by Tricia
Yesterday I sent out over $800 to pay for 2006 taxes. I thought it was going to be closer to $900 when I first estimated but I think it’s safe to say that rushing and using an old calculator doesn’t mix. I have no idea where I came up with some of the numbers that were there. Thank goodness for computers!
I was originally going to file with TurboTax by Intuit. I’ve used them before, and have been pretty happy with them. I went through the whole procedure that was supposed to be free only to find out that it wasn’t! They decided because I hit the Deduction Finder button (but quickly backed up because I knew I didn’t need it), they were going to charge me extra for that. After reading their help section, I found out there is no way to undo it. Sheesh.
So, I looked into TaxCut by H&R Block. I’ve never used it, but I know others do and like it. Upon looking, they had the return for free as well so I started inputting everything again. When I got to the end, it was still free and the tax amount owed was the same as it was with TurboTax so that was that. TaxCut was the winner this year and I will likely use them again next year.
I only did the federal return through the program and then printed it to mail. The state return for Michigan actually is pretty straightforward for the basic return so I went ahead and did that one myself to save some money (the state return is not free through TaxCut or TurboTax). I assembled everything, checked it a gazillion times and gave the envelopes to my husband to mail. I told him to mail them certified.
He came back home and I saw the receipts and wondered why it didn’t cost that much to mail them. I didn’t have my husband request certified mail with return receipt! Doh! Oh well. I get frazzled and I start forgetting things.
I made an important realization this year. Although I usually love doing my taxes, I only love doing them when I get a refund. Next year I am tempted to let an accountant do them and save myself the headache of trying to read and learn about everything. I should also hopefully be able to avoid costly errors like with my 2005 return.
One thing marked off my to-do list! Yay! There’s many more to go. I think it’s time I wrote a to-do list down on here again to help push me to get things done!