Nah, just send it to New Delhi.
More and more US tax returns are being shipped to India to be prepared each year!

That might be good. They will see how much Americans earn and question why they are getting $10 a day. Upward wage pressure on their part can only help us.

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1985 380SE Blue/Blue - 230,000 miles
2012 Subaru Forester 5-speed
2005 Toyota Sienna
2004 Chrysler Sebring convertible
1999 Toyota Tacoma

Hey Swamp,
The local farm supply place near here sells booze. They always give a receipt, they call it 'drench', there must be a lot of drunk cattle & sheep around here!!

__________________
Grumpy Old Diesel Owners Club group

I no longer question authority, I annoy authority. More effect, less effort....

1967 230-6 auto parts car. rust bucket.
1980 300D now parts car 800k miles
1984 300D 500k miles
1987 250td 160k miles English import
2001 jeep turbo diesel 130k miles
1998 jeep tdi ~ followed me home. Needs a turbo.
1968 Ford F750 truck. 6-354 diesel conversion.
Other toys ~J.D.,Cat & GM ~ mainly earth moving

Hmmmm...maybe I should get into the Austrailian root drench/liquid fertilizer import business...

__________________

1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

I'm in the wrong line of work to deduct that stuff!

__________________
2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Screw that, if I had enough in offshore accounts I'd just wait for them to catch up to me than leave the country when they did.

How do you think they find those Rolls Royce abandon in airport parking lots?

__________________
2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

My littlest sister asked me to check over her 1040-EZ for her a couple years back...

That's right...1040-EZ.

She didn't make that much, but for some unknown reason, she was getting ready to WRITE THEM A CHECK FOR $2XX.XX (I don't remember the exact dollar/cents amount...I just remember it was, definately, over $200.00).

I went over her form just once and she ended up with the IRS giving her $90.00 back...and I double-checked my math to be sure.

The point?

The year before, she wrote a check for something around $150.00. But she couldn't find her paperwork so I couldn't help her staighten that mistake out.

I told her that she should be able to go down to the local IRS office and they would be able to supply her with the older forms and the dollar amounts they had from her the year before and that she should be able to re-file an amended return.

Never followed up with her to see if she did it or not...my bad.

Point?

If I could find that kind of cash, the people doing the original forms themselves are NOT the most sharpest crayons in the box.

And then, some folks, like my sister, just don't have the aptitude for numbers and lawyer-ese when it comes to tax forms and the like.

__________________

M. G. Burg
'10 - Dakota SXT - Daily Ride / ≈ 172.5K
.'76 - 450SLC - 107.024.12 / < .89.20 K
..'77 - 280E - 123.033.12 / > 128.20 K
...'67 - El Camino - 283ci / > 207.00 K
....'75 - Yamaha - 650XS / < 21.00 K
.....'87 - G20 Sportvan / > 206.00 K
......'85 - 4WINNS 160 I.O. / 140hp
.......'74 - Honda CT70 / Real 125
.
“I didn’t really say everything I said.”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ Yogi Berra ~

How much is your freedom worth? Criminal prosecution is worse financially, and then there's jail time too, Mr. fresh meat!
Maybe you could bunk with Bernie Madoff!
Or if you skip, maybe you have presidential pull like Marc Rich to buy a pardon.
Think Roman Polanski.
Fwiw I saw a headline recently that said something like 2,000 people had renounced their US Citizenship last year.



WASHINGTON – Jack Barouh of Golden Beach, Fla., pleaded guilty today to filing a false tax return, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. Sentencing has been set for April 16, 2010, before U.S. District Judge Adalberto Jordan in Miami. The defendant remains free on a $1 million bail pending sentencing. He faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Barouh admitted to filing a false tax return for 2007 in which he failed to report that he had an interest in or a signature authority over financial accounts at UBS AG, one of Switzerland's largest bank. He also failed to report income earned on his UBS Swiss bank accounts. The UBS accounts were opened in the names of Domilou S.A., a nominee Panamanian corporation, and Similen Investments Limited, a nominee British Virgin Island corporation. For years 2002 through 2007, the tax loss associated with the Domilou and Similen accounts at UBS is approximately $736,269.
In addition to the Domilou and Similen accounts, the defendant owned and controlled several additional offshore bank accounts located at banks other than UBS, including accounts in Switzerland and Hong Kong.
http://www.justice.gov/tax/txdv10123.htm


He got 10 months, so I guess he's about to be sprung.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-04-23/ex-watchmaker-barouh-gets-10-months-in-ubs-tax-case-update1-.html

I understand that. But I'm happy to have a lump I can use once a year rather than a small amount I hardly notice every month. Psychological rather than real I know but I'm happy to keep it that way. Getting a small amount back each year rather than having to pay in more is a better situation to be in in my opinion.

- Peter.

__________________
2021 Chevrolet Spark
Formerly...
2000 GMC Sonoma
1981 240D 4spd stick. 347000 miles. Deceased Feb 14 2021
2002 Kia Rio. Worst crap on four wheels
1981 240D 4spd stick. 389000 miles.
1984 123 200
1979 116 280S
1972 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1971 108 280S

I don't go for the psychological crap. Here is how I look at it. IF you get a refund, the govt said "Here is the PRINCIPAL for the loan back. NO INTEREST." I have to ask "Why am I giving you an INTEREST FREE LOAN?". If I took that money and put it in a savings account, I may get $20 of interest and that is that but it is a damn sight more than I would get giving you an INTEREST FREE LOAN."

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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

My goal is always to owe as much as possible without having any interest or penalties due. hold onto your money as long as possible.

Has anyone ever compared their personal federal income tax results with TurboTax or TaxCut with a preparation pro, like an accountant?

We had a tricky year last year; selling a house, moving to another state, renting, mid year conversion from salary to independent contractor, relocation costs, setting up a home office and more. We were surprised to see that TurboTax was able to handle all the issues, although it did require buying the software tables for the second state, since the program only provides for one free state.

Fixed it for ya.

I got a call today from a guy to help him with setting up a rental property he and his wife bought with his sister as tenants in common. He uses turbo tax and has done all but the seashore rental stuff. So, I told him to send me the TT draft, copies of his own docs, last years return and the rental info and I would prepare his return for filing. So I will get a fresh look at TT.

Occasionally I get calls from people who use TT and have hit snags or have unusual one time issues they need help with. So I look it over or do the return for the year in question.

Generally, I find TT to be up to the task. I have never used it as a software tool, so I can't comment on ease of use or its design for efficiency.

I suggest the IRS' free file portal to folks. Pick your software company, including TurboTax! For the simplest returns, a good option to buying a new program every year. No data storage though.

http://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/jsp/index.jsp?ck

Questions for you MTI. Does TT home installed software interface online with IRS publications or other research providers like BNA? Or is there built in "research" ability? Is the preparation done online or is the only online function efiling the returns?

fwiw, we use CCH prosystems for everything... ALL tax returns, research, and time & billing.
http://tax.cchgroup.com/Tax/default.htm

Yes, TT does interface with the IRS online publications; it provides the specific link for further information. Of course, the IRS publications can be fairly incomprehensible at times.

The heck you say!

__________________

1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)