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2020 (now 2021) Taxes, put your questions/resources here

ceresceres When the last moon is cast over the last star of morningAnd the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderator Mod Emeritus
edited March 2022 in Help / Advice Forum
No one else has made one and I have a 2020 tax question, so there's a thread now.

My husband's employer folded last year and we haven't received a W2. Is it worthwhile to call ADP and spend God knows how long on hold only to to be told I called the wrong department eight times, or do I absolutely need to use the IRS website and hyperventilate my way through some forms and then wait 10 days?

And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
ceres on
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Posts

  • MichaelLCMichaelLC In what furnace was thy brain? ChicagoRegistered User regular
    edited March 2021
    Assuming you haven't yet, try ADP's site or app.

    If he's working at another place, they may have his tax forms from the last place when he signs in. Not sure if your can log in with SSN or anything.

    You can also try the IRS transcripts. https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript

    If he has a CC and a mobile phone, you can get the forms electronicaly.

    Both worth giving a try if it means avoiding phone hell. Or try while you're on the phone.

    MichaelLC on
  • localh77localh77 Registered User regular
    I don't know how ADP works for bigger companies, maybe you can call directly. But I would assume they'd tell you to talk to your company, since they wouldn't be authorized to give anything directly to your husband anyway, it would have to go through the employer.

    Although if the company actually closed (sounds like it), and assuming you guys haven't moved or something and might have missed the W-2 in the mail, it seems likely that the company didn't even bother creating the W-2s. Does he know anyone else who worked there who could confirm?

    I personally wouldn't want to spend too long trying to figure it out. It might make a difference how much we're talking about. If he worked there for a short time and just made a couple thousand dollars, that's different than if it was his main job and he made $50k. But either way, the IRS has a form that you can attach to your return in place of the W-2, I think it's Form 4852. It's just a question of how much time you want to spend filling it out. If he happens to have one of his later paystubs from the company, it would actually be really easy. Whereas if not, you basically just have to estimate.

    And here's what it actually says at the top of that form:

    If you don’t receive the missing or corrected form from your employer or payer by the end of February, you may call the IRS at
    800-829-1040 for assistance. You must provide your name, address (including ZIP code), phone number, social security number, and dates of
    employment. You must also provide your employer’s or payer’s name, address (including ZIP code), and phone number. The IRS will contact
    your employer or payer and request the missing form. The IRS will also send you a Form 4852. If you don’t receive the missing form in
    sufficient time to file your income tax return timely, you may use the Form 4852 that the IRS sent you to file with your return.

    If it were me, I'd probably try once, but I don't even know if you can get through to the IRS these days. Those instructions were obviously written before covid. If you can't get through, I'd just take a stab at the form, and attach it to your 1040, and call it a day.

    And I can't officially recommend this, but if it's a relatively small amount, you could probably just file your return without it. Presumably any withholding he had would have been a reasonable estimate of how much tax you would have owed on that income, anyway. Just a thought.

  • ceresceres When the last moon is cast over the last star of morning And the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderator Mod Emeritus
    There was enough income that there's no way we don't need to file. He has three different incomes to report, and obnoxiously, none of them sent W2s or anything to let us know they were available. I ended up making him ask one of his friends if he'd gotten anything because they both had income from the same three places last year, and turns out that guy already filed and had done most of the work of chasing down the people who knew where the sites were.

    Two W2s and a 1099-G later it's pretty apparent that the two companies had no interest in sending anything. He had to go to non-public sites and do weird stuff to get one of them, and the 1099-G I think he just had to log in for, which is nice but we didn't know. We got all kinds of crazy paperwork from the state and a bunch of healthcare forms we didn't end up needing anyway, just none of it was a 1099-G.

    I was under the impression that companies had to get this shit mailed out to you by January 31 by law, and it's nice to be able to log into some of these places and not worry they were lost in the mail like our stuff usually is, but one made no effort to let us know where they were and the other was practically hidden. This year's taxes are crazy enough without this crap. Thank God for his friend being on top of it.

    And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
  • SkeithSkeith Registered User regular
    An accountant friend of mine has been shouting from the rooftops about the rise in fraud this year, and is suggesting that people get an identity protection PIN if they haven't already done so. It used to be that these were only for victims of identity theft, but as of this year you can opt in whether you've had that happen or not. Something to consider.

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  • zepherinzepherin Russian warship, go fuck yourself Registered User regular
    Skeith wrote: »
    An accountant friend of mine has been shouting from the rooftops about the rise in fraud this year, and is suggesting that people get an identity protection PIN if they haven't already done so. It used to be that these were only for victims of identity theft, but as of this year you can opt in whether you've had that happen or not. Something to consider.

    But in the highly likely event I forget about it, how do I reset my pin?

  • HappylilElfHappylilElf Registered User regular
    Oh, hey, super helpful tread I wish I knew about earlier!

    I sold stock last year in a non-insignificant amount (12k-ish) but haven't received a tax document about it.

    I assume I'm supposed to get something that I need to plug into whatever tax service I use but don't have anything yet.

    Should I file for an extension or just file my payroll taxes and then file for the stock sell once I'm able to?

    I have more than enough of the sale stuck in a savings account so what I have to pay in isn't a concern but I really don't want to have to pay penalties.

  • zepherinzepherin Russian warship, go fuck yourself Registered User regular
    Oh, hey, super helpful tread I wish I knew about earlier!

    I sold stock last year in a non-insignificant amount (12k-ish) but haven't received a tax document about it.

    I assume I'm supposed to get something that I need to plug into whatever tax service I use but don't have anything yet.

    Should I file for an extension or just file my payroll taxes and then file for the stock sell once I'm able to?

    I have more than enough of the sale stuck in a savings account so what I have to pay in isn't a concern but I really don't want to have to pay penalties.
    1099-B if you used on online brokerage they usually have those somewhere on their site.

  • spool32spool32 Contrary Library Registered User, Transition Team regular
    edited November 2021
    My tax shit is going to be very complex this year - should I attempt to turbotax? Or should I hire somebody this time?

    - COVID relief twice
    - Many thousands in rent forgiveness through a private agreement (not the govt)
    - Unemployment in a state I no longer live
    - No work until May
    - Moved to a new state for work
    - new job
    - 1099 consulting work on the side that is reaping significant financial benefits

    Also I own $10 worth of dogecoin.

    edit: This is probably the wrong thread! Because instead of it just being 2020+ like everyone agreed to, the government is still calling it 2021!

    spool32 on
  • ArtereisArtereis Registered User regular
    I had my first kid this year, so I'm curious to see how claiming a dependent and the CTC affect my numbers. A big rebate sure would be nice to get more stuff done on the house.

  • DaenrisDaenris Registered User regular
    Artereis wrote: »
    I had my first kid this year, so I'm curious to see how claiming a dependent and the CTC affect my numbers. A big rebate sure would be nice to get more stuff done on the house.

    After doing my taxes for the year my first was born, I briefly considered changing her middle name to "Tax Break".

  • MugsleyMugsley DelawareRegistered User regular
    edited January 2022
    The right answer is to adjust your withholding (and budget) after the first year so you aren't giving the State/Fed interest free loans.

    That being said, many people use taxes as a kind of "forced savings".

    Mugsley on
  • XaquinXaquin Right behind you!Registered User regular
    I got married on Oct. 30th

    I'm guessing that since we spent the vast majority of the year not married we still file separately and file married next year right?

  • schussschuss Registered User regular
    Xaquin wrote: »
    I got married on Oct. 30th

    I'm guessing that since we spent the vast majority of the year not married we still file separately and file married next year right?

    I believe you can choose either option. Most of the efile sites I've used give a workup using both calcs.

  • localh77localh77 Registered User regular
    Actually all that matters is whether you were married as of Dec 31st. So in 2020, you would have filed as Single. But for 2021, your only options would be Married Filing Jointly or Married Filing Separately. (conversely, a couple who gets divorced in October would file as Single for the year, even though they spent most of the year married).

    Filing jointly is usually better, or at least not any worse. But like schuss said, most software will let you enter everything as Married Joint, but then do a quick calculation to see if you'd somehow save taxes by filing Married Separate.

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  • spool32spool32 Contrary Library Registered User, Transition Team regular
    Getting id.me was trivial for me, but I have a webcam and a mobile phone and I've already installed google authenticator on my mobile before, for other things.

    It took me less than 10 minutes total.

  • ArtereisArtereis Registered User regular
    So Washington paid family leave is a taxable benefit, which means instead of getting a $3500 child tax credit, I get to owe the Feds an extra $1000. Really thought I'd be taking home a rebate my first year with a kid.

  • ceresceres When the last moon is cast over the last star of morning And the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderator Mod Emeritus
    edited March 2022
    I'm up to the part of my taxes where I need to put in our third Economic Impact Payment. We got the payment for both my husband and I as far as I can tell, but the letter we got only lists my husband's payment (I'm pretty sure) and we never got another letter for me. So I want to say in my return that we got both because I don't want to end up owing them money later, but I also don't want to give them different information than what they have and risk making them look at me too hard because I haven't been great at keeping 5 years' worth of receipts. Or maybe I have kept random receipts but they would be in a random box scattered among random things from when we moved last year. I couldn't tell you!

    So should I say "we got both" because if I'm looking at the right thing in our bank statement we did, or should I put down the information that's in the only letter we got because that's what the box on the form says?

    edit: I also can't find any evidence of child tax credit payments, and we didn't get letters for that, but I thought they were automatic? I dunno I had a rough year and wasn't paying attention to any of this, and all these credit/letter mystery combos are making me nervous.


    nm my husband and I spent 20 minutes making some godforsaken ID.me accounts and figured it out.

    ceres on
    And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
  • BrainleechBrainleech 機知に富んだコメントはここにあります Registered User regular
    I have avoided using online tax filing because well I don't trust it with my personal info for one
    So I have filed a paper return for years but knowing how this year with the news I might not get my return until the fall. My brother has been pushing me to use Turbo tax or such sighting it's Free! and you can file your state since they charge for that?
    I doubt I can get it for free since I can claim him as a dependent, head of household and home owner as i feel it would push me into the paid service. But again the main reason I sighted in the above is why I am hesitant

  • TomantaTomanta Registered User regular
    Cash App (formerly Credit Karma) is free for more stuff than Turbo Tax, but any concerns about that company are probably valid.

    TT is free up to a certain income level for most standard stuff (HSA is where I ran into problems). State probably won't be free and TT will try their best to push paid options and hide the free options from you.

  • MugsleyMugsley DelawareRegistered User regular
    Intuit (owners of TurboTax) own Credit Karma, Mint, and now apparently Cash App. Among other software.

  • TofystedethTofystedeth Registered User regular
    Most of the big tax software do free filing up to a certain income level. A few of the ones I've run into were I think free as long as you only had a W2 and 1040, and any additional forms like 1099s had fees.
    I think possibly they're required to offer the free file by law which is maybe the one way our tax law isn't utterly stupid.

    You can also free file online (semi)directly with with the IRS, which is how I've done it the last few years since the fees for those additional forms were wiping out most the gains the accounts on those forms represented.

    There's a link on the IRS website to freefillableforms or something like that. It's just more simple than most of the software services. It's basically just what it says. Unguided fillable versions of the paper forms, which do some of the math. If you're used to doing them on paper it's probably familiar. Each form has links to pdfs of the instructions.

    Response from the IRS is pretty swift on them too. Usually within half an hour of submitting I get an email saying whether it was accepted or rejected because somehow on my W2 a number that exists nowhere anywhere that I could see on any of my documents got pasted into the EIN field?

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  • ToxTox I kill threads they/themRegistered User regular
    I live in North Carolina, and about to take a remote job for an org in California.
    It looks like, from what I can find, my employer will withhold California state tax, but likely not NC; But because we live in NC, we'll still owe here.
    I'm not super sure about that part, what I'm even less sure about is if either state will credit me for the taxes either paid or owed to the other state.
    And that last one is really the more important question for me in the end. I don't care if they take it all as long as I'll get it back (yes I use my refund like a short term savings account)

    Discord Lifeboat | Dilige, et quod vis fac
  • localh77localh77 Registered User regular
    edited April 2022
    I don't know about North Carolina specifically, but yeah, as far as I know, pretty much every state will give you a credit for taxes paid in another. So you should get a credit on your NC return for the amount of tax paid to CA. And I assume that CA taxes are higher, so you likely wouldn't owe anything extra to NC, despite not having any withholding there.

    A separate question is whether the employer should in fact be withholding CA tax. If you're living and working in NC, it seems pretty clear that you should be a NC resident, not CA. But it's also a pain for companies to register and pay taxes in other states, so it can be an uphill battle trying to get them to consider you a NC resident instead of CA. Especially if you'd be the only one, and everyone else is in CA. It wouldn't hurt to at least ask, though.

    localh77 on
  • ToxTox I kill threads they/themRegistered User regular
    Eh, technically, as a remote employee, I am still using some CA infrastructure, so I don't mind paying some taxes, I just want to make sure it's withheld, assessed, and paid properly.

    Discord Lifeboat | Dilige, et quod vis fac
  • GdiguyGdiguy San Diego, CARegistered User regular
    CA has some very strong opinions on what counts as doing business in (and thus owing taxes in) CA, I have to pay CA taxes on consulting done there despite being in TX.

    Worth checking, but superficially I’d be surprised if you’re not correct that CA believes you owe taxes there

  • Local H JayLocal H Jay Registered User regular
    Sup tax thread

    So I have 3 W2s this year and as I plugged them in I watched my return drop from nearly 1k (usually I get more than this) on the first one to 300 after adding the second and the final one took me down to 150, my lowest fed return ever. The TurboTax app suggested I may have changed something on one of my W4s to take less (but I don't know when, or how, I did this). I think I may have goofed something up but I imported in and double checked all my numbers.

    I'll follow that up by saying in the past, something similar happened where I got a bigger return if I only filed one of my two W2s. I successfully got said bigger return by not doing my taxes correctly (I assume this is a bad idea but nothing has happened since). I guess as a layman trying to do my taxes and get the best return, what should I do? After the fees from TT my return was basically 40 bucks which is a joke, but my state one was double last year's...?

    Help

  • ThegreatcowThegreatcow Lord of All Bacons Washington State - It's Wet up here innit? Registered User regular
    Sup tax thread

    So I have 3 W2s this year and as I plugged them in I watched my return drop from nearly 1k (usually I get more than this) on the first one to 300 after adding the second and the final one took me down to 150, my lowest fed return ever. The TurboTax app suggested I may have changed something on one of my W4s to take less (but I don't know when, or how, I did this). I think I may have goofed something up but I imported in and double checked all my numbers.

    I'll follow that up by saying in the past, something similar happened where I got a bigger return if I only filed one of my two W2s. I successfully got said bigger return by not doing my taxes correctly (I assume this is a bad idea but nothing has happened since). I guess as a layman trying to do my taxes and get the best return, what should I do? After the fees from TT my return was basically 40 bucks which is a joke, but my state one was double last year's...?

    Help

    So what may be happening here as you're adding each W-2, assuming you've put in all your data points in correctly, it's possible the combined income is bumping you to a higher tax bracket due to your higher combined incomes. Another possibility is that one of the W-2s you have your "Witholdings" set higher, ie you have less federal/state taxes taken out each paycheck resulting in a smaller return come tax time. Adjusting your witholdings can cause your return to go down as the logic is that you're paying less taxes per paycheck which will mean your return (IE your overpayment of federal/state taxes for the entire year) will become smaller. Ultimately if you're still lost, it may be worth it to have a professional tax person to take a look at it for you, but either way you'll want to play it safe more than anything.

  • TertieeTertiee Registered User regular
    Sup tax thread

    So I have 3 W2s this year and as I plugged them in I watched my return drop from nearly 1k (usually I get more than this) on the first one to 300 after adding the second and the final one took me down to 150, my lowest fed return ever. The TurboTax app suggested I may have changed something on one of my W4s to take less (but I don't know when, or how, I did this). I think I may have goofed something up but I imported in and double checked all my numbers.

    I'll follow that up by saying in the past, something similar happened where I got a bigger return if I only filed one of my two W2s. I successfully got said bigger return by not doing my taxes correctly (I assume this is a bad idea but nothing has happened since). I guess as a layman trying to do my taxes and get the best return, what should I do? After the fees from TT my return was basically 40 bucks which is a joke, but my state one was double last year's...?

    Help

    Unless you have very complicated taxes (i.e. self-employed small business) look into the free/cheap tax software options listed below. You can even double-check the math against HRB/TT since you can see the final numbers before purchasing them. Note all options should give you the same final amount so if you get a result significantly higher/lower double-check your math. At the very least you'll be saving the TT fees with these options.
    • MyFreeTaxes by United Way - If you made under 73k you'll get free access to TaxSlayer which is the same software the IRS uses for their Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program and covers most typical situations.
    • FreeTaxUsa/TaxHawk - Federal filing is free but state filing costs $14.99. In the past had a rep for being less intuitive than TT but I've read they've improved that aspect in recent years.
    • Cash App Taxes - This option is free for any income level but doesn't cover some scenarios like multiple state returns. Also their tech seems less up to speed as they currently only support 8 state filings promising the rest will be added soon.

  • Local H JayLocal H Jay Registered User regular
    Yeah I usually use TT and that's what spit out the aforementioned numbers but I'll try again with one of those options. Could be the "scan photo" option didn't work but I'm guessing I goofed up my withholdings somewhere along the line. Guess we'll see! Luckily my yearly work bonus came through to make up for this shitty situation lol

  • zepherinzepherin Russian warship, go fuck yourself Registered User regular
    edited February 2023
    I almost had an issue with withholdings before. I hit the option, married but withhold single. And HR withheld as married. And yeah it’s great getting a paycheck that is more money than anticipated…but I resolved that and added in 10 a pay period to over the miss.

    For anyone taking a new job. Use a paycheck calculator so you can see about how much you should be taking home. I use the one from paycheck city because it’s the least offensive. Others do the multi page drip feed thing, and I just want to slap in state county income tax exempt deductions and have it tell me what my paycheck should be.

    zepherin on
  • SummaryJudgmentSummaryJudgment Grab the hottest iron you can find, stride in the Tower’s front door Registered User regular
    So I've been using Turbotax for the past 8 years or so. Has anyone ever noticed they do something that seems kind of weird - on the prepared return I downloaded line 1a (income from W-2) is X amount, and then below my AGI on line 11 is (essentially, minus a hundred bucks or so of dividends I reported) also X amount. This is kind of freaking me out? Shouldn't my AGI not include my 401k contributions + health care + other above-the-line deductions? Are those not reported by Turbotax in Line 1a of the 1040 for some weird reason?

    I've gone back and looked at my previous returns and they're all similar to this and I've never noticed it and I've never been notified about it. And every year I doublecheck that I've entered every figure from every box on my W-2 into Turbotax, including my 401k contributions, dependent care account, etc.

  • localh77localh77 Registered User regular
    No worries, sounds like you're doing it right! Yeah, when it comes to take the deduction for health insurance, 401(k), etc., the employer essentially handles the trouble for you when they prepare your W-2. The 401(k) deferral gets reduced from box 1, so that when you enter it in the software, it's already excluded from your AGI.

  • CalicaCalica Registered User regular
    So I started filling out my taxes on TurboTax, noticed they wanted to charge me $60 for the audacity of having an HSA, and thought, fuck it, I'll download the federal forms and do it myself. I e-filed my federal return, but then went crawling back to TurboTax because the state forms were inscrutable. So I wound up using TurboTax to fill out both state and federal returns, and then chose the "file by mail" option because it won't let you e-file state only, and I'd already filed my federal form.

    What I can't figure out is why TurboTax has me owing $90 less in federal taxes than the return I filed. I checked, and all the numbers on all the forms are the same except line 16, tax owed. I got my number by looking it up in the federal tax tables (and I double checked that I had the right row and column). I have no idea where TurboTax got their number. Wtf?

  • localh77localh77 Registered User regular
    Do you have any capital gains (or qualified dividends), by chance? Depending on your income, long term capital gains are often taxed less, but it's kind of an ugly calculation, so it's a whole worksheet in the instructions. But that could be why your tax is a little less, if they're taking something like that into account. And for reference, $90 in tax would probably only be about $600 in long term capital gains / qualified dividends.

  • CalicaCalica Registered User regular
    edited April 2023
    Ugh, yeah, that probably explains it.

    I'm much less annoyed by the $90 than I am by the way the US tax code is completely fucking opaque unless you specialize in it for a living.

    New fun thing: I accidentally left a 1099-INT off my TurboTax federal return, for a grand total of $1 income. Now, the federal return I actually filed had that included, so no big deal. Except the state return generated by TurboTax has the wrong federal taxable income (again, off by $1); but I can't just generate a new return, oh no. TurboTax has my returns marked as "filed," so the only thing I can do there is generate an amended state and federal return. So either I send my state return and my amended state return in the same envelope, or I go track down all the forms on my state's website and fill them out myself, copying values from the original and amended TurboTax state returns as necessary.

    Argh.

    edit: I should note that the $1 doesn't even change what I owe the state (which, incidentally, is nothing). It does increase my federal taxes owed by $11, according to TurboTax. For some reason.

    Calica on
  • MugsleyMugsley DelawareRegistered User regular
    Everyone is different, but for that small amount I'd roll the dice whether the state wants to spend $State for their $1 and audit me.

  • localh77localh77 Registered User regular
    Agreed! I wouldn't bother amending for $1 (or $11), personally. I'd probably just take that 1099-INT back out and file the state return without it.

  • TomantaTomanta Registered User regular
    I switched to Cash App tax (formerly Credit Karma) solely because the other services don't support free file with an HSA. Also now probably make more than the free file limit but Cash App doesn't care.

  • Local H JayLocal H Jay Registered User regular
    I also used Cash App this year because fuck TurboTax

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