I finally filed my income tax returns and coughed up an additional $75 to the IRS, having learned that a single person living alone with a cat does not qualify as "head of household." At least my humble income still allows me to take advantage of the free tax preparation software linked to the IRS website - I tried H&R Block this year and found it very user-friendly.
In honor of the looming deadline, I highly recommend the following book: David Cay Johnston's Perfectly Legal, subtitled "The Covert Campaign to Rig Our Tax System to Benefit the Super Rich - and Cheat Everyone Else." In fact, Amazon currently offers it at a bargain price of under $5, so there's no excuse, even if you're not getting a refund.
It's been a year since I read it, but I still get hot under the collar when recalling this book. Johnston describes in shocking detail exactly how the legal loopholes built into our supposedly progressive tax system allow the wealthiest Americans to shift their tax burden onto the middle and lower classes. Even worse, he explains how underfunding and political pressure force the IRS to expend their limited energy checking up on honest (if sometimes financially challenged) citizens while letting the big tax cheats go scot free. In fact, you have a far greater risk of being audited if you request the earned income tax credit (for low income families) than if you're a multi-millionaire.
So as you burn the midnight oil trying to determine whether you exceed the standard deduction, and whether the AMT is going to bite you in the ass, pat yourself on the back for paying your dues to your country. You're a patriot where it counts - your wallet.
Friday Fragments
4 years ago
2 comments:
Ugh, don't get me started. I saw on the news this morning that if you owe money, then you HAVE to file on time or it's a criminal offense. And, even though the IRS gives you the option to request/get an extension - you STILL have to pay on time. So you basically have to GUESS what you THINK you owe and do it anyway and then just convince the government that you need more time to actually figure it out.
But, interestingly and not that surprisingly either, if the government owes you, then you have until August or something to file. Grrr.
Forgive my grumpy mood - the ONE THOUSAND dollars i owed have taken my ability to think clearly with them.
Yes, sp, that really sucks about the $1000. And many people are working several low-paying part-time jobs to make ends meet, so I bet they are undertaxed and have to come up with more at filing time.
One of my co-workers also told me that if you calculate incorrectly at filing time, you only have 3 years to report that the IRS owes you money, while they have several additional years to figure it out and come after you if the scales tip the other way.
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