I figured out (as treasurer) that in 3 years we no longer would have anything in the treasury and the group would be gone. As I was about to sign the agreement for the next year, I noticed a mailer from the local township. One of the parks caught my eye. I called and asked about the use of a room for meetings. We had just enough percentage of members who were residents of the township for a room - since we are non-profit - it would be free! We were given space at a park other than the one I saw and we have been there for 5 years now. The women who work in the park office have been very nice. The first woman who ran it, however retired. Since then it has been a bit confused in renewing the room. Last year I did not get the form until late so I had made a note for November 1 to check with them.
October 31 I received a phone call asking for the group’s email address. I called back and left it on voice mail. A week later, nothing had come and I had not heard from anyone. I called back in case my voice mail had gone astray and was given someone else’s voice mail and left the info again. Another week - I called and was told that the forms would be out shortly. The next week was Thanksgiving. I was telephoned the day before same by the woman who used to run the department who again asked for my email - I told her the story and she apologized. She called back later to check which park we meet in. Thank goodness it was all finally going to be done with! On Tuesday the next week I received the paperwork by email. I filled it in. Wednesday I went to the bank and had the paperwork notarized and on Thursday mailed it back. All done, finally, how great.
The following Tuesday I had a telephone message when we got home from errands, basically, sorry. another group meets in that room then. Hmmm, we meet in that room then, maybe the nice former director had filled us in already on some chart or form? I called her back the next morning. No - another group was meeting at an overlapping time to ours - and she had a different location for us to met. I questioned how this had happened. The other group got their paperwork in first. I told her the story of trying to get the paperwork and how unfair that someone else had, apparently gotten their paperwork earlier than us and taken our space. I also explained that we were a group of “old ladies” - which we are, at 65 I am the youngest - and I was afraid that finding the other park would be too hard for them. She hmmmed a bit. Then said that since we only meet once a month and the other group meets more often maybe she could get them to give up the room for the once a month. She did and we have the room back for next year.
Totally unrelated - and dealing with the county instead of the township - husband and I are entitled to a reduction in our real estate taxes due to our age and income. I started collecting information for the paperwork in January - well I actually collected some during 2017. I had to telephone our medical insurance companies for last year (which we had 4 of do to R switching to Medicare partway through the year) and get printouts of the premiums paid to them - listed by month paid. Of course one only gave a total and I to keep after them for the correct info. I also had to get listings of what we paid for prescriptions (Walmart pharmacy was the easiest of all the info needed for me to get) and the dentist and doctors from the providers themselves. I did not bother with the doctors as payments to them were minor. We have to get statements from who we paid - canceled checks are not accepted.
In late August I received the renewal papers from the county (we had gone through all this last year for the first time). I filled them in and continued to chase down missing information. While husband was incapacitated I finished the forms and started making the photocopies I needed to give them - photocopies of income, of the medical expenses, etc. I wrote a summary of what I was giving them. I wrote a cover letter. We mailed it out certified mail (almost $7 postage) on November 27 - and received the information that it had been delivered and signed for on November 29. We sat back to wait to hear from the county in April - maybe earlier if they wanted some other information.
Monday night we got a robocall from the county executive that we have not yet filled the renewal for our exemption! We panicked. Tuesday I was taking my mom to her doctor and I called before I left for her house. I got a voice mail setup and left my information and asked them to PLEASE call back and let me know if they were missing our application - knowing that they would not call back. Oh, well, this was better than last year. Last year when I called for information their telephone number was continually answered by voice mail that said, basically, we are too busy to answer the phone - goodby, although after calling for several weeks the message was changed by adding - that there is not enough parking here, so don’t come either. While mom was in with her doctor I called again. This time there was a message that people were called who should not have been called and - the message only applied to those over 65 and if one had receipt from them for the paperwork given, they were fine. It offered a chance to talk to exemptions (overall I was calling the county tax assessor’s office) and I did so - same message as in the morning and I again asked to PLEASE let me know if they have our paperwork - just leave the message on our answering machine, they did not even have to talk to us.
Local news last night talked about the robocall error - it showed the lines that people were on for 2 hours due to the call - as did the local paper today - 400,000 called instead of something liked 50,000! But again it was said that as long as one had a receipt from them there was no problem.
Well, we only have the proof of delivery from the post office. So being crazy people - we copied all the supporting paperwork, reprinted the forms and resigned everything and reassembled it all. Tomorrow morning we will be going to the county assessor’s office. Hopefully the crowds will no longer be there having heard on the news or read in the newspaper what the situation is and we will get in fairly quickly - perhaps even told that of course they have the application and paperwork. But I anticipate a long wait to get in and who knows what has happened to our original paperwork. Husband will drop me off and try to find a parking space - there are a lot of parking lots (free) but in addition to the county office buildings (at least 3 I know of) there are the courts (at least 2 buildings), general office buildings in the area and the train station which serves 2 train lines, so parking is not easy - which is why we mailed it in the first place.
Does this happen to everyone - or just us?
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -
Always get a receipt. Always follow up. Always make and keep copies (or give copies if you can and keep the originals). Never assume that all is going well. Do this for smaller things also, but especially for big important things.
UPDATE -
Even with all this going on, I managed to take more of my required tax courses and now have finished 14 of the required 20. I have a left a 6 hour (credits) course that has a 3 hour exam. This exam is timed and has to be completed at one sitting, so I will have to set aside an evening alone in our office to take the exam - I do get 3 chances, but I have not yet (in past years) needed more than one attempt.
One of the things I do in November is reserve the meeting room for the following year for my embroidery group. This was relatively simple at first. I would receive the paperwork in the mail early in November, fill it in, have my signature notarized and mail it back - and we had room - free - to meet in for another year.
We had met in a series of churches over decades - back to before I joined the group in the 1990s. (The group is around 40 years old.) We would pay for our meeting room. The group used to be over 400 members. The group would have workshops and interested members would pay for same which would allow the group to pay for a meeting room. Over the years members aged (with the inevitable result) and moved away. Women were working and could not come to day meetings. (A new group had broken off from ours and meets at night in the next county - some members belong to both groups.) Interest in embroidery waned. We were down to around 20 members. I figured out (as treasurer) that in 3 years we no longer would have anything in the treasury and the group would be gone. As I was about to sign the agreement for the next year, I noticed a mailer from the local township. One of the parks caught my eye. I called and asked about the use of a room for meetings. We had just enough percentage of members who were residents of the township for a room - since we are non-profit - it would be free! We were given space at a park other than the one I saw and we have been there for 5 years now. The women who work in the park office have been very nice. The first woman who ran it, however retired. Since then it has been a bit confused in renewing the room. Last year I did not get the form until late so I had made a note for November 1 to check with them.
October 31 I received a phone call asking for the group’s email address. I called back and left it on voice mail. A week later, nothing had come and I had not heard from anyone. I called back in case my voice mail had gone astray and was given someone else’s voice mail and left the info again. Another week - I called and was told that the forms would be out shortly. The next week was Thanksgiving. I was telephoned the day before same by the woman who used to run the department who again asked for my email - I told her the story and she apologized. She called back later to check which park we meet in. Thank goodness it was all finally going to be done with! On Tuesday the next week I received the paperwork by email. I filled it in. Wednesday I went to the bank and had the paperwork notarized and on Thursday mailed it back. All done, finally, how great.
The following Tuesday I had a telephone message when we got home from errands, basically, sorry. another group meets in that room then. Hmmm, we meet in that room then, maybe the nice former director had filled us in already on some chart or form? I called her back the next morning. No - another group was meeting at an overlapping time to ours - and she had a different location for us to met. I questioned how this had happened. The other group got their paperwork in first. I told her the story of trying to get the paperwork and how unfair that someone else had, apparently gotten their paperwork earlier than us and taken our space. I also explained that we were a group of “old ladies” - which we are, at 65 I am the youngest - and I was afraid that finding the other park would be too hard for them. She hmmmed a bit. Then said that since we only meet once a month and the other group meets more often maybe she could get them to give up the room for the once a month. She did and we have the room back for next year.
Totally unrelated - and dealing with the county instead of the township - husband and I are entitled to a reduction in our real estate taxes due to our age and income. I started collecting information for the paperwork in January - well I actually collected some during 2017. I had to telephone our medical insurance companies for last year (which we had 4 of do to R switching to Medicare partway through the year) and get printouts of the premiums paid to them - listed by month paid. Of course one only gave a total and I to keep after them for the correct info. I also had to get listings of what we paid for prescriptions (Walmart pharmacy was the easiest of all the info needed for me to get) and the dentist and doctors from the providers themselves. I did not bother with the doctors as payments to them were minor. We have to get statements from who we paid - canceled checks are not accepted.
In late August I received the renewal papers from the county (we had gone through all this last year for the first time). I filled them in and continued to chase down missing information. While husband was incapacitated I finished the forms and started making the photocopies I needed to give them - photocopies of income, of the medical expenses, etc. I wrote a summary of what I was giving them. I wrote a cover letter. We mailed it out certified mail (almost $7 postage) on November 27 - and received the information that it had been delivered and signed for on November 29. We sat back to wait to hear from the county in April - maybe earlier if they wanted some other information.
Monday night we got a robocall from the county executive that we have not yet filled the renewal for our exemption! We panicked. Tuesday I was taking my mom to her doctor and I called before I left for her house. I got a voice mail setup and left my information and asked them to PLEASE call back and let me know if they were missing our application - knowing that they would not call back. Oh, well, this was better than last year. Last year when I called for information their telephone number was continually answered by voice mail that said, basically, we are too busy to answer the phone - goodby, although after calling for several weeks the message was changed by adding - that there is not enough parking here, so don’t come either. While mom was in with her doctor I called again. This time there was a message that people were called who should not have been called and - the message only applied to those over 65 and if one had receipt from them for the paperwork given, they were fine. It offered a chance to talk to exemptions (overall I was calling the county tax assessor’s office) and I did so - same message as in the morning and I again asked to PLEASE let me know if they have our paperwork - just leave the message on our answering machine, they did not even have to talk to us.
Local news last night talked about the robocall error - it showed the lines that people were on for 2 hours due to the call - as did the local paper today - 400,000 called instead of something liked 50,000! But again it was said that as long as one had a receipt from them there was no problem.
Well, we only have the proof of delivery from the post office. So being crazy people - we copied all the supporting paperwork, reprinted the forms and resigned everything and reassembled it all. Tomorrow morning we will be going to the county assessor’s office. Hopefully the crowds will no longer be there having heard on the news or read in the newspaper what the situation is and we will get in fairly quickly - perhaps even told that of course they have the application and paperwork. But I anticipate a long wait to get in and who knows what has happened to our original paperwork. Husband will drop me off and try to find a parking space - there are a lot of parking lots (free) but in addition to the county office buildings (at least 3 I know of) there are the courts (at least 2 buildings), general office buildings in the area and the train station which serves 2 train lines, so parking is not easy - which is why we mailed it in the first place.
Does this happen to everyone - or just us?
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -
Always get a receipt. Always follow up. Always make and keep copies (or give copies if you can and keep the originals). Never assume that all is going well. Do this for smaller things also, but especially for big important things.
UPDATE -
Even with all this going on, I managed to take more of my required tax courses and now have finished 14 of the required 20. I have a left a 6 hour (credits) course that has a 3 hour exam. This exam is timed and has to be completed at one sitting, so I will have to set aside an evening alone in our office to take the exam - I do get 3 chances, but I have not yet (in past years) needed more than one attempt.
Thursday, April 12, 2018
TAX DAY PANIC SETTING IN
Well, Tax Day is coming up on Monday. Even though this year it is on April 17 instead of the 15th , I still have work to do. In case anyone has forgotten, I am an accountant so I am not just talking about our own return. I should remind you - if you cannot file in time, file an extension!
In the past week and a half I have done and mailed out 4 tax returns to clients and also sent estimated taxes for 2018 to another - very estimated they are based on his 2016 returns, so it does not show his 2017 income and deductions and I have no idea of how the change in the tax law will end up affecting him. (I did use the calculator at IRS’s website to calculate what his tax will be.) In addition he has had a life change so his taxes will be filed totally different for 2018 than prior years. I will adjust it when I do his return - he always gets an extension. I have another return sitting here 99% done, but needed one tiny piece of info that I am waiting for and this will be an extension also, as the return will not get to the client until after tax date just due to the distance to the client after I finish it. I also finished our corporation return and it is ready to be signed, paid and mailed.
This sounds good - 4 gone, 1 almost done which will be on extension and another one also to be on extension and our corporation return done also. Lots of time to do our return right?
Ummm, Saturday I had a call from a client whose taxes had been mailed to her the Monday before - “Where are they?”. I told her to wait for this past Monday and if she still did not have them, I would mail another copy by Express Mail. She received them on Monday. She also went crazy as her taxes were more than she anticipated. (We don’t have a lot of money - she has none.) I ended up spending 2 hours on Tuesday writing up a breakdown comparing her 2016 and 2017 taxes for her so she would understand. Time I really needed.
Husband is (again) planning a day trip. This one on Friday, so I was trying to get everything done by then, but it won’t be. We went to the bank today to transfer money to pay our RV insurance and I transferred extra money to pay what I figured we would have to send as a first estimated payment for 2018 as we don’t earn wages/have withholding and have to pay our taxes on our own.
Then I started our return. I should explain that we don’t generally pay income taxes due to our low income and high deductions. We do have to pay Social Security taxes if either or both of us made $400 or more from businesses - and we pay double what people pay on their salary as we are the employer and the employee. We also have ACA (Obamacare) medical insurance so we have to adjust our advance credit on our return - we always seem to have received a small bit more than we are entitled to. No problem - we paid estimated taxes based on our Social Security taxes and the advance credit we owed in the past.
I should also explain that husband is always in a panic when we have to spend/pay money that we did not anticipate - because we don’t have a lot of it.
So last night I started working on taxes - I summarized information - and today I started doing the return.
First problem - I used our computer bookkeeping software to figure out husband’s business income and expenses after some adjustments. I then went to enter it into the tax program. Uh oh! Several expenses were missing - the entire categories of expenses. I tried several times and in frustration complained to husband - working at his computer across from me on whatever. He came over. With the questions he asked, I figured out that somehow some of the expenses had become unchecked to be included on the statement and that is why they were not included. I fixed that and printed out the corrected form and entered the information into the tax program.
I went on to get the same sort of statement printed out after making some adjustments - and this time checking that everything was checked to print. I then managed to erase some forms from the tax program related to both of these forms and had to start all over - entering his business info and mine.
I then entered our other incomes - you know, the whopping interest now being paid on bank accounts, the small dividends from the small number of shares of stock he received as boy, etc. Going well - no problems.
I then went through our items for deductions. While the bookkeeping software has all the items paid by check or charge cards, I have to see if I paid anything by cash and then there are charitable donations of “stuff”. As I went to enter our medical expenses - it all went blooey!
I had to enter the ACA medical insurance into the form that calculates if one is entitled to more credit or owes part of the credit back. This form brought me to a complete stop and I went into panic. It seems that when one spouse goes on Medicare and the other stays on ACA - it throws it all off. We owe back 2/3 of the advanced credit we received. I kept looking for what I did wrong. I was shaking. I finally decided that I had to tell husband - we don’t have enough money in the bank to pay it. Luckily rather than panicking he started to see what he could find out online - he was actually comforting me rather than the other way around when we have an unexpected expense. Nope, he found no way around it. So tomorrow we will go and take money out of his IRA to pay it, as what we had and I transferred is not enough. After Monday when I can breathe again, I will call and stop this year’s advance credit so I don’t have the same problem again next year.
It is important to know that other this oddity, I think ACA insurance has been great, as even without the credit it is considerably less than we were paying before it - and it has been several years since, so we would be paying even more. It was just a bit of a shock.
So all of our papers which were neatly sorted are now strewn around my desk. I put it all aside until tomorrow - well, I will probably do some calculations tonight after I finish this post - we donated stuff and I have to add up what it was worth.
I know that somehow the return and the two extensions for clients will be done and out on time. I will make sure it is. Then Monday afternoon and night I can relax and rest - oh, wait, I can’t. We have a reenacting unit meeting that night and I have to write my Treasurer’s report and go to the meeting. Oh, and today the electric co came and trimmed the trees - they even actually trimmed the ones around the wires that run through the back yard that never get trimmed. We do have tree limb from a neighbor’s tree which overhangs our garage and the line from the wires in the back yard to our house - they could not touch that, but there is a unit that does so and I have to call and have them come - since this tree branch is one of the things that scares husband during storms (not only would be without electricity, he is positive the wire coming down would set the garage - which is really his wood workshop - on fire), so that is something else to do on Monday.
I also have a folder next to my desk. It contains all the things I have not done - or I only did what absolutely needed to be done and the followup was put in the folder - over the past 2 weeks - bills to check, items to scan or copy or send out, etc. I still have to deal with that early next
week.
Oh, and I as do all of this - every time I need something from the office storage closet - business checkbook, more manila envelopes... I have to move the two stacks of stuff I set aside in January to donate in February - which will still be there until early May - and mentally scream about them.
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -
No matter how well one plans, something goes wrong. One has to roll with it and do what one can. The extra money is upsetting, but it won’t affect our day to day lives (luckily). The errors in the bookkeeping program printouts were found as I match this year’s taxes as they are done to last year’s so that nothing is forgotten.
Oh, and my friend who is getting an extension, had a marvelous trip to Europe as a gift from a friend as it was cheaper to bring her along than pay the single surcharge. That is a great friend she has!
In the past week and a half I have done and mailed out 4 tax returns to clients and also sent estimated taxes for 2018 to another - very estimated they are based on his 2016 returns, so it does not show his 2017 income and deductions and I have no idea of how the change in the tax law will end up affecting him. (I did use the calculator at IRS’s website to calculate what his tax will be.) In addition he has had a life change so his taxes will be filed totally different for 2018 than prior years. I will adjust it when I do his return - he always gets an extension. I have another return sitting here 99% done, but needed one tiny piece of info that I am waiting for and this will be an extension also, as the return will not get to the client until after tax date just due to the distance to the client after I finish it. I also finished our corporation return and it is ready to be signed, paid and mailed.
This sounds good - 4 gone, 1 almost done which will be on extension and another one also to be on extension and our corporation return done also. Lots of time to do our return right?
Ummm, Saturday I had a call from a client whose taxes had been mailed to her the Monday before - “Where are they?”. I told her to wait for this past Monday and if she still did not have them, I would mail another copy by Express Mail. She received them on Monday. She also went crazy as her taxes were more than she anticipated. (We don’t have a lot of money - she has none.) I ended up spending 2 hours on Tuesday writing up a breakdown comparing her 2016 and 2017 taxes for her so she would understand. Time I really needed.
Husband is (again) planning a day trip. This one on Friday, so I was trying to get everything done by then, but it won’t be. We went to the bank today to transfer money to pay our RV insurance and I transferred extra money to pay what I figured we would have to send as a first estimated payment for 2018 as we don’t earn wages/have withholding and have to pay our taxes on our own.
Then I started our return. I should explain that we don’t generally pay income taxes due to our low income and high deductions. We do have to pay Social Security taxes if either or both of us made $400 or more from businesses - and we pay double what people pay on their salary as we are the employer and the employee. We also have ACA (Obamacare) medical insurance so we have to adjust our advance credit on our return - we always seem to have received a small bit more than we are entitled to. No problem - we paid estimated taxes based on our Social Security taxes and the advance credit we owed in the past.
I should also explain that husband is always in a panic when we have to spend/pay money that we did not anticipate - because we don’t have a lot of it.
So last night I started working on taxes - I summarized information - and today I started doing the return.
First problem - I used our computer bookkeeping software to figure out husband’s business income and expenses after some adjustments. I then went to enter it into the tax program. Uh oh! Several expenses were missing - the entire categories of expenses. I tried several times and in frustration complained to husband - working at his computer across from me on whatever. He came over. With the questions he asked, I figured out that somehow some of the expenses had become unchecked to be included on the statement and that is why they were not included. I fixed that and printed out the corrected form and entered the information into the tax program.
I went on to get the same sort of statement printed out after making some adjustments - and this time checking that everything was checked to print. I then managed to erase some forms from the tax program related to both of these forms and had to start all over - entering his business info and mine.
I then entered our other incomes - you know, the whopping interest now being paid on bank accounts, the small dividends from the small number of shares of stock he received as boy, etc. Going well - no problems.
I then went through our items for deductions. While the bookkeeping software has all the items paid by check or charge cards, I have to see if I paid anything by cash and then there are charitable donations of “stuff”. As I went to enter our medical expenses - it all went blooey!
I had to enter the ACA medical insurance into the form that calculates if one is entitled to more credit or owes part of the credit back. This form brought me to a complete stop and I went into panic. It seems that when one spouse goes on Medicare and the other stays on ACA - it throws it all off. We owe back 2/3 of the advanced credit we received. I kept looking for what I did wrong. I was shaking. I finally decided that I had to tell husband - we don’t have enough money in the bank to pay it. Luckily rather than panicking he started to see what he could find out online - he was actually comforting me rather than the other way around when we have an unexpected expense. Nope, he found no way around it. So tomorrow we will go and take money out of his IRA to pay it, as what we had and I transferred is not enough. After Monday when I can breathe again, I will call and stop this year’s advance credit so I don’t have the same problem again next year.
It is important to know that other this oddity, I think ACA insurance has been great, as even without the credit it is considerably less than we were paying before it - and it has been several years since, so we would be paying even more. It was just a bit of a shock.
So all of our papers which were neatly sorted are now strewn around my desk. I put it all aside until tomorrow - well, I will probably do some calculations tonight after I finish this post - we donated stuff and I have to add up what it was worth.
I know that somehow the return and the two extensions for clients will be done and out on time. I will make sure it is. Then Monday afternoon and night I can relax and rest - oh, wait, I can’t. We have a reenacting unit meeting that night and I have to write my Treasurer’s report and go to the meeting. Oh, and today the electric co came and trimmed the trees - they even actually trimmed the ones around the wires that run through the back yard that never get trimmed. We do have tree limb from a neighbor’s tree which overhangs our garage and the line from the wires in the back yard to our house - they could not touch that, but there is a unit that does so and I have to call and have them come - since this tree branch is one of the things that scares husband during storms (not only would be without electricity, he is positive the wire coming down would set the garage - which is really his wood workshop - on fire), so that is something else to do on Monday.
I also have a folder next to my desk. It contains all the things I have not done - or I only did what absolutely needed to be done and the followup was put in the folder - over the past 2 weeks - bills to check, items to scan or copy or send out, etc. I still have to deal with that early next
week.
Oh, and I as do all of this - every time I need something from the office storage closet - business checkbook, more manila envelopes... I have to move the two stacks of stuff I set aside in January to donate in February - which will still be there until early May - and mentally scream about them.
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -
No matter how well one plans, something goes wrong. One has to roll with it and do what one can. The extra money is upsetting, but it won’t affect our day to day lives (luckily). The errors in the bookkeeping program printouts were found as I match this year’s taxes as they are done to last year’s so that nothing is forgotten.
Oh, and my friend who is getting an extension, had a marvelous trip to Europe as a gift from a friend as it was cheaper to bring her along than pay the single surcharge. That is a great friend she has!
Thursday, March 22, 2018
AH, THE SECOND DAY OF SPRING
As I write this it is the March 21 - the second day of spring. Also as I write this we are having the 4th nor’easter of the month (yes, month - not year) and the largest snowfall of the season!
But on to a more pleasant subject - income taxes. Was that a sigh I just heard? It is related to organizing you know.
I know that earlier in the year I offered some advice about organizing your papers to do your income taxes this year and to help you do them next year, but this is some encouragement to actually file your taxes. I am aiming this at those of you in the U.S. as that is where I am and the taxes I know about. Again, while I am an accountant and a tax preparer not all advice applies to everyone and you should consult someone about your personal situation and not rely on my comments.
I am going to start with past years’ tax returns. I see you looking around as if to say - “who me?”. Okay I am just imagining that your are doing so.
I have a good friend - the best friend I have had other than family members. She was always one of those last minute filers. Then her husband was unwell and they were also moving their home of decades to another state. She settled her husband into their new home and then had to deal with everything in the old home. She runs a home based online business and the entire house was filled with inventory which had to be moved, plus the normal items one accumulates over decades.
Due to all of this going on at once, she and her husband were not able to file their taxes on time for 2014 - the last year they were in their old home - and I prepared and they filed extensions so they could file later in the year. Of course with the move, the tax items were missing and the return was never prepared. The next year there were medical problems and again, extensions were filed, but no return filed and the same for 2016. I recently contacted her and reminded her that if she did not file her 2014 by April 17 of this year she would lose her refund for 2014. She managed to find the paperwork and the return is out to her for them to sign and file. This also motivated her to find and send me the info for 2015 and 2016 which I will also prepare and send to them.
Do you have old tax returns which have never been filed? You really should file them. If you are entitled to a refund you have 3 years after the due date of the return to file it and still receive the refund. No matter what your politics are - do you really want to let the government keep money owed back to you? In this case the 2014 return was due in April 2015, so if it was not filed by the tax date this year - 3 years after the due date - they would have lost their refund - and so will you if you have one coming and don’t file the return.
Oh, and if you don’t file a return - on time, on extension, or late - you know those rules that the government can’t come after you for taxes still owed to them after a certain period of time - it doesn’t apply if you never filed the return on which they are owed!
So file your old returns that have not been filed - believe me you will sleep better. Then file the return due this April 17 on time. Find the papers now and get the return done on time. If you really can’t get it done on time - file for an extension - it is easy to do this both for IRS and separately for states that have income taxes also. Extension is automatic for 6 months until October 15 when you file the paperwork for IRS and most if not all states with income tax also. But then, make sure you get your paperwork together - if you owe money when you fill you will pay penalty and interest and if you are entitled to a refund - you don’t get interest on it - so get it sooner rather than later.
In any of the above cases, if you are missing information you can request a print out of your account from IRS by telephone or with a form online or by mail to help you.
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -
If your tax information is a mess - vow to do better this year- start collecting related papers, even if it just to throw it all in a single file folder or into the traditional tax information shoe box. (No really, if you watch old television shows you will hear the shoe box mentioned as where the tax papers are accumulated during the year.
We all hate taxes (yes, even accountants hate dealing with their own taxes - it is the hardest return I do as I have to do the work on the return that I do for others plus I have to do the work they do to prepare for me for my own taxes) - but they do have to be done and the sooner the better and the less complications.
But on to a more pleasant subject - income taxes. Was that a sigh I just heard? It is related to organizing you know.
I know that earlier in the year I offered some advice about organizing your papers to do your income taxes this year and to help you do them next year, but this is some encouragement to actually file your taxes. I am aiming this at those of you in the U.S. as that is where I am and the taxes I know about. Again, while I am an accountant and a tax preparer not all advice applies to everyone and you should consult someone about your personal situation and not rely on my comments.
I am going to start with past years’ tax returns. I see you looking around as if to say - “who me?”. Okay I am just imagining that your are doing so.
I have a good friend - the best friend I have had other than family members. She was always one of those last minute filers. Then her husband was unwell and they were also moving their home of decades to another state. She settled her husband into their new home and then had to deal with everything in the old home. She runs a home based online business and the entire house was filled with inventory which had to be moved, plus the normal items one accumulates over decades.
Due to all of this going on at once, she and her husband were not able to file their taxes on time for 2014 - the last year they were in their old home - and I prepared and they filed extensions so they could file later in the year. Of course with the move, the tax items were missing and the return was never prepared. The next year there were medical problems and again, extensions were filed, but no return filed and the same for 2016. I recently contacted her and reminded her that if she did not file her 2014 by April 17 of this year she would lose her refund for 2014. She managed to find the paperwork and the return is out to her for them to sign and file. This also motivated her to find and send me the info for 2015 and 2016 which I will also prepare and send to them.
Do you have old tax returns which have never been filed? You really should file them. If you are entitled to a refund you have 3 years after the due date of the return to file it and still receive the refund. No matter what your politics are - do you really want to let the government keep money owed back to you? In this case the 2014 return was due in April 2015, so if it was not filed by the tax date this year - 3 years after the due date - they would have lost their refund - and so will you if you have one coming and don’t file the return.
Oh, and if you don’t file a return - on time, on extension, or late - you know those rules that the government can’t come after you for taxes still owed to them after a certain period of time - it doesn’t apply if you never filed the return on which they are owed!
So file your old returns that have not been filed - believe me you will sleep better. Then file the return due this April 17 on time. Find the papers now and get the return done on time. If you really can’t get it done on time - file for an extension - it is easy to do this both for IRS and separately for states that have income taxes also. Extension is automatic for 6 months until October 15 when you file the paperwork for IRS and most if not all states with income tax also. But then, make sure you get your paperwork together - if you owe money when you fill you will pay penalty and interest and if you are entitled to a refund - you don’t get interest on it - so get it sooner rather than later.
In any of the above cases, if you are missing information you can request a print out of your account from IRS by telephone or with a form online or by mail to help you.
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -
If your tax information is a mess - vow to do better this year- start collecting related papers, even if it just to throw it all in a single file folder or into the traditional tax information shoe box. (No really, if you watch old television shows you will hear the shoe box mentioned as where the tax papers are accumulated during the year.
We all hate taxes (yes, even accountants hate dealing with their own taxes - it is the hardest return I do as I have to do the work on the return that I do for others plus I have to do the work they do to prepare for me for my own taxes) - but they do have to be done and the sooner the better and the less complications.
Thursday, November 16, 2017
IT'S NOT MY TIME ANY MORE
I know that I have mentioned that getting organized and my work - job work, house, and club treasurer work - done was much easier when my husband went out to work. Monday to Friday was basically my own time. I could do all my work in a couple of days if I wanted and relax the other days (never worked out that way though) or work a bit every day (more like most of every day) and so on.
I was/am self-employed so I have no boss to answer to. As long as I get my job work done by its due dates and accommodate my clients with times that are convenient for them, I could decide when to work at my job. This still applies, but I have to deal with husband and what he wants to do and work around that.
We share a home office - sit at desks across from each other - so I miss sitting there and making telephone calls for any of the various types of work I do with no one watching me, listening to me and often telling me what I am doing wrong, as well needing to make him at least mute the TV (I taught him to have the TV on while doing things, so this is my fault I guess) so that I can hear who I am talking to on the phone and they don’t hear Capt Picard loudly talking in the background (he keeps the TV on rather loud, to say it politely). I end up making telephone calls from bed instead, balancing paperwork and/or alternate PDAs on my lap so I can talk on my cell phone and still easily consult a calendar or bring everything down to the kitchen to use the table and still have to juggle what I am using. Even worse, there are calls I have to make that I don’t want him to hear and he doesn’t want to hear (mostly the doctor to make appointment for us as he does not like to know in advance) and to correct problem related to same. He commented to me that I had to make a couple of phone calls, in reference to picking new medical insurance for me for next years, and I pointed at a stack of papers - spread out in smaller stacks - and told him - “yes, as soon as I make all these other calls that are ahead of them”. A discussion followed on the problems I have making telephone calls - the above and also the fact that we spend too long outside every day running “errands”. I went a bit too far and had to apologize as I made him feel really bad - and I didn’t want to do that.
We wake up late (and stay up late) which is a problem and I am worse than him at this as I am used to waking up slowly and alone. We go out for lunch - despite my telling him before he quit his job that life is not a continuous vacation and we can’t eat out all the time - because he likes it and our lunches at Wendys cost no more than lunch at home - maybe even less. Now, if we went and ate and left that would be okay, but we sit there and watch CNN on the TV, well he does, I sort of hear it above me while I watch a European sports channel on the TV at the other end of the room. Then if it was up to me, we would go home, unless it was the day to food shop or some other needed errand. He does not want to go home and therefore we spend time in stores “Where can we go today” walking senselessly around the stores. We spent 2 hours yesterday buying food items to make dinner because I had mentioned a dish he used to cook and he decided to make it (I was trying to talk him into cooking). He could not find the kind of cheese he needed...
Now this week I had a bunch of problems hit me at once. A client I have had a problem with her credit card processor (I am sure I have mentioned this). I had called and dealt with it while she and I were both away. This week she is home and I need to go to her for the regular monthly accounting stuff. I had been told that the amount which was credit to her account was about $500 less than the sale that was being credited. So I telephoned on Monday (after the discussion above about telephones) to find out the breakdown of charges taken out - I was going to reimburse her for any fees resulting for my error and was told the amount I was told before was wrong and only the monthly fee that had also bounced back had been charged. I let out my breath - I didn’t have $500 to give her and was glad I did not have to. But, I was told, it looks like a sale she made is being held. Huh? It is a much larger sale than she normally makes and they need information to pay it. I got a list of the info and planned to get the info when I went in to her this week. I telephoned her Tuesday about it - she had telephoned me while I was out about it also. She had a telephone call that there was a problem with the sale - she was positive that she would never get the money for it from the processing company and there is a problem with IRS about it - because I had filled in a form wrong when she signed up with this company. Huh? She gave me the name and phone number of the man who called and I must talk only to him according to her - his number was a switchboard and she had no extension number or department name. I left a message with customer service at the number to call me. Today I called the department I spoke with about the sale on Monday, hoping it was the same department although a different phone number and the woman I had spoken with, very nicely tracked down how to contact him. I spoke with him and he needs a simple form. I know I did not fill in the original form and will deal with her about it. Tomorrow I will take care of all this, hopefully, when I go there.
I missed this month’s meeting of my embroidery group as we were away. Next month’s meeting is being led by a member and kits or part of kits and own material are needed for the meeting. It was mentioned at the meeting I missed to the members and a list was made for her to order for members. It occurred to me that not everyone was there who might want to do the project next month, and I contacted her about my sending out an email. I then did so with her info. The person who ran last month’s meeting, then sent me additional info about the supplies and I sent out another email to everyone - this one, for some reason, bounced back from one member because of what it said(?).
Our reenacting unit is doing an event midweek next week for a school. Suddenly the school needs paperwork - some I have to get from 3rd parties - including an invoice. We are not sure if the event will be on one day or the next (in case of rain the first day) and we are having trouble getting members who can come midweek. So I had to call the unit’s insurance company for part of the paperwork , do a form from IRS, and write 2 invoices (one for each day, just in case) and get them out.
Oh yes, the medical insurance I need to pick and sign up for? Well, after my call to the doctor on Monday I decided which one to take and we started to sign me up for it on the computer. Despite the fact that the signup period started November 1, the computer sign up was not yet working on November 11 and would start on the 15th (today), so we still have to go back and sign me up.
If my time was own as it used to be all this would be so much easier. Of course in addition to all this, I have had to reconcile bank accounts for us, our business, and both clubs, pay bills, juggle money in the bank so bills could be paid, plus all of the housework I could do. Due to weather and the fact that on Halloween when we went away, the recycling had not been taken, I put out 5 weeks of recycling this week. Similarly we had not been able to put out garbage last week - and the office garbage does not go out every week, only if the pail is full, I put out 5 bags of garbage for one pickup, instead of the usual 1.
Tomorrow I will drive for at least an hour, ride a subway for 15 minutes, then ride subway back 15 minutes and drive home for two - three hours (in is off peak, home is rush hour - sort of, 3 pm is rush hour these days) after working for 3 hours at client and it will not be fun this visit as I have to resolve the problems and make her understand what is going on with everything. Well, at least I get away from husband for the day and get to drive.
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK -
One has to work with the time one has. Limits put on one’s times by someone else are just one more thing which has to be dealt with. Problems are not something which can be foreseen and planned for. We can only do what we can do.
Oh, and husband just came down and told me he made a sale on his online business and now, at 1:25 am, we have to get it ready to go out - and I do the paperwork.
I was/am self-employed so I have no boss to answer to. As long as I get my job work done by its due dates and accommodate my clients with times that are convenient for them, I could decide when to work at my job. This still applies, but I have to deal with husband and what he wants to do and work around that.
We share a home office - sit at desks across from each other - so I miss sitting there and making telephone calls for any of the various types of work I do with no one watching me, listening to me and often telling me what I am doing wrong, as well needing to make him at least mute the TV (I taught him to have the TV on while doing things, so this is my fault I guess) so that I can hear who I am talking to on the phone and they don’t hear Capt Picard loudly talking in the background (he keeps the TV on rather loud, to say it politely). I end up making telephone calls from bed instead, balancing paperwork and/or alternate PDAs on my lap so I can talk on my cell phone and still easily consult a calendar or bring everything down to the kitchen to use the table and still have to juggle what I am using. Even worse, there are calls I have to make that I don’t want him to hear and he doesn’t want to hear (mostly the doctor to make appointment for us as he does not like to know in advance) and to correct problem related to same. He commented to me that I had to make a couple of phone calls, in reference to picking new medical insurance for me for next years, and I pointed at a stack of papers - spread out in smaller stacks - and told him - “yes, as soon as I make all these other calls that are ahead of them”. A discussion followed on the problems I have making telephone calls - the above and also the fact that we spend too long outside every day running “errands”. I went a bit too far and had to apologize as I made him feel really bad - and I didn’t want to do that.
We wake up late (and stay up late) which is a problem and I am worse than him at this as I am used to waking up slowly and alone. We go out for lunch - despite my telling him before he quit his job that life is not a continuous vacation and we can’t eat out all the time - because he likes it and our lunches at Wendys cost no more than lunch at home - maybe even less. Now, if we went and ate and left that would be okay, but we sit there and watch CNN on the TV, well he does, I sort of hear it above me while I watch a European sports channel on the TV at the other end of the room. Then if it was up to me, we would go home, unless it was the day to food shop or some other needed errand. He does not want to go home and therefore we spend time in stores “Where can we go today” walking senselessly around the stores. We spent 2 hours yesterday buying food items to make dinner because I had mentioned a dish he used to cook and he decided to make it (I was trying to talk him into cooking). He could not find the kind of cheese he needed...
Now this week I had a bunch of problems hit me at once. A client I have had a problem with her credit card processor (I am sure I have mentioned this). I had called and dealt with it while she and I were both away. This week she is home and I need to go to her for the regular monthly accounting stuff. I had been told that the amount which was credit to her account was about $500 less than the sale that was being credited. So I telephoned on Monday (after the discussion above about telephones) to find out the breakdown of charges taken out - I was going to reimburse her for any fees resulting for my error and was told the amount I was told before was wrong and only the monthly fee that had also bounced back had been charged. I let out my breath - I didn’t have $500 to give her and was glad I did not have to. But, I was told, it looks like a sale she made is being held. Huh? It is a much larger sale than she normally makes and they need information to pay it. I got a list of the info and planned to get the info when I went in to her this week. I telephoned her Tuesday about it - she had telephoned me while I was out about it also. She had a telephone call that there was a problem with the sale - she was positive that she would never get the money for it from the processing company and there is a problem with IRS about it - because I had filled in a form wrong when she signed up with this company. Huh? She gave me the name and phone number of the man who called and I must talk only to him according to her - his number was a switchboard and she had no extension number or department name. I left a message with customer service at the number to call me. Today I called the department I spoke with about the sale on Monday, hoping it was the same department although a different phone number and the woman I had spoken with, very nicely tracked down how to contact him. I spoke with him and he needs a simple form. I know I did not fill in the original form and will deal with her about it. Tomorrow I will take care of all this, hopefully, when I go there.
I missed this month’s meeting of my embroidery group as we were away. Next month’s meeting is being led by a member and kits or part of kits and own material are needed for the meeting. It was mentioned at the meeting I missed to the members and a list was made for her to order for members. It occurred to me that not everyone was there who might want to do the project next month, and I contacted her about my sending out an email. I then did so with her info. The person who ran last month’s meeting, then sent me additional info about the supplies and I sent out another email to everyone - this one, for some reason, bounced back from one member because of what it said(?).
Our reenacting unit is doing an event midweek next week for a school. Suddenly the school needs paperwork - some I have to get from 3rd parties - including an invoice. We are not sure if the event will be on one day or the next (in case of rain the first day) and we are having trouble getting members who can come midweek. So I had to call the unit’s insurance company for part of the paperwork , do a form from IRS, and write 2 invoices (one for each day, just in case) and get them out.
Oh yes, the medical insurance I need to pick and sign up for? Well, after my call to the doctor on Monday I decided which one to take and we started to sign me up for it on the computer. Despite the fact that the signup period started November 1, the computer sign up was not yet working on November 11 and would start on the 15th (today), so we still have to go back and sign me up.
If my time was own as it used to be all this would be so much easier. Of course in addition to all this, I have had to reconcile bank accounts for us, our business, and both clubs, pay bills, juggle money in the bank so bills could be paid, plus all of the housework I could do. Due to weather and the fact that on Halloween when we went away, the recycling had not been taken, I put out 5 weeks of recycling this week. Similarly we had not been able to put out garbage last week - and the office garbage does not go out every week, only if the pail is full, I put out 5 bags of garbage for one pickup, instead of the usual 1.
Tomorrow I will drive for at least an hour, ride a subway for 15 minutes, then ride subway back 15 minutes and drive home for two - three hours (in is off peak, home is rush hour - sort of, 3 pm is rush hour these days) after working for 3 hours at client and it will not be fun this visit as I have to resolve the problems and make her understand what is going on with everything. Well, at least I get away from husband for the day and get to drive.
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK -
One has to work with the time one has. Limits put on one’s times by someone else are just one more thing which has to be dealt with. Problems are not something which can be foreseen and planned for. We can only do what we can do.
Oh, and husband just came down and told me he made a sale on his online business and now, at 1:25 am, we have to get it ready to go out - and I do the paperwork.
Thursday, October 12, 2017
DEALING WITH COUNTY BUREAUCRACY
Last Thursday we went to an event to help us with applying for two exemptions of our real estate tax. Real estate tax here is high - we pay around $8,000 a year for our real estate taxes and we pay rather low real estate taxes. People easily pay $15,000 to over $20,000 for a subdevelopment house - more of course for fancy houses. To help “older” people stay in their houses and in recognition that they probably don’t have children in the schools, there are two kinds of exemptions that one can receive if one is over 65, has income below certain levels and the property is one’s primary residence. Since husband turned 65, we are now entitled to these exemptions.
I should also explain that our real estate taxes has two different components (well actually a lot more than two, but two sets of billing for them). One type is the “general levy”. This is billed annually in January and is paid in January and July. It consists of the county assessments, the township assessments, the fire department assessments, the police department assessments (police is one, the police stations is another...), the garbage district assessments, assessments for water pipes (we also pay for water usage monthly), sewer assessments (pipes ar one, sewage plant is another) and so on. The other type is the school taxes which also includes the library district assessment and is billed in October (yes, we got the new one today) and is payable in October and April. (So we pay each tax twice a year, but pay real estate taxes quarterly as they alternate quarters.)
Being an accountant I downloaded the forms and filled them in. I am pretty good with forms - and it seems to me that I have helped clients with them in the past. I have been unable to reach anyone with some questions I had. I thought that I posted about this, but can not find it - when I call the County Assessors office I get a message that there is no one there to take my call (not that they are busy, there is no one there) and I should call back. No matter what day of the week or time I called I received this message continually. After some days of trying there was an additional part to the message - it gave their address and told one that parking is “extremely” limited, which to be honest, is true as it is the County office building - but basically they are saying “No one is here to talk to you by phone and don’t come here either”. So we went to one of their help sessions for this paperwork. It was much emptier than a thought and one was able to meet individually with employees about one’s forms.
Looking over the employees I noticed the attitude of one, compared to the others and knew that I did not want her. So, of course, we got her. She looks at our general levy exemption paperwork. and says to us “Your income on this one item is too high - you are not eligible!” I point out to her that we have medical expenses which can be subtracted from the income by their rules, which bring us down under the income amount. “It has to be out of pocket expenses!” (Each of these comments was said as a challenge.) Just our medical insurance premiums alone almost bring us down enough - add the prescription costs and I did not even bother get print outs from our doctors. Understand, canceled checks or other receipts is not proof of the medical expenses, one must get a print out for the year from who the money went to. “Oh! Okay”. Now I had filled in the form on their website. “This is the wrong form! It is the form from the website! We don’t use that form!” Huh? I did not ask her why then the form is on the website and one is told to download it and use it, then again, there is a link to the state to submit income information to it for the other exemption and not only does it not work, when I telephoned the state, I was told that they don’t do that - all income goes to the county - if I complained, who knows how bad this would get. She then takes the copy of our state tax return I brought with us for the other exemption, which is suppose to require it. “IT’S HANDWRITTEN!!!! We can’t accept this!” Huh? I do our own return. She then goes to someone else and comes back with our return and a page of information. I have to contact IRS and get copies of all our 1099, W2, etc forms. The page has the local number to call to get this. “You will have to take this home and wait until you get the papers from them and then send it in to us altogether with the correct form!” Okay.
Now she goes to other exemption’s paperwork. In our state we have a general exemption from part of the school taxes if one owns their home and it is their primary residence. This is called a STAR exemption. (It means school something or other I am sure.) The money for this one comes from the State, not the County. Some years it was subtracted from what one pays, other years it has come as a check back to us after we pay the taxes, basically so we “see” that the our “wonderful” state senators and representatives are “giving” us a break on our school taxes. If one qualifies for same, is over 65 (or one spouse is), has no children in school, and has income under a much higher limit than the first tax has one has their school taxes lowered much more. I prepared for another set of arguments. “Why are there three forms?” I had the County form and the State form, and another form from the State which will automatically renew this exemption. She throws the State form back at me. “You don’t need this!” I tell her the State office told me to fill it in. “No, it is unneeded!” She then looks at the form to renew it automatically. “What this!!!” She reads it, turns it over, then reads it again. “Oh you want it to renew automatically?” Well, hmmm, do I want to go through this every year for both exemptions, or would I rather get it one of them automatically. I reply, “yes”. Again, she does not ask for any of the paperwork - birth certificates, deeds, etc,that the paperwork’s instructions said to bring. She looks it over and stamps the form. Makes a copy (yes, they had copy machines and every thing - and I had brought a copy and even a stapler, just in case) and stamps the copy and hands it to me. Hopefully we really did not need the other form.
So we went home. I called the IRS number. It actually has a choice to get the printout requested. I put in my info. “There is no available information for this person.” Huh? I try husband’s info and I am able to pick which one of two printouts I want - his income tax info or adjustments made. I pick the former figuring that will give us - or at least him - the 1099, etc. copies printed out. I try again for me - again I am not available. I then see that there is also a form to request the info. I go to the IRS website and download the form and fill in a copy for me and one for husband. On this form I see a choice for the 1099 forms to be sent. Hmmm, does that mean we are not getting them from the telephone call as that item is listed separately? I don’t know, but the forms went to IRS the next day. Hopefully one way or the other we will get the information.
We have until December 31 to fill these papers. (This is an early date - most places in the state have until next March.) I am so glad that I did not wait for the last minute. If the information from IRS arrives in time there are additional sessions around the county until October 19 and we can go in again, if not we will have to either mail it in or husband will drive there and circle while I go in and deal with it.
This process is so much worse than dealing with IRS or our State about any type of taxes. Then again, perhaps despite their holding sessions to help people deal with the paperwork, they don’t want people to get the exemptions as, lets face it, it cuts down on the amount of taxes they will collect and they have to come up with the money elsewhere - including maybe raising the taxes.
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK - When dealing with the government one has to have everything they want - even if they won’t want it - plus anything else one can think with. Even then something will be missing or go wrong. Never yell at the government employee or things will not come out well for you. (Sorry if any readers are government employees - but at least I am telling people not to yell at you.)
I should also explain that our real estate taxes has two different components (well actually a lot more than two, but two sets of billing for them). One type is the “general levy”. This is billed annually in January and is paid in January and July. It consists of the county assessments, the township assessments, the fire department assessments, the police department assessments (police is one, the police stations is another...), the garbage district assessments, assessments for water pipes (we also pay for water usage monthly), sewer assessments (pipes ar one, sewage plant is another) and so on. The other type is the school taxes which also includes the library district assessment and is billed in October (yes, we got the new one today) and is payable in October and April. (So we pay each tax twice a year, but pay real estate taxes quarterly as they alternate quarters.)
Being an accountant I downloaded the forms and filled them in. I am pretty good with forms - and it seems to me that I have helped clients with them in the past. I have been unable to reach anyone with some questions I had. I thought that I posted about this, but can not find it - when I call the County Assessors office I get a message that there is no one there to take my call (not that they are busy, there is no one there) and I should call back. No matter what day of the week or time I called I received this message continually. After some days of trying there was an additional part to the message - it gave their address and told one that parking is “extremely” limited, which to be honest, is true as it is the County office building - but basically they are saying “No one is here to talk to you by phone and don’t come here either”. So we went to one of their help sessions for this paperwork. It was much emptier than a thought and one was able to meet individually with employees about one’s forms.
Looking over the employees I noticed the attitude of one, compared to the others and knew that I did not want her. So, of course, we got her. She looks at our general levy exemption paperwork. and says to us “Your income on this one item is too high - you are not eligible!” I point out to her that we have medical expenses which can be subtracted from the income by their rules, which bring us down under the income amount. “It has to be out of pocket expenses!” (Each of these comments was said as a challenge.) Just our medical insurance premiums alone almost bring us down enough - add the prescription costs and I did not even bother get print outs from our doctors. Understand, canceled checks or other receipts is not proof of the medical expenses, one must get a print out for the year from who the money went to. “Oh! Okay”. Now I had filled in the form on their website. “This is the wrong form! It is the form from the website! We don’t use that form!” Huh? I did not ask her why then the form is on the website and one is told to download it and use it, then again, there is a link to the state to submit income information to it for the other exemption and not only does it not work, when I telephoned the state, I was told that they don’t do that - all income goes to the county - if I complained, who knows how bad this would get. She then takes the copy of our state tax return I brought with us for the other exemption, which is suppose to require it. “IT’S HANDWRITTEN!!!! We can’t accept this!” Huh? I do our own return. She then goes to someone else and comes back with our return and a page of information. I have to contact IRS and get copies of all our 1099, W2, etc forms. The page has the local number to call to get this. “You will have to take this home and wait until you get the papers from them and then send it in to us altogether with the correct form!” Okay.
Now she goes to other exemption’s paperwork. In our state we have a general exemption from part of the school taxes if one owns their home and it is their primary residence. This is called a STAR exemption. (It means school something or other I am sure.) The money for this one comes from the State, not the County. Some years it was subtracted from what one pays, other years it has come as a check back to us after we pay the taxes, basically so we “see” that the our “wonderful” state senators and representatives are “giving” us a break on our school taxes. If one qualifies for same, is over 65 (or one spouse is), has no children in school, and has income under a much higher limit than the first tax has one has their school taxes lowered much more. I prepared for another set of arguments. “Why are there three forms?” I had the County form and the State form, and another form from the State which will automatically renew this exemption. She throws the State form back at me. “You don’t need this!” I tell her the State office told me to fill it in. “No, it is unneeded!” She then looks at the form to renew it automatically. “What this!!!” She reads it, turns it over, then reads it again. “Oh you want it to renew automatically?” Well, hmmm, do I want to go through this every year for both exemptions, or would I rather get it one of them automatically. I reply, “yes”. Again, she does not ask for any of the paperwork - birth certificates, deeds, etc,that the paperwork’s instructions said to bring. She looks it over and stamps the form. Makes a copy (yes, they had copy machines and every thing - and I had brought a copy and even a stapler, just in case) and stamps the copy and hands it to me. Hopefully we really did not need the other form.
So we went home. I called the IRS number. It actually has a choice to get the printout requested. I put in my info. “There is no available information for this person.” Huh? I try husband’s info and I am able to pick which one of two printouts I want - his income tax info or adjustments made. I pick the former figuring that will give us - or at least him - the 1099, etc. copies printed out. I try again for me - again I am not available. I then see that there is also a form to request the info. I go to the IRS website and download the form and fill in a copy for me and one for husband. On this form I see a choice for the 1099 forms to be sent. Hmmm, does that mean we are not getting them from the telephone call as that item is listed separately? I don’t know, but the forms went to IRS the next day. Hopefully one way or the other we will get the information.
We have until December 31 to fill these papers. (This is an early date - most places in the state have until next March.) I am so glad that I did not wait for the last minute. If the information from IRS arrives in time there are additional sessions around the county until October 19 and we can go in again, if not we will have to either mail it in or husband will drive there and circle while I go in and deal with it.
This process is so much worse than dealing with IRS or our State about any type of taxes. Then again, perhaps despite their holding sessions to help people deal with the paperwork, they don’t want people to get the exemptions as, lets face it, it cuts down on the amount of taxes they will collect and they have to come up with the money elsewhere - including maybe raising the taxes.
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK - When dealing with the government one has to have everything they want - even if they won’t want it - plus anything else one can think with. Even then something will be missing or go wrong. Never yell at the government employee or things will not come out well for you. (Sorry if any readers are government employees - but at least I am telling people not to yell at you.)
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