Completing Your Taxes

Completing Your 2010 Taxes

Completing an annual tax return is a responsibility that is shared by all American wage earners.  If you fail to file a tax return in any given year, you could face both legal and monetary penalties.  If you have not yet filed past due tax returns for your 2010 taxes or previous years, it would be a good idea to file a complete tax return for those years as soon as possible to avoid being penalized.

When looking to complete a return for 2010 or a previous year, the first thing that you need to do is gather as much of your financial records as possible.  If you have lost or thrown away pay stubs or bank statements, you should be able to get everything you need by contacting your employer, bank, brokerage firm, or any other entity that provided you with tax information that needs to be reported.

You are one of 50,000,000 Americans who must f...
You are one of 50,000,000 Americans who must fill out an income tax return by March 15 do it now! …. (Photo credit: Keijo Knutas)

Once you have gathered all of your financial information, the next thing to do is prepare the tax returns.  Be sure that you prepare the tax returns based off of 2010 forms.  Since the tax law changes from one year to the next, 2012 tax forms will not be usable to complete the 2010 tax return.  These forms are available through either the IRS directly, your accountant, or any tax preparation software.

After you have completed the return, be sure to mail it in as soon as possible.  It would be a good idea to also include a check for any owed taxes, but you should be prepared to have to pay interest or fees on any past due amount.

Tax Carnival Ecstasy – May 24, 2013

Welcome to the May 24, 2013 edition of Tax Carnival Ecstasy. In this edition we start with an article from Bill Smith on TurboTax having an issue with their service at the very end of the tax season this year. John Schmoll from Frugal Rules discusses the financial concepts that he understood before he left college in a nice post. And finally Edward Webber looks at the amount of income you can earn before you need to file a tax return. Hope you like all articles, bookmark, share on Facebook, Tweet, and come back really soon.

English: The headquarters of Intuit Consumer T...
English: The headquarters of Intuit Consumer Tax Group at the northern end of San Diego. This is where Intuit develops its flagship tax return preparation product, TurboTax. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

filing

Bill Smith presents TurboTax Survives Twitter Panic posted at 2009 Taxes, saying, “The 2013 tax season was fraught with unprecedented problems caused by government budget fights and IRS delays in updating forms.”

Bill Smith presents TurboTax Sees Glitch, #Fails On Twitter posted at 2010 Tax, saying, “Filing taxes is a stressful task no matter how anyone puts it, and if anything goes wrong during the filing, it becomes a nightmare.”

retirement

John Schmoll presents 5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Graduated From College posted at Frugal Rules, saying, “It’s sadly been too long since I graduated from college. There are a number of things I wish I knew before I did, chiefly among them avoiding debt, investing early for retirement by taking advantage of a 401k and networking all with the intention of growing professionally as well as growing my wealth.”

John Schmoll presents Online Brokerages I’ve Used: Etrade Review posted at Frugal Rules, saying, “There are many online brokerages to use as you look to invest in the stock market. The good ones are there to meet your needs and help make sure you’re doing what you can to be investing for things like retirement.”

taxes

Edward Webber presents How Much Can You Earn Without Paying Taxes 2013? posted at TaxFix Feed Update, saying, “Do you want to know how much you can earn without paying any tax in the UK? This article provides all the details and how the limit has been increased.”

tips

Simpsonsparadox presents Tax Evaders! posted at Geek Insider.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of tax carnival ecstasy using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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Why Does Intuit Want To Strike Down Return-Free Tax Filing?

Why Does Intuit Want To Strike Down Return-Free Tax Filing?

Most Americans don’t know much about return-free filing, but it’s popular in certain countries. In applicable countries, the government prepares a taxpayer’s return each year. This government-prepared return is created using employer and banking records. A taxpayer can submit this return to the government free of charge without making any changes. By using this concept, taxpayers can save time and money each year.

YOU ARE ONE OF 50,000,000 AMERICANS WHO MUST F...
YOU ARE ONE OF 50,000,000 AMERICANS WHO MUST FILL OUT AN INCOME TAX RETURN BY MARCH 15. FILE YOURS EARLY. – NARA – 516201 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Unfortunately, the parent company of TurboTax, Intuit, has been fighting this idea for years. Intuit has lobbied congress against return-free filing on multiple occasions. TurboTax, of course, offers free tax filing for millions of taxpayers. In each instance, Intuit defended its actions by saying that it’s attempting to protect taxpayers from government intrusion. Higher costs are cited as a consequence of return-free filing, too.

However, the largest opponents against this concept are the tax filing companies. TurboTax stands to lose a lot of money due to 100% free tax filing offered by the government. In other countries, such a system saves billions of dollars every decade without any consequences. Tax return services comprise a large chunk of a filing service’s revenue annually. Therefore, these same companies are spending millions fighting return-free filing.

Completely free tax filing from the federal government comes with plenty of benefits. Currently, many Americans waste countless hours and dollars on their annual tax returns. This concept, if handled properly, could eliminate all of that waste. Intuit and TurboTax offer great services, but they’re fighting a completely justifiable program. Free tax filing is still available to most Americans already, though.

Checking Your Tax Refund Status After Using TurboTax

Checking Your Tax Refund Status

After filing your taxes with TurboTax 2013, you’ll immediately begin wondering about the status of your refund. Nobody likes filing their tax returns, but nobody complains about receiving money back each year. The Internal Revenue Service and TurboTax.com make finding this information a relatively simple affair. However, there are certain things that taxpayers need to keep in mind before looking up their status. Such information isn’t available right away after all.

Socialism ? ... Fiscal danger lurks with nearl...
Socialism ? … Fiscal danger lurks with nearly every choice — Scenario 3. (7:44 PM, Nov 17, 2012) …item 2.. FL Officials File Emergency Rule to Outlaw Synthetic Drugs — Look at this, these are “Scoobie Snacks,” (Tue 5:32 PM, Dec 11, 2012) … (Photo credit: marsmet531)

A status checker is available right on the IRS website. Fortunately, the same checker is available on TurboTax.com, too. An individual will need to enter some personal information about themselves in order to find their status. This process takes seconds and grants a status immediately. By using this tool, taxpayers will know when to expect their refund or whether an issue is blocking the refund. It’s important to keep up to date with this information as often as possible.

Taxpayers who use TurboTax 2013 and want to know their status should keep the following things in mind. For starters, a status won’t show up for the first 24 to 48 hours after filing a return. The government needs time to process and accept all of the tax forms that constitute an income return. Plus, return statuses don’t always update immediately, so nothing is guaranteed to change over the course of a single day or two.

TurboTax 2013 from TurboTax.com offers some great features for taxpayers. Individuals can file their returns for free or use a paid version of the software. Luckily, options are available for self-employed individuals and stock investors alike. The software guides people through their returns step by step without a hassle. In the end, the site even offers a refund status checking tool for users.

Everyone should consider using TurboTax 2013 from TurboTax.com for their return. The benefits speak for themselves, and the inclusion of a refund status checker is a great bonus. Not all sites offer this simple but necessary feature. Without a doubt, this is the best option for most individuals that need to file their annual return. Taxpayers should always check the status of their return a day or two after filing.

A Basic Overview Of The Turbo Tax Advertisement Controversy

The Turbo Tax 2013 Advertisement Controversy

The Turbo Tax 2013 advertisements were undoubtedly memorable and those who have seen them will not soon forget them. It is also impossible to deny that these advertisements were more aggressive in than previous advertisements aired by the company. Despite the fact that TurboTax is one of the most popular tax programs on the market, the company is definitely trying as hard as it can to put down the competition.

Why Were the Ads Controversial in the First Place?

The Turbo Tax 2013 ads emphasized the fact that many tax preparation companies hire trained professionals who do not work as accountants year round. The ads clearly displayed various people who prepared taxes during the tax season later going back to their regular jobs. More specifically, one individual in question worked as a sales clerk while another worked as a plumber.

The ads did not mention H&R Block by name, except to note at the very end that TurboTax handles more tax clients than H&R Block and all other similar companies combined. However, the fact that Turbo Tax was trying to undercut H&R Block and other, similar companies was unmistakable.

The Case

H&R Block retaliated with a swift, harshly worded statement against Turbo Tax before taking the tax software giant to court. In court, H&R Block made a few valid arguments against Intuit, the company that owns and runs Turbo Tax. H&R Block noted that the company puts down those individuals who do not work as accountants on a year round basis, without noting the fact that these individuals do have the training required to properly prepare tax forms. The ads also did not note the fact that many of H&R Block’s employees have extensive experience. Furthermore, the lawyers also note that the ad portrays an unflattering picture of those who work in sales or plumbing.

While the court noted that these arguments were valid, in the end TurboTax won the case and is able to play the ads when and where desired. The courts found that the ads did not breach any laws and, more specifically, did not cause illegal harm to H&R Block. Given this ruling, it is not unrealistic to expect more, similar Turbo Tax ads next tax year.

While Turbo Tax has won the first round of this battle, this is u

Boxing Generic copy
Boxing Generic copy (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

nlikely to be the last battle between these two giants. H&R Block does tax preparation in person while TurboTax is a software program that a person can use on his or her own. However, both these companies are vying for the same clients and so are likely to continue attacking each other and other, similar businesses in an effort to reduce the competition and get a larger share of customers.

Think Of Tax Filling? Think Turbo Tax.

Think Of Tax Filling? Think Turbo Tax.

March is coming and many businesses out there know what this means. This period officially marks the time to file in business taxes back to the government. Due to this hectic activity, pressures go high thanks to the labor intensive, time consuming nature of this act. Fortunately, there is Turbo Tax to aid you in your task.

TaxACT Logo
TaxACT Logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Unfortunately, there are numerous software programs out there which claim are capable of easing your way around tax filing, but the thing is, most are mere half baked truths offering dead ends. According to the tax act, there are severe punishments for those found tax evading; hence it is always a good idea to give Caesar what belongs to Caesar.

During this tax season, instead of rushing to that guy you know why you don’t try out the turbo tax as seeing this software is quick, reliable, and cheap and is compliant with the law.  In this short article, you will have a quick glimpse into the reasons why TurboTax 2013 is by far better compared to other software programs such as H&R Block or Taxact.

Cost effective
In business, the key point is to always maximize on profits while minimizing the overall cost of doing business. With that in mind, turbo tax will help you save money on taxes thanks to up to five e-filings per purchase capability. 1040EZ fillings are absolutely free.

Ease Of Use
The program is designed to easily integrate itself with each and every specific states tax filing system, thus offering you great ease while filing for your taxes. Moreover, there is a professional customer care support staff always on stand-by ready to help you in any way possible.

Ease Of Access
With turbotax, you have the ability to access your tax files from any computer. So, whether you are at a friend’s house, at home or just outside the office and you need a copy of your tax file, you can easily print it out.