Woo-Hoo!
O.K., I was pretty nervous about doing my taxes. I feared the worst. (I suppose that's why I spent most of the day reading Jenn's blog instead.) But, I finally made myself buckle down and just do it. All that worry for naught. For now.
First of all, it took me all of 25 minutes. I really love Turbo Tax, depite the things they try to hawk at you between every screen. When your financial situation is as simple as mine is (or at least, as it is unless S. tries to mess with it), this whole tax thing is pretty easy if you do it online.
The best part, though, are the results if I file as "Married Filing Separately," which I don't mind sharing:
Federal return: I owe $48
State return: I get back $139
Bottom line: Gain of $91
Pardon the language, but that's the best fucking news I've had in a long time.
The thing is, even if I am able to file this way (???), I thought I'd have to pay, and maybe a lot--I certainly didn't think I'd be getting anything back. The way I understand it, if you're married, filing separately is going to be detrimental about 90% of the time. And it probably is--I have no way of knowing, since I can't run the numbers for Married Filing Jointly, since S. is obviously not sharing his W-2 information with me. And at this point, I could give a shit. Actually, if not having to interact with him about this winds up costing me a couple or even a few hundred bucks, I could care less.
The reason I thought I would owe is that my company's "Personal Information" web page is really screwy. If I read it right (and I can read), they have me down as claiming two dependents. Unless they're counting my cats, that's pretty much way off. I don't know how it happened, and I need to look into it--although I suspect it's just the web page info that's wrong.
Anyway, I am feeling huge relief right now, and I'm planning on having a better time with that $91 than I've ever had in my life. (Not sure how yet--that's for another post!) That is, if I get it.
My dilemma now is . . . what do I do? Do I file right away, like tonight or tomorrow, and hope to beat S. to the punch? Do I wait to talk to the attorney on Tuesday and let a little bit more precious time tick away? I have no way of knowing if S. has filed yet or not. If he has, and he's itemized, and I file and claim the deduction, what happens then? Do we both get in trouble, have to pay fees? Or will I win out in the end, since I've tried to get this information and he and his attorney have refused to provide it? I just don't know.
First of all, it took me all of 25 minutes. I really love Turbo Tax, depite the things they try to hawk at you between every screen. When your financial situation is as simple as mine is (or at least, as it is unless S. tries to mess with it), this whole tax thing is pretty easy if you do it online.
The best part, though, are the results if I file as "Married Filing Separately," which I don't mind sharing:
Federal return: I owe $48
State return: I get back $139
Bottom line: Gain of $91
Pardon the language, but that's the best fucking news I've had in a long time.
The thing is, even if I am able to file this way (???), I thought I'd have to pay, and maybe a lot--I certainly didn't think I'd be getting anything back. The way I understand it, if you're married, filing separately is going to be detrimental about 90% of the time. And it probably is--I have no way of knowing, since I can't run the numbers for Married Filing Jointly, since S. is obviously not sharing his W-2 information with me. And at this point, I could give a shit. Actually, if not having to interact with him about this winds up costing me a couple or even a few hundred bucks, I could care less.
The reason I thought I would owe is that my company's "Personal Information" web page is really screwy. If I read it right (and I can read), they have me down as claiming two dependents. Unless they're counting my cats, that's pretty much way off. I don't know how it happened, and I need to look into it--although I suspect it's just the web page info that's wrong.
Anyway, I am feeling huge relief right now, and I'm planning on having a better time with that $91 than I've ever had in my life. (Not sure how yet--that's for another post!) That is, if I get it.
My dilemma now is . . . what do I do? Do I file right away, like tonight or tomorrow, and hope to beat S. to the punch? Do I wait to talk to the attorney on Tuesday and let a little bit more precious time tick away? I have no way of knowing if S. has filed yet or not. If he has, and he's itemized, and I file and claim the deduction, what happens then? Do we both get in trouble, have to pay fees? Or will I win out in the end, since I've tried to get this information and he and his attorney have refused to provide it? I just don't know.
posted by flipper at 7:48 PM
2 Comments:
You should go for it. File right away. You have attempted to obtain info from him to no avail. You have the right to file your taxes based on your info. If you have the return ready, file it, electronically preferably.
I actually faced the same dilemma...except The Idiot gave me his W2. ??? So I tested all the combinations to find out how I/we came out best. My main goal was to beat him to the punch as far as filing at all. I knew that whichever one of us went first would set the stage for the other. (Since you read my blog...you see how that turned out with my goof and all that.)
Another thing I've learned is that whenever I try to do the fair thing, thinking that's the right thing to do...I end up getting smacked in the face. That doesn't mean I do the wrong thing...I just do what takes care of me and my daughter best. If The Idiot is affected...it's his problem.
Not sure what the IRS will do but I can tell you it will probably take them a couple/few years to catch up with a mistake...and by then, you surely don't want to be dealing with this. I'd play this one better safe than sorry...check with your attorney.
And I totally agree that you should fight for what you put into the home...it's just an uphill battle. Doesn't mean you won't find the top of the hill....
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