Taxes/IRS Make Me Want to Blow my Brains Out!

[OSOBUCO]

Title edited. Rule 9.
You have options:
1.) Just get a decent accountant.
2.) Focus on the fact that if you didn't have that much income, you wouldn't have to pay taxes.
3.) The anguish you express and hours spent make an accountant cheaper.
Good luck!

There I said it! WARNING!!! Rant coming! - I have been working on taxes for 9 hours this weekend!! 9 F-ing hours! I'm a normal working guy. Mostly earned income and I was fortunate to get some stock options that vested in the black for the past couple years and JMJ the tracking and entry into turbotax is agonizing! I have a freaking Phd in chemistry at the top of my class and I am no a dummy but the freaking cryptic instructions, IRS/turbotax system, the AMT, OMG.
I am still not done after 9 hours! YES YES I AM TOO CHEAP TO PAY AN ACCOUNTANT!!! I grew up poor as a church mouse and I pride myself on my abilities to "do it myself". But for F-sake it shouldn't be this convoluted. It took me forever last year too and my state and federal return from 2022 is 232 pages long!!!!! 232 F-ing pages!!!!! Seriously! That's F-d up! I actually used to rather enjoy doing my taxes but not anymore. I don't even mind paying taxes (except that most the money is wasted on BS) but this system is brutal. I wish Forbes was elected years ago and his flat tax proposal took hold. No more IRS just pay a percentage on what you make on earned income and stocks, real estate etc. But noooooo then the loopholes for the ultra rich disappear. Oh wait - the ultra rich run the system - ie senators, presidents, CEOs, etc. I'm a fool to expect such rational thought to take hold. Greed rules after all. As the great Eddie Vedder wrote, "It's a mystery to me...we have a GREED to which we have agreed."

Sorry, that's my rant - I'm done. Time for a Manhattan.

 

[seanv]

Take a break and come back to it later

 

[scloyd]

There I said it! WARNING!!! Rant coming! - I have been working on taxes for 9 hours this weekend!! 9 F-ing hours! I'm a normal working guy. Mostly earned income and I was fortunate to get some stock options that vested in the black for the past couple years and JMJ the tracking and entry into turbotax is agonizing! I have a freaking Phd in chemistry at the top of my class and I am no a dummy but the freaking cryptic instructions, IRS/turbotax system, the AMT, OMG.
I am still not done after 9 hours! YES YES I AM TOO CHEAP TO PAY AN ACCOUNTANT!!! I grew up poor as a church mouse and I pride myself on my abilities to "do it myself". But for F-sake it shouldn't be this convoluted. It took me forever last year too and my state and federal return from 2022 is 232 pages long!!!!! 232 F-ing pages!!!!! Seriously! That's F-d up! I actually used to rather enjoy doing my taxes but not anymore. I don't even mind paying taxes (except that most the money is wasted on BS) but this system is brutal. I wish Forbes was elected years ago and his flat tax proposal took hold. No more IRS just pay a percentage on what you make on earned income and stocks, real estate etc. But noooooo then the loopholes for the ultra rich disappear. Oh wait - the ultra rich run the system - ie senators, presidents, CEOs, etc. I'm a fool to expect such rational thought to take hold. Greed rules after all. As the great Eddie Vedder wrote, "It's a mystery to me...we have a GREED to which we have agreed."

Sorry, that's my rant - I'm done. Time for a Manhattan.

Not only is it a P I T A to do your taxes, you have to pay to do them.

 

[OSOBUCO]

Take a break and come back to it later

haha - I did that yesterday after 5 hours. Sleeping on it helped me solve a problem and make a lot of progress. But I'm still not done and have another problem to solve. I'm calling the IRS tomorrow - OMG I can't believe I am gonna do that. First time in 41 years of filing taxes... wish me luck

 

[ashdigger]

Sounds like a Sovereign Citizen in the making.

 

[PipeIT]

You said a Normal Working Guy...

I spent 25 minutes on Turbotax, the lowest priced one, did it all myself, and was able to get as much back as humanly possible.

So, unless you have an insane amount to file on taxes, but as a normal working stiff, that doesn’t make sense, Turbotax is a breeze.

 

[Briar Tuck]

Unfortunately, as the tax forms grow larger and more convoluted, so does the IRS and the rest of the alphabet agencies. Soon you will look back on this as the good old days.

 

[OSOBUCO]

You said a Normal Working Guy...

I spent 25 minutes on Turbotax, the lowest priced one, did it all myself, and was able to get as much back as humanly possible.

So, unless you have an insane amount to file on taxes, but as a normal working stiff, that doesn’t make sense, Turbotax is a breeze.

As i said I got lucky with stock options for the past couple years. It should not be this hard - that is the problem - 1099-B. I think the B stands for bitch

 

[PipeIT]

Well, I’m stuck on the Normal Working part, because that doesn’t take 9 hours...

 

[OSOBUCO]

Listen - I fully realize having stock options in the black is a white collar problem and I am happy to pay the taxes, I just dont want an audit for F-ing something up unintentionally

 

[Briar Tuck]

You said a Normal Working Guy...

I spent 25 minutes on Turbotax, the lowest priced one, did it all myself, and was able to get as much back as humanly possible.

So, unless you have an insane amount to file on taxes, but as a normal working stiff, that doesn’t make sense, Turbotax is a breeze.

If you have just wage income and no other "complications" it's a breeze. Add stocks or anything else into the mix though and suddenly you have to buy their most expensive "premium" addition and struggle through hours of material that is often not even applicable to your situation.

 

[OSOBUCO]

Well, I’m stuck on the Normal Working part, because that doesn’t take 9 hours...

I do not make most of my money in the markets, real estate or overseas BS etc, etc. I work 50-60 hours a week - so yeah - normal working

 

[cshubhra]

I use Turbo Tax premier. I trust myself to do my taxes better than an average Joe accountant. I have a few obscure tax situations but Turbo Tax has guided me well. Only a couple of times I had to file an additional form which Turbo Tax did not support, but help was always there.

This year was simple - done and dusted over 2 sessions and 2 hour 30 minutes. I love the feature when I can pause and pick up again a couple of weeks later. This years pause was because a couple of 1099 missing.

I don’t itemize any more, but I did itemize for a few years. Longest it ever took was about 5 hours.

 

[OSOBUCO]

I trust myself to do my taxes better than an average Joe accountant.

100% this!!! I used an accountant once when I moved and had multiple state incomes. Biggest waste of time and money ever and she messed up one state anyway. Never again.

 

[PipeIT]

I do not make most of my money in the markets, real estate or overseas BS etc, etc. I work 50-60 hours a week - so yeah - normal working

If you are as normal as claiming, Turbotax doesn’t get any easier.

Sure at first, you need to type in all your info, but the next time around, it’s all there and all you have to do is just make small adjustments and pretty much just click Next and binga banga boom done, easy peasy...

I’ve been doing Turbotax for years...

 

[Briar Tuck]

haha - I did that yesterday after 5 hours. Sleeping on it helped me solve a problem and make a lot of progress. But I'm still not done and have another problem to solve. I'm calling the IRS tomorrow - OMG I can't believe I am gonna do that. First time in 41 years of filing taxes... wish me luck

If you have reached the point of having to call the IRS, I prescribe multiple Brambletinis, friend. You will need them.

 

[OSOBUCO]

If you have reached the point of having to call the IRS, I prescribe multiple Brambletinis, friend. You will need them.

I'm on Manhattans now but a Brambletini may be in order when I get off the phone!!!!! Wonderful suggestion @Briar Tuck

 

[romaso]

I read somewhere that almost all of the members of the Congressional Tax Committee pay someone else to do their taxes, and they're the ones that write the laws!

 

[rmbittner]

Add stocks or anything else into the mix though and suddenly you have to buy their most expensive "premium" addition and struggle through hours of material that is often not even applicable to your situation.

I’m sorry, that’s just not true. We have investment income, my wife’s full-time job, her very profitable Etsy business, and my full-time freelance writing. I did it all with the standard version of TurboTax.

 

[OSOBUCO]

If you are as normal as claiming, Turbotax doesn’t get any easier.


I’ve been doing Turbotax for years...

You obviously never had to deal with a 1099-B and ISO stock options. (I am grateful and lucky that I do as the extra money at this point in my life is nice). But if you want to persist in assuming I am an abnormal worker that is your choice . If you were my neighbor you would think otherwise seeing me leave at 6am and returning after 5pm everyday and working weekends to boot. Of course we may have different definitions of "normal" and I certainly respect that as I respect you. Cheers (with a manhattan)!!