2018 Taxes

[RonBurgundy]

People who don't pay their bills can't let anything hit their bank account or they don't see it.

We have about 120 employees. 10-15 get paper paychecks so they can go to the check cashing places because if it hits their bank account it's gone to pay their medical bills or whatever.

Yep, same as my company. HR tells me you would be surprised how many people still get checks. Sadly, most are men that are trying to hide something from their spouses. Mainly on expense reports. They want a check instead of DD so they can cash it without hitting bank statement.

 

[NorthCyd]

The idea that we have to do our own taxes in this era when the government has all the information they need to calculate taxes automatically for the vast majority of us is ridiculous. They already calculate them and cross check them with our returns. Why can't they just send us a friggin bill and if adjustments are needed we can send them in? What other service do you have to calculate your own bill and get penalized if you don't do it correctly?

 

[CyFamilyMom]

Its my understanding that since you were close to the new standard deduction amount in previous years, your impact won't be that great (up or down). It's people that have lower deductions compared to the new standard amount that will benefit.

This is us. It is quite frustrating— you buy a house, pay your student loans, raise your kids, etc. and now there are not the same incentives for those things. Our tax bill is increasing by 3K with almost the identical salary as last year. I already emailed both senators and congresswoman. They need to know how this is impacting everyday families.

 

[Rabbuk]

The idea that we have to do our own taxes in this era when the government has all the information they need to calculate taxes automatically for the vast majority of us is ridiculous. They already calculate them and cross check them with our returns. Why can't they just send us a friggin bill and if adjustments are needed we can send them in? What other service do you have to calculate your own bill and get penalized if you don't do it correctly?

Tax preparers lobby very hard to not let this happen

 

[isufbcurt]

This is a feature, not a bug.

And I don't mean just of the 2018 changes, but income taxes in general. The federal tax code is about the most complicated thing in the universe, and it's by design.

I would vote for anyone who would change it to a flat tax of some kind, even if the rates were higher. I know that's complicated to implement, but at least you wouldn't have to worry about going to jail because you couldn't understand how to apply Schedule RQ-85G. Apologies to all the tax accountants who would have to look for work.

I disagree. For the basic family (2 parents each with a job, some kids, a house) it's really not that complicated.

I can only speak for myself (but I know it to be true for most firms), but tax work isn't my main income driver. To me what I make in tax season is an added bonus to the recurring accounting work I perform throughout the year.

 

[isufbcurt]

The idea that we have to do our own taxes in this era when the government has all the information they need to calculate taxes automatically for the vast majority of us is ridiculous. They already calculate them and cross check them with our returns. Why can't they just send us a friggin bill and if adjustments are needed we can send them in? What other service do you have to calculate your own bill and get penalized if you don't do it correctly?

They can only crosscheck them with what they know about though (W2's, 1099's, etc.). There's no way I'd want them calculating solely based on the information they have. States already try to do this regarding sales tax and they aren't even close to what actually happened.

Plus they have no where near the man power to review the "adjustments you might send it". Hell I mentioned in a different thread how they still haven't even processed (as of yesterday) an Amended Form 940 I filed in February 2016.

 

[NorthCyd]

They can only crosscheck them with what they know about though (W2's, 1099's, etc.). There's no way I'd want them calculating solely based on the information they have. States already try to do this regarding sales tax and they aren't even close to what actually happened.

Plus they have no where near the man power to review the "adjustments you might send it". Hell I mentioned in a different thread how they still haven't even processed (as of yesterday) an Amended Form 940 I filed in February 2016.

I would say make it optional. Other countries do this already. We should be perfectly capable of making it happen for those who have relatively simple tax situations.

 

[isufbcurt]

I would say make it optional. Other countries do this already. We should be perfectly capable of making it happen for those who have relatively simple tax situations.

If someone has a relatively simple tax return they should be able to complete it themselves. Most of the tax software (turbo tax, taxact, ect.) hold your hand through the process to make it pretty easy.

 

[brokenloginagain]

i'm curious how this thread will turn out - i haven't started my taxes yet. i'm expecting a bit of help from the reduced rates but that might be too optimistic.

I wonder if you need to make more than say 500k for it to really help.

 

[NorthCyd]

If someone has a relatively simple tax return they should be able to complete it themselves. Most of the tax software (turbo tax, taxact, ect.) hold your hand through the process to make it pretty easy.

Yes, and charge you for it.

 

[capitalcityguy]

The idea that we have to do our own taxes in this era when the government has all the information they need to calculate taxes automatically for the vast majority of us is ridiculous. They already calculate them and cross check them with our returns. Why can't they just send us a friggin bill and if adjustments are needed we can send them in? What other service do you have to calculate your own bill and get penalized if you don't do it correctly?

How do they know how much you donate to charity? What income do you receive outside of a W-2/1099? Are they going to know your deductiable expenses you paid if you bought a house? Gambling winnings vs loses....etc. etc. etc.

 

[capitalcityguy]

Yes, and charge you for it.

Actually, no. Many taxpayers with simple returns can use their online software for free.

 

[capitalcityguy]

I hope we can keep this out of the cave but have my doubts given the OP thought it wise to put MAGA in the thread title. I mean....really?

 

[SCNCY]

The idea that we have to do our own taxes in this era when the government has all the information they need to calculate taxes automatically for the vast majority of us is ridiculous. They already calculate them and cross check them with our returns. Why can't they just send us a friggin bill and if adjustments are needed we can send them in? What other service do you have to calculate your own bill and get penalized if you don't do it correctly?

I think this is what one of the Dakota's does for their state income tax.

 

[NorthCyd]

Actually, no. Many taxpayers with simple returns can use their online software for free.

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that only applies to an EZ form, which is pretty hard to qualify for if you aren't a high schooler with a summer job.

 

[CycloneDaddy]

Quick look shows my income rose 1.3% but my Federal tax withholdings decreased 13.4%. Will be interesting to see what my actual Federal tax bill for 2018 is compared to 2017.

 

[capitalcityguy]

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that only applies to an EZ form, which is pretty hard to qualify for if you aren't a high schooler with a summer job.

You could be right. I'm not sure of the qualifications (and might differ by product). I just know there are options for some that don't cost them anything.

 

[Scruff]

So I spent a whole hour of time last night beginning my 2018 federal tax return. Having received my wife and I's W2s I was kind of excited as I considered the prospects of a better tax result for our family in 2018. The increased standard deduction (we were close to the new standard amount with itemization in 2017) and rate decreases are cool but the doing away of the person exemptions sucks. Basically from what I can tell so far, my tax situation improves none, and may even be worse than prior years. That is strange to me because I have heard a lot about the good the tax law changes will bring. Still a lot of detail for me to wade through though so hopefully my initial high level view is off.

Disclaimer: I chose off topic to keep this about 2018 tax return filing and how it goes for others but I am well aware this teters on the edge of a political topic.

While you did a good job with your post not being political, simply using the slogan MAGA in your title and talking how a policy affects you, hints at the politic board. Usually I don't care, but many don't like seeing the political posts on here and have chosen to block them. Posting in off topic, allows it to show up.

 

[CycloneErik]

People who don't pay their bills can't let anything hit their bank account or they don't see it.

We have about 120 employees. 10-15 get paper paychecks so they can go to the check cashing places because if it hits their bank account it's gone to pay their medical bills or whatever.

Touche. I've worked with these folks, so I should have remembered that one.

 

[besserheimerphat]

We have 3 bio kids but only count 2 of them for taxes so we have a lot held out. I work full time, wife works part time; I make about 5X what she does. For us, the standard deduction was better than itemizing. The big change for us was the adoption tax credit, which was spared from the chopping block in the changes - Trump was considering eliminating it. So now we're up to 4 kids, claiming only about half of our eligible allowances, married filing jointly, standard deductions and adoption credit = $14k return this year. There is still about $4k of credit in the adoption credit that we can apply to next year as well, as it's prorated based on the adoption month. We would have gotten about $4k without that adoption credit, which is lower than normal. My wife is paranoid about owing and insists we have way more withheld than necessary. I want to be happy so I let it be.