# Tax software



## Danny R (Jul 5, 2002)

Just curious, but does anyone here have Turbotax and already finished their return with it?

I bought TaxCut, and would have filed by now but the program says it still needs to download an update, which won't be available till mid february. Pretty frustrating since I have $2500 waiting me and I want it now.

I'm thinking of just reentering everything in Turbotax if it doesn't have that problem and I'd be able to file immediately.

Alternatively, is there a way to efile (versus simply mailing it in) both fed and state without buying more software? Since I've already completed my taxes using one program, I know exactly what forms are needed and how to fill them out.


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## Bogy (Mar 23, 2002)

Danny R said:


> Just curious, but does anyone here have Turbotax and already finished their return with it?
> 
> I bought TaxCut, and would have filed by now but the program says it still needs to download an update, which won't be available till mid february. Pretty frustrating since I have $2500 waiting me and I want it now.
> 
> ...


I haven't downloaded TurboTax yet, I was going to do it in about a week, when I have all my W-2's. I only have one yet, with 4 more yet to arrive.

If you buy the TurboTax Deluxe (I think) you get a state form free. It automatically transfers information from your federal to state form. You might also check online. Between my helpless kids and myself, I have done taxes in the past few years for Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois. Most states these days seem to have at least worksheets online, some have interactive forms that you can fill out, and with some you can do it all online, including filing, without buying any software.


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## AllieVi (Apr 10, 2002)

Danny R said:


> Just curious, but does anyone here have Turbotax and already finished their return with it?
> 
> I bought TaxCut, and would have filed by now but the program says it still needs to download an update, which won't be available till mid february. Pretty frustrating since I have $2500 waiting me and I want it now.
> 
> I'm thinking of just reentering everything in Turbotax if it doesn't have that problem and I'd be able to file immediately. ...


I haven't done my taxes (hey, it isn't the afternoon of April 15th yet!), but I expect TurboTax will also do a year-end revision to fix any bugs and accommodate any legislative changes that came late in the year.

In any case, I doubt you'd see a significant change after the revisions. In your situation, I'd go ahead and file it as is. You can always submit an amendment after you get the update if the numbers change.


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## DonLandis (Dec 17, 2003)

I have used TurboTax for many years. Tried TaxCut once and switched that year, never went back. By using it every year, it tracks prior years for good tax planning. (Deluxe package) 

I rarely do my Taxes by 4/15 since the automatic extension is so easy. Most of the time I do get a small bit back but never a huge sum like $2500. Most of the time I'm sending in a small amount to them at the end of the year. If I ever had than much money, loaned to the government for the year, interest free, I'd be vomiting. If you are loaning that much money to the Feds you are in dire need of some good tax counseling. Withholding is not a savings account and, large refunds like that alss flag you for audits. e.g. Lets assume you haven't maxed out your IRA. a simple good tax plan would have been to save that money you loaned to the Fed during 2005 in a tax deferred investment like an IRA and then in addion to having your $2500 you would have gotten additional money back based on your tax bracket and the IRA in addition. Of course that is a simple solution but there are even better ways where you get the benefit of the $2500 refund immediately ( not tax deferred as in an IRA) as you earned it and still get additional money back or rather less withholding based on the knowledge of proper tax planning throughout the year. Huge refunds at the end of the year are not only ignorant but really stupid lack of money planning, no offense. I'm just trying to show you that you are throwing your money away and actually feeling happy about it, plus you came here to brag about it. That is not smart either.


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## Redster (Jan 14, 2004)

I always do mine online with H&R block , their program works fairly well and I can efile both Fed and State. I think it costs about $30 , a little more depending on how you want your return sent to you.


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## Danny R (Jul 5, 2002)

_I'm just trying to show you that you are throwing your money away and actually feeling happy about it, plus you came here to brag about it. That is not smart either._

2500 is actually my combined state AND fed. Actual refunds for both are around 1250 which is below the average, so I'm not worried about audits.

Generally I agree with everything you said, but unfortunately my wife disagrees and prefers the refund. Sometimes you just have to give in.


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## DonLandis (Dec 17, 2003)

Well Danny- If that's your wife in the Avitar, I wouldn't argue either. 

BTW- per IRS- it's the % of refund based on the amount actually owed that is the trigger. They actually don't like it when you have, say $7000 withholding and then claim a third of it in a refund. Same goes for the other way around. If you owe too much at the end of the year, they may punish you by forcing you to file quarterly estimates.

BTW- file electronically and ask for direct deposit to your checking account. That is the fastest way to get your money back. BTW- is the XV6700 for your wife too? Just kidding!


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## Danny R (Jul 5, 2002)

_Well Danny- If that's your wife in the Avitar, I wouldn't argue either_

Scarlett Johannson actually.

_BTW- file electronically and ask for direct deposit to your checking account. That is the fastest way to get your money back. _

Yup, thats why I'm a bit perterbed that the tax software isn't ready and says it needs and gives me a stern warning that it needs an update before filing. I could have already had my refund by now given the usual 7 day wait after efiling.


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## Bogy (Mar 23, 2002)

I am surprised that there is an update that they know will be ready sometime in February, but you can't download it yet. Free File is open for business, as of Jan. 18, on the irs.gov site, with no statement that you can't complete your taxes until February. When I first get TurboTax I always check for updates, but there are normally very few to none after the end of January. Of course I only do my taxes prior to the afternoon of April 15th when I have kids who need FAFSA forms filled out as soon as possible. That does not mean they go in the mail before the 15th, by the slowest mail service possible. I have not been due a refund in 25 years, and if I was it wouldn't matter, since I would just apply it to the next year anyway. I am required to file quarterly. My kids, who actually do get money back file electronically, have their refunds direct deposited, and have their money inside a week if they file before April.


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## Danny R (Jul 5, 2002)

Unfortunately I don't qualify for Free File via the irs.gov site... already looked into that one.

FYI: Am I sadistic? I find I enjoy going to the postoffice about 11pm on April 15th to watch the crowds. Probably the only thing more amusing is going to the Toy's R Us on Dec. 24th. 



Oh, btw, the deadline is April 17 this year due to the 15th falling on a saturday.


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## DonLandis (Dec 17, 2003)

I usually file in July and the small refund I get is about 5 days.

I do have one complaint, however. The 1096 and 1099 kits are always last minute. I still don't have mine. Last year they arrived on the last day of the month. Now if I wanted to purchase them... I'd bet they would arrive immediately. The minimum purchase for those kits are about $30. Since I only have a few contractors I hire during the year, I refuse to pay for the 1099 forms. 
I believe the 1099 forms are the only ones left that you cannot download or file with a computer form. You have to use a typewriter! or at best an impact printer. I could never understand why the IRS has not yet updated the 1099 filing process. Maybe its a gimmick to scam you out of some money by needing to hire a service for the large numbers and for me to pay an outrageous price for a few. One year I was not able to get them at the local IRS office either. They ran out!


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## Geronimo (Mar 23, 2002)

Danny R said:


> Unfortunately I don't qualify for Free File via the irs.gov site... already looked into that one.
> 
> FYI: Am I sadistic? I find I enjoy going to the postoffice about 11pm on April 15th to watch the crowds. Probably the only thing more amusing is going to the Toy's R Us on Dec. 24th.
> 
> ...


And Pril 18in some states as the 17th is a holiday in MA and anyone using the Andover office gets one more day.


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## Danny R (Jul 5, 2002)

Grrr... now I'm really annoyed. My brother bought TurboTax, so I plugged my info into that. Not only does it also need an update thats not yet available (specific form is the same - the educational credit for my wife's tuition payments), but the two programs give me a DIFFERENT refund. I'm sure part of the difference is the educational credit, as Turbotax wouldn't even estimate it while TaxCut did ($80 difference there), but there is still a $250 difference between the two that I'm going to have to figure out. And here I thought this software was supposed to make filing easier.


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## DonLandis (Dec 17, 2003)

Hey Danny- Here's the scoop- All these software products make doing Taxes easier. Just the same as hiring another person makes the process easier. The problem is you! You are now testing the two you chose, software products for validity and comparing them to each other. You'd run into the same problem if you hired two Tax specialist CPA's and then compared the two. Fact is this is not exact science. It is cookbook math. When it comes to number crunching by the rules, the Software is probably your best bet. If you want to file in the black region of the law, a simple H&R Block 3 hour wonder will do as well. BUT, if you want to get creative with the law and even push your filing into a gray area where you wager your odds of triggering an audit as highly likely, hire a tax attorney and be prepared to go to the matt with them. Obviously, that only matters if you are in a position to gain significantly by taking the risk. Most people aren't in that situation. But you still can use software for that. A person, like H&R block may fire you as a client if you don't do it their way.


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## cdru (Dec 4, 2003)

DonLandis said:


> BTW- per IRS- it's the % of refund based on the amount actually owed that is the trigger. They actually don't like it when you have, say $7000 withholding and then claim a third of it in a refund.


Uh oh. I'm probably throwing red flags all over the place then. I was in this magical spot last year and I belive I will be it this year as well where, thanks to the Child Tax Credit, we have 0 tax liability.


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## AcuraCL (Dec 12, 2005)

When TurboTax started its product activation nonsense a few years ago, I tried demos of TaxCut and TaxAct. Prepped my returns with both, and got the same results with both, so at that point I switched to TaxAct and haven't looked back. It's not quite as polished as the other two, but I have been able to do moderately simple/complex tax returns with it without problem. It carries info forward year to year and a free efile is included in the Deluxe package price.

I do itemize every year and often have capital gains/losses, stock options, etc., and I'm no tax whiz.


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## DonLandis (Dec 17, 2003)

CDRU- yep, good luck. What triggered my general audit back in the 80's was me maximizing my IRA contribution which reduced my tax liability to zero that year. Obviously along with other things but the agent investigating me said it was my use of the IRA contribution just prior to filing that triggered the audit flags. 

AcuraCL- Does Tax Cut import Turbotax data from prior years? If I switched, I'd hate to lose that feature. There would have to be a serious incentive for me to make a switch at this point.

It just occured to me that the reason I never had an issue with TurboTax not being accurate is because by the time I file, they get it right with one on-line update. It must be those who need the refund who file early and discover the bugs in the software.


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## AcuraCL (Dec 12, 2005)

DonLandis said:


> ... Does Tax Cut import Turbotax data from prior years? If I switched, I'd hate to lose that feature. There would have to be a serious incentive for me to make a switch at this point....


They say they do but I'm not sure if it carries everything over.

I found TT and TC to be about even in features, TA to be less robust/polished (but still accurate and competent).

Good luck. I never stopped liking TurboTax ... I used it for almost 10 years (from the time that it was MacInTax). I just didn't like their DRM and broke away in protest.


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## Danny R (Jul 5, 2002)

_Does Tax Cut import Turbotax data from prior years? If I switched, I'd hate to lose that feature. There would have to be a serious incentive for me to make a switch at this point._

It does to a limited extend. Since I'm trying both packages this year, I must say TurboTax does seem to have far more automation in it.

TurboTax downloaded my W2 and several other tax forms automatically rather than needing me to enter the raw data. TaxCut didn't have nearly as many options for such. Generally I find TurboTax' instructions clearer as well.

FYI, TurboTax doesn't have any product registration this year.


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## cdru (Dec 4, 2003)

DonLandis said:


> CDRU- yep, good luck. What triggered my general audit back in the 80's was me maximizing my IRA contribution which reduced my tax liability to zero that year. Obviously along with other things but the agent investigating me said it was my use of the IRA contribution just prior to filing that triggered the audit flags.


I'm not too worried about it. I'm sure I'm not the only one that has my type of condition.

I have 3 kids, so right off the top that gives me a 3 grand credit towards my taxes. And since I'm married with 3 kids, so that right there gets me a $10k standard deduction and another 16k from exemption deductions. The break even point for the 3,000 in tax credits is close to $25k, so basically I can make $51k just taking standard deductions.

If the IRS wants to audit me, they can go for it. But it's hard to argue with standard deductions. If they can find that I made more somewhere, they can go for it.

I hope they don't find out about the 522 receiver and computer I won from Danny though...


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## cdru (Dec 4, 2003)

I also just happened to be looking at the Turbo Tax website, and saw this program that allows you to purchase gift cards at a discount to a variety of retailers. For those of us that give Uncle Sam a interest free loan for a year, this may be a way make a little back. The lowest bonus money you can get is 10%. It's not great, but if you shop regularly at one of the stores and you weren't planning on using the refund money for something in particular, it might be worth it to look into more.


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## DonLandis (Dec 17, 2003)

Yes, the child tax credit is a hell of a gift for those who can use it. I have to do other stuff sililar to reduce my taxes but then I'm one who gets accused of using "loopholes" I have no children and have gross income that exceeds what would qualify anyway. Now my daughter may get to take advantage of this soon if she starts producing some grandchildren.


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## Bogy (Mar 23, 2002)

I've had church treasurers accuse me of asking them to do something illegal in how my W-2 should be filled out. No one else has taxes exactly like a minister. Fortunately Turbo-Tax now takes that into account.


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## DonLandis (Dec 17, 2003)

It's been a long time since I was an emlpoyee but last I knew the W2 was based on number of exemptions plus single or married. Now what creative way have you positioned yourself as a minister that could be said to be illegal? 

How many wives do you have or claim to have?

You seem like a fairly saavy tax preparer so I suspect you claim the maximum number of exemptions since last I knew it was the only way to have little or no withholding. If you sign the W2 in that capacity how would the treasurer claim he was doing something illegal? Maybe he was accusing YOU of perjury on the W2. What else is there? The treasurer does not fill out your W2, You do and sign it.


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## Bogy (Mar 23, 2002)

DonLandis said:


> It's been a long time since I was an emlpoyee but last I knew the W2 was based on number of exemptions plus single or married. Now what creative way have you positioned yourself as a minister that could be said to be illegal?
> 
> How many wives do you have or claim to have?
> 
> You seem like a fairly saavy tax preparer so I suspect you claim the maximum number of exemptions since last I knew it was the only way to have little or no withholding. If you sign the W2 in that capacity how would the treasurer claim he was doing something illegal? Maybe he was accusing YOU of perjury on the W2. What else is there? The treasurer does not fill out your W2, You do and sign it.


No Don, I'm not talking about the form which you fill out for how much with holding should be taken out of your check, but the W-2 Wage and Tax Statement which your employer gives you, and that you send in with your 1040, that tells the government how much you made, how much was with held, etc.

It has nothing to do with my number of dependents, since the W-2 isn't dealing with that. It has to do that I am considered an employee by the IRS for tax purposes, but I am considered self-employed for Social Security purposes. Therefore, in one of the little boxes, you need to note that the taxpayer is a member of the clergy, and therefore no with holding was applicable. Also, as a member of the clergy I do not pay income tax on the value of the parsonage (the same as someone in the military does not pay income tax on the value of base housing), but I do pay SS taxes on that value. However, the value of the housing and utilities does not appear on the W-2, but on Schedule SE. I have also had treasurers who have tried to put my mileage and other reimbursements on the W-2. I could work around those, but the whole idea of reimbursements is that then you don't have to hassle with it. If the IRS doesn't need to know about it, its better for everyone if they don't have to worry about it. A number of times I have explained to treasurers how to fill out the form, only to have them call the IRS and be told by one of their "tax time experts" who has never done a minister's taxes before that I should be done another way. Then I have to haul out my documentation, they call back, and finally we hopefully come to a resolution. One year I had a treasurer who called her own accountant and asked him what she should do. He came up with a different way than it really should have been done, or at least the way I felt it should have been done, but at least is was a solution I could work with.

My father was audited once. This was back in the 60s when ministers filed everything on Schedule C (now we just do weddings and funerals etc. on C), and he had 3 agents going over his paperwork. None of them had ever done a ministers taxes before. He came home with a refund, because they figured it wrong, but he decided it was easier to take the money than to try to explain to them what they were doing wrong.


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## DonLandis (Dec 17, 2003)

Thanks for the explanation and pardon my mistake on the form, I don't know why I thought W-4 when you said W2. 

I can see why it is confusing for most but your description of when to use Scd C is how I would think you would do it unless the payments for your non- church activities are paid through the church. If paid directly to you (weddings etc.) then that, IMO, would be Scd C income. The chourch should only be concerned with your payroll on that W-2 right? Now for the SS part, I didn't realize that it gets complicated, having never been in your profession. I see now where it is. Thanks for the explanation. I understand now,... as best I need to.


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## dave1234 (Oct 9, 2005)

Bogy said:


> It has nothing to do with my number of dependents, since the W-2 isn't dealing with that. It has to do that I am considered an employee by the IRS for tax purposes, but I am considered self-employed for Social Security purposes. Therefore, in one of the little boxes, you need to note that the taxpayer is a member of the clergy, and therefore no with holding was applicable. Also, as a member of the clergy I do not pay income tax on the value of the parsonage (the same as someone in the military does not pay income tax on the value of base housing), but I do pay SS taxes on that value. However, the value of the housing and utilities does not appear on the W-2, but on Schedule SE. I have also had treasurers who have tried to put my mileage and other reimbursements on the W-2. I could work around those, but the whole idea of reimbursements is that then you don't have to hassle with it. If the IRS doesn't need to know about it, its better for everyone if they don't have to worry about it. A number of times I have explained to treasurers how to fill out the form, only to have them call the IRS and be told by one of their "tax time experts" who has never done a minister's taxes before that I should be done another way. Then I have to haul out my documentation, they call back, and finally we hopefully come to a resolution. One year I had a treasurer who called her own accountant and asked him what she should do. He came up with a different way than it really should have been done, or at least the way I felt it should have been done, but at least is was a solution I could work with.
> 
> My father was audited once. This was back in the 60s when ministers filed everything on Schedule C (now we just do weddings and funerals etc. on C), and he had 3 agents going over his paperwork. None of them had ever done a ministers taxes before. He came home with a refund, because they figured it wrong, but he decided it was easier to take the money than to try to explain to them what they were doing wrong.


You do know the IRS pays it's MBA's and attorneys $200/hr to make the system as complex as possible?  

I have small acreage growing timber and the rules for timber are even more complicated and unrational....


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## DonLandis (Dec 17, 2003)

_"You do know the IRS pays it's MBA's and attorneys $200/hr to make the system as complex as possible? "_

No, I didn't know that. I thought it was
Congress that makes the IRS rules of tax calculation the way it is. The IRS is an enforcement and collection agency.


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## Bogy (Mar 23, 2002)

DonLandis said:


> _"You do know the IRS pays it's MBA's and attorneys $200/hr to make the system as complex as possible? "_
> 
> No, I didn't know that. I thought it was
> Congress that makes the IRS rules of tax calculation the way it is. The IRS is an enforcement and collection agency.


To a certain extent I have to go with dave1234 on this. Not that they are actually paying anyone to make it as complex as possible. That, we at least hope, is a joke, although it may not seem like it sometimes. However, Congress may write the laws, but the IRS interprets the laws, and writes the tax code in accordance with the laws.
Just a few years ago the IRS has brought a minister to court over differences in how the law should be interpreted, specifically in regard to pastors housing and the tax advantages the clergy get in this area. It was a test case, and if the IRS had prevailed it would have meant some drastic changes for all clergy. The court agreed with the pastor, declaring that the IRS was being overzealous in its interpretation of the law, basically writing it's own law. If the court had not done so, Congress was ready with a law to make sure there would be no misunderstanding as to how they wanted the law to be understood and tax code to be written.


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## DonLandis (Dec 17, 2003)

It's probably semantics but that's what enforcement does. It interprets the laws and enforces them. You don't necessarily need to go to court to overturn a decision made by an IRS agent. You may convince them your interpretation of the law is right and theirs is wrong. The fact that the IRS has tried to standardize it's enforcement policy through written convoluted definitions does not make them lawmakers.

_"The court agreed with the pastor, declaring that the IRS was being overzealous in its interpretation of the law, basically writing it's own law."_

Now I have to ask, did the court actually charge the IRS with violation of the constitution, i.e. making up laws, or is that your explanation of the actual court ruling? The first part of your case outcome, "overzealous interpretation of the law" is what I recall seeing in many of the court cases of IRS rulings overturn that have made the press, never that the IRS was charged with making up laws.

addendum- I think the definition of making up law as opposed to interpretation of something done in a gray area is that making up a law would be if the IRS decided that it would arbitrarily disallow a lawful deduction for, say IRA deduction that is a law by congress. Overzealous interpretation of the law is ruling that your IRA deduction should be disallowed because you paid it to the bank in cash rather than write a check. The IRS maintains that to have a lawful deduction there needs to be an audit trail to prove the deduction yet the law allows the citizen to maintain his own records and how those records are tabulated. That is why the courts have often ruled in favor of log book records as valid even though IRS prefers receipts. Again, the IRS interprets, and sometimes wrong.

In my own audit, when I began teaching scuba diving as a Scd C business, I claimed a swimming pool as a % rated business expense according to # of days used for business vs. number of days used for pleasure and the IRS ruled I was claiming a medical expense thinking swimming was a medical conditioning for scubadiving which was down right ignorant since my deduction was listed on the scd C, not in the medical itemized deductions. We were at an impasse so the disagreement went up two supervisory levels and then a decision was to side with me at that level. I believe we got to an agent who was smart enough to see what I had done and was justified in the deduction. The underlings were just too locked into what they thought I was doing, not what I did. My attorney said it was par for the course because all the IRS ever does is interpret the laws, not make them up. As a citizen, I have the same right to interpret the law. As you also stated, it becomes the courts who make the decision who is right. This is the way it works in the US.


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## dave1234 (Oct 9, 2005)

DonLandis said:


> _"You do know the IRS pays it's MBA's and attorneys $200/hr to make the system as complex as possible? "_
> 
> No, I didn't know that. I thought it was
> Congress that makes the IRS rules of tax calculation the way it is. The IRS is an enforcement and collection agency.


Just to be clear(hard to do in writing). The double smiley faces indicated an attempt at humor on my part.

More seriously: You're correct, Congress gives the IRS authority to collect the taxes and authorizes the IRS to generate many rules and regulations themselves. The actual tax laws (not IRS regulations or rules)passed by congress still need to be written by someone. I wonder how many congressmen have actually read the tax laws they've passed.... Finally there are the courts that provide the final say regarding interpetation of those laws, rules and regulations.


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## Bogy (Mar 23, 2002)

Don, I also think we are talking semantics, but when congress passes a law affecting taxes, what they pass is not the language you are going to be reading in your tax book, or the forms you have to fill out. How that code is written and how it is enforced does not always reflect what congress meant.

I mentioned earlier how W-2s for clergy are a little more complicated than for the average person. And how various church treasurers have called the IRS and gotten answers that were incorrect. As in your account, the IRS reps answering the phones have a standard set of answers. When they get a question out of the norm...And how many times do you think they get a question about how a minister's W-2 should be filled out? The time I thought I was really going to have problems is the year I graduated from seminary. I had been in an internship the previous year. The income while on an internship is not taxable, but it is earned income. Our whole income for the year 1980 was right at $5000, which put us right in the sweet spot that years for the Earned Income Reimbursement (I think that's the name). We ended up with the IRS owing us money, which I applied to our 1981 taxes. A month or so later I got a letter from the IRS that I didn't have enough earned income for the reimbursement. The income did not show up on a W-2, or on the front of the 1040. You had to go deeper in the paperwork to find it. I figured this would take forever to work through, and I have known other ministers who had the same kind of problems in declaring the same kind of income. I made a phone call, and got nowhere. The person could not follow what I was trying to explain. I wrote a letter, laying it all out step by step, and surprisingly, a few weeks later I get a letter back saying everything was ok. The letter evidently reached someone who could read and comprehend what was going on.

Unless you have very simple questions, calling on the phone is worthless.


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## DonLandis (Dec 17, 2003)

Bogy- & Dave

You've convinced me. I agree that it may be semantics but I admit really having the wrong impression on this. It suddenly occured to me that the IRS is much like the FCC. While Congress passes a law, the specific wording as to hopw that law is enforced is written as a rule or regulation by the FCC staff. Same with the IRS. Therefore, I suppose that Dave's comment was more accurate than I thought even if it was a tongue in cheek comment. 

Now you'd think that when you call the IRS would know what their regs say but then in a specific and special case, maybe it's just that they don't apply the right regulation or that they actually missed this case in their convoluted rules. 

Back to Turbotax- I recall years ago struggling through understanding depreciation rules and trying to make some sense out of the IRS' example as it applied to my Video Production business by comparing to their wild and crazy example using a race horse that was blind or became crippled during the fiscal year. Today- Turbotax makes the explanation and application simple, and effortless. Getting the forms right is not the undaunting task it once was as TC or TurboTax makes it easy. I don't really need to read the actual code anymore but it's there on their program if I want to.


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## Cholly (Mar 22, 2004)

Bogy said:


> I've had church treasurers accuse me of asking them to do something illegal in how my W-2 should be filled out. No one else has taxes exactly like a minister. Fortunately Turbo-Tax now takes that into account.


I worked for a tax prep firm for a few years and prpared taxes for clergy a few times. Yep, the rules sure are different!  
On the TaxCut vs. Turbotax front: I used TT for a few years, then changed to TaxCut because I got annoyed with Intuit after they purchased TurboTax. TaxCut does a pretty good job of importing prior year tax data. I haven't gone so far as to try the income averaging options.
Now that I've moved from one state to another during the last year, preparing and filing my 2005 taxes will be a bit more interesting :eek2:

Both TurboTax and TaxCut have matured quite a bit over the years. One of the reasons I had gotten into using TaxCut was that it was originally produced by the same folks who published Andrew Tobias' Managing Your Money, which I had used for several years in the 80's and early 90's. I don't recall what happened to MYM, but TaxCut was sold to H&R Block.


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## Redster (Jan 14, 2004)

I just finished ours using Tax Cut on the H&R Block site. We should get our return in about 8 - 10 days. I am hoping that we can get Lasik done on the wife's eyes if her eye doctor approves.


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## BobMurdoch (Apr 24, 2002)

I had bought TaxCut for $30 at Best Buy (which included a free download of my state tax software also) just to make sure I wasn't in danger of triggering the AMT this year (the ultimate insult for living in a high tax state.... you try and deduct money they take from you and then won't even allow you to deduct it from your taxes if your deductions are too "high". This law was made in the late 60's to catch a couple thousand millionaires with tax shelters. Now, thanks to a lack of inflation adjustments, the Alternative Minimum Tax is going to ensnare 10 million taxpayers by the year 2010 unless they change things fast).

Also, my copy of PC World magazine this month had a free CDRom of the TaxCut federal tax software......

It worked really well, and thankfully I dodged the AMT for this year at least....


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