Tax filing time....
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it's the most dreaded time of the year...tax filing time....
i've just browsed through the very thick instruction booklet....and there are so many ????????WTF???????WTF????? in my head right now =P
i know some of you engage tax professionals to assist with your tax preparations....any of you are filing taxes on your own or are using some of those tax softwares i.e. turbotax, H&R block etc?
i've been recommended to use the H&R Best of Both solution....any reviews on that?
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We used to do our own taxes. But when you move as often as we used to, it gets complicated. When I started a small business, things started to get really complicated so we've been using a tax guy since 1999. Our current guy charges $180 an hour so it helps to be very organised with your papers, receipts, etc. It usually takes us a good solid 2 hours to get all the figures done right and it helps that you get to deduce the cost of your accountant's services the next year.
There are many things which people don't know they can deduct. Like the sales tax paid on the purchase of a new vehicle, household energy saving improvements, cost of medications, eye glasses.... I used to detest this exercise but over the years, I've come to enjoy it.
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i've been trying to get some recommendations for tax accountants around my area but got nothing so far.....
finally gone through the entire booklet (1040) on the tax filing instructions....think i've got the gist of it.
our case (married filing jointly, no dependants) is pretty straightfoward i think....only "complication" being the taxes that we are paying back in singapore which we are likely to qualify for credit. so far, we've got no investment/rental/other sources of income apart from earned wages in the states.
ya...and the other things like new motor vehicle tax credit and credit for the costs of our relocation (the excess of what employer had reimbursed)....
so i thought it's actually not TOO difficult and i shld try to do it myself (am i digging my own grave or what...kekeke).
i was at target last weekend and saw many tax preparation software on sale (turbotax going for $50+). my friend who's in seattle recommended the H&R block. for slightly less than $100, i can make use of their tax preparation software and i also have support from the H&R tax professionals...who'd answer my queries as well as vet my tax submission to ensure accuracy. if i just use their software, it's prob only less than $50
or am i being too cheapo to want to save on even that couple hundred of dollars (which is deductible from next yr's tax as jetta has mentioned)?
the finance person in me wants a good challenge...but the kiasu/kiasi singaporean in me thinks it might be better to get help from the expert..at least for the first time!!????
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Hi,
My wife and I used "TurboTax". It works fine for us. The software is interactive and I just need to answer the questions and the system will generate the relevant tax forms.
We were in the US since 2006 and had used Turbotax for the past three years. Our situation is also very similar, wife and I are working and will receive the individual tax forms from our employers. We ultimately filed married filed jointly (system will recommend whether it is best to filed jointly other seperately).
Try out turbotax, it is really very straightforward.
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Originally posted by jetta:There are many things which people don't know they can deduct. Like the sales tax paid on the purchase of a new vehicle, household energy saving improvements, cost of medications, eye glasses.... I used to detest this exercise but over the years, I've come to enjoy it.
Oooohhh... thanks for the reminder about the sales tax on a new car purchase being tax deductible. My 2010 Mazda3 (purchased in July '09) qualifies for that.
I've always done my taxes manually, but might try TurboTax this year.
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Originally posted by spencer99:
Hi,
My wife and I used "TurboTax". It works fine for us. The software is interactive and I just need to answer the questions and the system will generate the relevant tax forms.
We were in the US since 2006 and had used Turbotax for the past three years. Our situation is also very similar, wife and I are working and will receive the individual tax forms from our employers. We ultimately filed married filed jointly (system will recommend whether it is best to filed jointly other seperately).
Try out turbotax, it is really very straightforward.
thanks for the feedback. that's really good to know that all the tax softwares actually work. which edition of the turbotax do you use? does the most basic one allow for input of taxes paid overseas? -
Originally posted by Meia Gisborn:
Oooohhh... thanks for the reminder about the sales tax on a new car purchase being tax deductible. My 2010 Mazda3 (purchased in July '09) qualifies for that.
I've always done my taxes manually, but might try TurboTax this year.
I was quite surprised that you missed this one since you're quite money savvy. To think that you missed out on the other cars you bought. Anyhoos, since you're going to use TT this year, maybe you'll catch more deductions. If you do, you hafta lemme know! My dining table is covered with receipts, statements, etc. I am slowly sorting everything out 'cause my tax appt is a couple of weeks away.
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Dang.. i never do my own tax before. lol!
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Originally posted by lostintransition:
thanks for the feedback. that's really good to know that all the tax softwares actually work. which edition of the turbotax do you use? does the most basic one allow for input of taxes paid overseas?Why don't you go to turbotax.com and see if you can get your questions answered? Other than that I don't know what to tell you except to buy it and try it out. Everyone files differently so what works for your friend, may not work for you. Welcome to America!
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follow jetta's proposal and checkout which version of turbotax (TT) is suitable.
I actually uses the 'deluxe' version of TT.
Actually if you use do not have any property and do not sell shares and or sell shares with your company's share purchase plan, you might be able to just use the Basic version.
Oh yeah.... for my wife and I, we actually move from Singapore to the US on 31st Dec 2005. So the Singaporean (overseas) income and US income is very clear-cut.....
so I am not sure whether that is the case for you...and I am not sure if you have to report both SG and US income or not and how to go about doing it... but if you are just filing domestic (US) income, it is really pretty straight forward...
hope that helps, good luck.
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ya..see that's the prob...we arrived mid-august09...my hubby started work sep09. so he'd still have to file for taxes from jan-jul/aug09 in singapore and then sep-dec09 in the states.
i don't work in the states...but i'm still receiving income from singapore for the full year....so i'd have to file for my taxes in singapore for jan-dec09.
i think most probably i'll get the deluxe edition...to cater for investments/property and other stuffs in future.
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Is getting a tax person to file for you taxable? If so let them do ba.... so leceh lol.
Especially if you have multiple investments.
Kind Regards
Genie
edit: I meant tax deductible...not taxable lol
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Originally posted by Genie99a:
Is getting a tax person to file for you taxable? If so let them do ba.... so leceh lol.
Especially if you have multiple investments.
Kind Regards
Genie
edit: I meant tax deductible...not taxable lol
Yes it is. See first para in second post. You can only deduct his/her services the next filing year.
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As a FYI, i am not a tax professional but there is something you guys should take note...
Singapore only taxes income earned in singapore. As such, your US income is not liable for SG taxes... As such, you might even pay a lower rate (%) of SG taxes as if you work for a partial year, your gross taxable income is lower than if you work a full year.
US tax all your income, sg and overseas. As such, your SG income that you earn for that year is also liable for US taxes. You can deduct the amount of SG taxes you pay and offset your total US tax liability. However, as the SG tax rate is extremely low, at the worst case you might have to pay US taxes (at your US tax rate) on your SG income....
This is the worst case. For my case, as I 'transition' at the end of the calendar year, I am not affected.
However, I was told by a tax professional (assigned to help on my relocation) to utilize a professional tax consultant to sort out any potential issue on my first year...
From year 2, if you only have domestic US income, the tax filing should be quite straight forward...
TurboTax will assume that you are like a 'typical' US person and will not take into consideration most of the overseas income issue / relocation etc...
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Good gawd, I've spent the past 8 hours just sorting, making piles, stapling and totalling.
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dp
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Day 2 of same process. Haiz!!!! *note to self* be more organized from now on.
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a lot of stuffs to staple means business is GOOOOOOoooood! =)
i hate doing taxes.....
for my singapore taxes....i'll prob have gazillion receipts/invoices/paperwork to sort out as well....so not looking forward to it.....i'm still in denial....
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Originally posted by lostintransition:
a lot of stuffs to staple means business is GOOOOOOoooood! =)
i hate doing taxes.....
for my singapore taxes....i'll prob have gazillion receipts/invoices/paperwork to sort out as well....so not looking forward to it.....i'm still in denial....
April 15 will be here before you know it. If you're still not ready by then, you can file paperwork for late submission.
I just did the figures and guess what? Outlay outpaced income.
So this year, I'll forgo all the small shows and just do the big ones, I'm quitting pampered chef and once I move I'll go full time at Sears. Oh guess what? After almost 6 months of waiting, we can start escrow!! -
Originally posted by jetta:
Oh guess what? After almost 6 months of waiting, we can start escrow!!
hey congrats! finally getting rewarded for your long wait! keep us updated on your progress.... -
Hold your congratulations. We decided to walk. The home inspector found a laundry list of deferred maintenance that just pulled the plug on our plans to buy this place. After a 5 month wait, we've come up empty. Again. Argh! Why don't people take care of their homes??? Back to the drawing board. Again. *cuss, grumble, complain*
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Originally posted by jetta:
Hold your congratulations. We decided to walk. The home inspector found a laundry list of deferred maintenance that just pulled the plug on our plans to buy this place. After a 5 month wait, we've come up empty. Again. Argh! Why don't people take care of their homes??? Back to the drawing board. Again. *cuss, grumble, complain*
Ouch! Sorry to hear that.How severe were the deferred maintenance items? Could you have used them to negotiate the price down?
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Originally posted by Meia Gisborn:
Ouch! Sorry to hear that.How severe were the deferred maintenance items? Could you have used them to negotiate the price down?
That was the first avenue. There is just too much to deal with. The house is on a raised foundation and one of the braces is almost completely deteriorated. There is dry rot in many places. Estimated cost of repairs is 5900. The outside walls are made from some strange concoction. They sprayed on some texture onto plywood! You can see many spots where the texture has deteriorated. There is a gaping hole in the right quarter of the garage ceiling. It's obvious that the seller has been babying that for a while because you can see the fungus growing in and around the hole. Other parts of the roof in the garage have been compromised too, as evidenced by water stains on the exposed cross beams.
Within the house, some parts of the floor give when weight is applied. Another obvious red flag. The faucet to the tub leaks and has been for a while. We have hard water here so it leaves a trail. Man, I feel like a CSI. hahaha!
The seller who's in his 70s, was an electrician in the military but you couldn't tell from all the "improvements" he's done to the house. Open electrical splicing, no junction boxes, etc... Shocking.
Even the hot water tank is improperly strapped. Instead of strapping it to the wall, he strapped it to a 6 inch piece of 1x4 cause the strap was too short.
My realtor, hubster and the home inspector, all had a good laugh over that one. After the first few red flags, we found ourselves just laughing at everything else we found that was wrong or improperly done. Even if I really wanted this house, I would ask for a 100K reduction in price. There is just too much to replace/repair. Besides since we're going VA and they have a strict code (house has to be in good condition for it to pass a VA inspection), we know that this house will not pass muster. The market here is still red hot. I know that there will be others who will be silly enough to take this "project" on.
To "celebrate", we went out and had a sushi dinner after. Onward and upward!
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oh no....i'm so sorry to hear that.
but well...it's probably for the better...i'm sure you'd be able to find something that you really like eventually...there's plenty of houses out there!!
for your short sale..did you have a clause in your contract to say that you can back out anytime with full deposit refunded prior to the bank's acceptance?
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Originally posted by lostintransition:
oh no....i'm so sorry to hear that.
but well...it's probably for the better...i'm sure you'd be able to find something that you really like eventually...there's plenty of houses out there!!
for your short sale..did you have a clause in your contract to say that you can back out anytime with full deposit refunded prior to the bank's acceptance?
Plenty of homes but those on the market in my price range are in terrible shape.
Re: clause. There is always a clause that allows for that.