2008 Tax Thread

It's that time of year again. We started getting our W-2s this week.

Every year my taxes get harder. Two years ago, I did them for the first time on my own. Because I own stock and have a mutual fund, I can never do the easy forms.

Last year, I did taxes for 5 different states between Doc and me. I'm starting to wonder why I didn't just go to H&R Block Tax School and make a living while doing them.

This year, we're filing married for the first time. (Obviously since we weren't married before). I know a few others on the board are doing the same thing. Are any of you as worried as I am about the hit we're going to take by getting married halfway through the year?

 

I'm pissed I can't claim Stan as a dependent.

 

If people were taking huge tax hits for getting married halfway through the year, you'd be seeing a lot more weddings in January or February.

 

In that case, I'm claiming Stan as my hubby instead of my furry, 12-pound, four-legged child.

 

My hope is that we'll be OK because we both were having taxes taken out as single for six months and Doc is still claiming as single because he never changed his forms, so I hope that we had way too much taken out and we'll get something back.

 

Paid for so we don't get to claim them.

 

Our gas to drive across the country wasn't paid for and neither was our deposit on our apartment, but if memory serves, you can't claim those.

 

I pay to have a roof to live under. I should get tax breaks like homeowners.

 

I've had two new jobs since I graduated college. Can anyone name any kind of tax deductions I can list?

 

Uhh, not quite. (And I say that as a fellow renter.) We don't own shit.

You do realize that if renters got a tax break like homeowners, then NOBODY would get a tax break?

 

Student loans? You get a tax break of some sort on interest.

And also, moving expenses.

 

If you have any freelance income whatsoever, there are expenses that go along with that - purchases of books, magazines to support your craft, office supplies, home office expenses etc. You just have to make sure if you do the home office expense that you are accurate, have a dedicated space, and that, like any business expense, you show a profit at least one of four years. But if you can claim home office, and, for instance, that office is 10% of your house/apartment, in addition to deducting that % of rent/mortgage, you can also deduct 10% of all utilities (fuel, electric, etc.) 10% on all upkeep (new roof, paving the driveway, cutting the grass etc.).

Can't deduct cable tv. Can deduct online charges. Worth looking into. One caution - out of scale travel and entertainment can raise big IRS flags, so always keep meticulous records and lean on the side of squeaky clean. But still worth it. I am always stunned by the number of people who could do this, but don't, i.e. those who operate some kind of small home business or side job that earns them a couple thousand or so in cash, which they don't claim, to "save taxes," while if they did and took advantage of the tax code for home businesses and offices, they'd come out WAY ahead. I have a friend who has literally paid thousands and thousands of extra $ in taxes over the last twenty years because he finds this "too much trouble," then bitches about how high taxes are. For the vast majority, in fact, doing the "EZ" form is actually an "EZ" way for the government to overcharge you. There's a reason corporations and others hire accountants and fill out a myriad of forms - it saves you money - and a reason the government keeps the tax code complicated - to intimidate you from taking advantage of it and overpaying. My tax accountant costs me about $600 a year, and probably saves me five times that every year.