Good News: I finally got around to doing my taxes.
Bad News: It cost me $14.95.
I had been procrastinating about doing my taxes because it looked like I would have to pay this year. I even had a “Just In Case” fund set up in ING where I was diverting money to pay for my taxes in case I owed the government.
Then I realized that I had messed up somewhere and I was actually getting a refund so I had to start all over again.
I kept putting off doing my taxes over and over because I was really dreading having to part with more money. My reasoning was that if I had to pay then I would file very close to the end so I would be able to hold on to that money longer.
When I went over my information on Saturday and found the error I had made…I saw that I was going to get a refund. Yaay…incoming money.
The bad thing about this was that since I was supposed to be getting a refund I had now missed out on getting that money a long time ago.
I used H&R Block because I went through the IRS site where it was supposed to help you find free filing. I used it last year and was not charged but I did not read the fine print too well because it is only free if you make under a certain amount (which I made because I only started working full time part of the year since I was doing my internship at the beginning of the year.)
So I ended up paying $14.95 because I
* did not read the fine print and
* was too lazy to start all over again.
I need to file that money under Stupid Tax because it could have been easily avoided.
Next year I will use Tax Act which is free for well above what I am making.
e-File is another free service that is IRS approved. I used it one year for both federal and state and it was really easy and fast.
Now, I file and mail my own self-employment and business partnership returns which saves money, but is quite a hassle. And calculation errors can be very costly. I once made a mistake in my math – after a while, the numbers just all look the same – and it cost me some penalties on underpaid tax.
I hate taxes. :p
I always use the TAX act. But never afford paying your tax, I do understand as once a student but can back fire if left for so long.
You call March putting off doing your taxes? It’s after tax day, and I still haven’t filed because of our move. LOL Thankfully, my mother is a tax professional – manages several jackson hewitt offices in colorado, and she does my taxes for me every year. Hopefully I don’t owe any money, and I don’t think I do. It would suck to have to pay the interest on it.
Naughty naughty on waiting so long. I hope you thank your mom properly for helping you out. 🙂