Everyone done their returns yet?

Are y'all getting money back or paying Uncle Sam your life savings? If you're getting a refund, any special plans for the cash?

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2002

Answers

The MOC and I both did our returns a few days early and will be getting refunds from both the federal and state governments. This is the first refund I have gotten in years, so I am thrilled.

Since we were only part-year residents of GA, we both had to fill out the long form for state taxes which involved all sorts of spreadsheets and charts. The MOC was in his element. At one point I expected him to whip out an abacus.

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2002

I believe I owe the state of New York $2.50.

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2002

Can you pay that in subway tokens?

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2002

I took a 1/2 day off from work last week to finish ours up (I was not wasting my own time on the weekend). Both the State of Maryland and the Feds owe us money so I was in a complete state of Intaxication until I realized that it was really our money all along and we probably could have been earning interest on it all year if the government hadn't been holding it. Oh well...as far as I am concerned, I will still do my happy "Free Money" dance when those checks come!

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2002

I am a huge procrastinator in all aspects of my life, except for taxes. I had my forms by the second week of January, and telefiled in early February and had my refund back by the end of February. I think I can only manage to get them done so quickly because they are totally uncomplicated. And I'm in Texas, so no state filing! Yay!

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2002

Chief and I did ours in February and have gotten our refund back. We don't get a large refund because we barely withhold enough to get a refund. That's by design, because even though I don't want to pay in each spring, I sure as hell don't want to give the government an interest free loan every year.

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2002

Can you pay that in subway tokens?

Hee! No. Given the relationship between the state of New York and the city of New York, that would be akin to trying to pay your British income taxes in francs. Or euros, now.

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2002

I love Texas because there are no state taxes to deal with!

Sweet Uncle Sam is handing out a nice little sum for us this year, with which we'll pay off our credit card debt. So, really, it's like not getting anything. Boo.

Except, I might buy a pair of cute shoes. Just one.

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2002

I owe the state of Ca $77 but the feds owe me $149 so it works out in the plus column. Not a lot, but always better to get some back than to owe.

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2002

The Feds sent me a nice lil check for $1774.00. It is all going directly to the "pay Holly's car off" fund.

I lived in WA state all of 2001 so I don't have to deal with state taxes.

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2002

Sent them off today, although I did them a week ago.

Fed owes me, second year in a row! I paid $2 to state.

Do you all have to file local taxes, too? Is that assy little deal only for PA residents?

Because of where we live, no one ever seems to know where we file local taxes, and last year we ended up splitting them between two different Townships. This year, I filled out the paperwork again and was informed that it's down to one township this year.

Do you guys have occupational taxes, too? Based on your job title. So fucked up.

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2002

It's an assy little deal in NJ, too. I'm filing an extension request, b/c I live in Canada, and according to my housemate, who is in the same boat as me, the process for filing taxes when you live outside of the country is hell on earth. I'm going to get my parents' accountant to do it for me when I'm home later this month. I have to file on the income I earned here both in Canada AND in the US, apparently. Arg.

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2002

I think that it is a pretty well known fact (at least here in Maryland it is), that Pennsylvania is really fucked up tax-wise all around. Although a lot of Baltimorons (yes, I meant moron in the sweetest of ways, I was born and bred a Baltimoron) are moving north to the Land of Cheaper Living in Pennsyltucky, the amount of inane taxes there is enough to send a resident running back to Maryland, The Land of Ridiculously High Taxes.

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2002

I owed the state of Pennsylvania $1. Those bastards. I got $76 back from the Feds. Which is just sort of sad and pathetic and speaks to my annual income.

I got 40 dollars in quarters in laundry and I suppose that I'll use the extra 35 to pay the phone bill.

The city of Philadelphia takes 3.04% of anything I make. That's just wrong. Almost worth going on unemployment. Show their ass!

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2002

Huh. I always wondered who got stuck paying local taxes. An occupational tax? A city tax? Ouch!

I started them Saturday morning, finished them last night and mailed them this morning. I drove my husband nuts because he got his done two months ago and he was waiting for me to finish mine. I get a bunch back from federal and CA. Long story, basically I had my withholding too high. It'll be nice to have the extra bucks, but I'd rather keep it all year than let the gov't "borrow" it.

Did anybody efile? What did it cost?

(Here's hoping this only posts once instead of twice like my last post.)

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2002

I've e-filed for the past couple years, and it's so easy, and I love it, and it's $19.95 at hrblock.com. As a matter of fact, I e-filed this morning, and it took about an hour to do the whole thing. My favorite part is the refund direct deposit.

I did it from work, too, but don't tell.

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2002

I efiled too and will get the check direct deposited. I, of course, will live off my refund, as I'm unemployed at the moment

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2002

Some of us are paying $2, $1, $4 in taxes? Shouldn't there be a law that says anything under $5 is a gimme? By the time the gov't processes your return it will cost them more than the $5 anyway. Sheesh.

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2002

Jessa, maybe I'm mistaken, but isn't there a no-sales-tax deal in PA? If that's the case, then the whole 3.04 thing isn't that bad of a deal...

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2002

Kay, at least one of the tax forms I did said that if you owed less than $2, don't bother paying.

And PA does have sales tax.

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2002

Yeah, they just love to tax us. Federal tax, state tax, local tax, wage tax, sales tax. Does anyone else think they might want to consolidate some of these?

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2002

That is what I am saying about Pennsylvania...although the taxes in Maryland are much higher than Pa., we at least are able to pay them in a lump sum (at least in my County). Our friends that live in Pa. are always lamenting over the fact that they have to pay for all of their government services separately. For instance, they pay for snow removal, trash removal, recycling fees, etc., all as separate charges. What a pain in the ass!

-- Anonymous, April 16, 2002

The DeniDad is an accountant and thus takes care of all the income taxes in the family. However, the family comes LAST in this case and he always files for extensions so he can get his clients taken care of first. Sadly, I will not receive a return til September, probably.

Not that I'm complaining, though. I wouldn't know the first thing about doing my own taxes, and I gather they're complicated because there are lots of random funds lying around with my name on them. Wish I could get ahold of those puppies, though.

-- Anonymous, April 16, 2002

Those of you who are getting refunds, what are your plans for the money? Blow it or invest it?

-- Anonymous, April 17, 2002

I plan to save it and then blow it. I usually put a certain amount towards my Christmas fund and then blow the rest on our big 4th of July bash.

-- Anonymous, April 17, 2002

I'm only getting back something like $70 and I can blow that on what, popcorn and a movie? I saw on the news the other night that it takes an average of 28 hours for someone to fill out a 1040. Whoa! I think it took me (well, my brother actually) about 15 minutes. Am I missing something, or is it just because I have almost no money? Heh.

-- Anonymous, April 17, 2002

I just bought a laptop, so I'm using the movie towards it. I've got six months to pay it off before the "Six Months No Interest" bites me in the ass, so every little big helps...

-- Anonymous, April 17, 2002

Oh dear. I said "movie" instead of money.

My job has finally taken over the rest of my brain.

-- Anonymous, April 17, 2002

I just figured you'd sold a screenplay.

-- Anonymous, April 17, 2002

I did, actually. It's called, "Omar Did No Such Thing."

I sold it to Miramax.

-- Anonymous, April 17, 2002

Omar, have you been reading the "A big sparkly sign that says 'Omar is the Boss of us'" thread at TWoP? That stuff will rot your brain! ;)

-- Anonymous, April 17, 2002