Tax Day (Photo credit: LendingMemo)
Tax Day - April 15 is coming up fast. I have used TurboTax for many years and have gotten to where I don't need to do the interview and I can just directly enter the information. A lot has changed since I first started using it - you can upload just about anything now, from your paycheck information, 1099's from investments, etc. without having to retype everything, which is really nice. I have also gotten to like the electronic filing and automatic deposit of refunds. I don't even print my tax return anymore - just save a pdf file on a disc and file it with the backup paperwork. It's always a little nerve-racking preparing the tax return because I'm never totally sure exactly what the refund or tax due will be. So many things can happen during a year and estimating the tax impact, especially if you have stock sales or other types of taxable transactions like sales of real property or other capital assets, can be challenging, even for a CPA. This is especially difficult if you are paid a salary and rely totally on tax withholding to cover your annual tax bill. This year was made more difficult by the new Obamacare taxes on investment income and higher Alternative Minimum Tax. Also, differences in the state taxation of Healthcare Spending Account contributions were a bit of a surprise to me. One thing that is clear is that taxes continue to rise and tax planning really needs to be a year-round process - not just something you do in December.
Related articles
