Hi Again. I hope you guys don’t get sick of me. I am going to do my taxes myself this year. I think the CPA is overcharging me and I am a reasonably smart person, and I am starting early, so I think, with your help, I can do them! I have 2 questions… First, can I just fill in the forms by hand and file them that way? I honestly don’t think I need Turbo Tax. Spouse and I are retirees, the most difficult part of our taxes will be perhaps 4 stock sales. My QuickBooks is really outdated and I mostly just use it as a check register nowdays. So, that is my first question… My second question is how to get back to just MY messages on this message board. Can someone tell me what to click on to find my old postings? If I can find them, I will hopefully not post some question I already asked a few months ago. So, thank you in advance for telling me how to find them. Thank you for all your help. You are the absolute best group at the Fool.
I do my taxes without software, also. I think you can go to the IRS website and download the specific form as a blank, and type in your #'s. I’m pretty sure that’s what I do, but it’s been 9 months or so, so my memory is a little foggy. This will save the IRS agent from deciphering handwriting, and it also allows you to save and edit for any mistakes. Then I just print it out and mail it in.
But as others have mentioned, getting the free software is probably a better way to go. You can send in your completed forms over the internet, much faster that way. I’ll be looking into that this upcoming tax season ( but that’s what I said last tax season, lol ).
And taxes are not that hard to do. It varies per individual, but I think my return is 4 or 5 different forms. There are people with complicated taxes, though I’m not one of them. It is 4th grade math. The harder part is going thru every possible form to see if you’re eligible for deductions. The instructional booklet that the IRS puts out is good, so I go thru that line for line as I’m doing the taxes.
Wow!! I never saw “My Posts.” Perhaps I am blind. It’s right there. Sorry to be so unaware. I think these new message boards are still confounding me. As some of you may have noticed, I have been here since 1999. It’s sooo hard to change to new ways… LOL Thanks again everyone.
There are so many more features and ways to get around, it’s easy to get confounded. When I first saw them 2 years ago, I was shocked and befuddled. Now, you couldn’t pay me to go back to the old stuff. But, we’re around to help when you have questions.
And sometimes when something is right in front of us, we completely miss it. I think it took me a while to start using the My Post option too.
Yes, but - handwritten forms have to be manually input to the IRS systems and that makes them more prone to mistakes, either because your handwriting is mis-interpreted, or because there is a keying mistake.
If you want to get totally free Federal tax software, use FreeTaxUSA.com They do charge for state tax filing, but IIRC, you live in FL, so you don’t have worry about income tax there. For others who do have to file state taxes, you might check your state’s tax department website to see if they have a free filing option.
So, thank you in advance for telling me how to find them. Thank you for all your help. You are the absolute best group at the Fool.