The short form deserves a geezer alert, as it was discontinued years ago. There’s a 1040-SR now for seniors — the only difference is that it’s printed in larger type.
https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/extension-of-time-to-file-your-tax-return , the instructions to file an extension, might come in handy if you’re like this woman.
It’s not going to work, Larry.
Actual error message from IRS.gov on the day tax forms (and estimated payments) were due, April 17, 2018. Not funny. Note the difference in the set of dates cited for the outage.
Actual IRS tax tips, if you need last minute help: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-tax-tips including, for example, ways to pay over time.
Comics I Don't Understand 
This year I actually filed in March! (Not my usual.)
Long-time CIDU readers may recall that the “Rides of April” would-be joke in the title was once the subject of discussion in a CIDU comments thread. I think we tracked it down to a bit in one of the Nero Wolfe detective novels by Rex Stout, in which Archie Goodwin (loyal sidekick and first-person narrator), in conversation with a gag writer or somebody like that, tries out the remark, but they decide it might have worked when tax day was 15 March but not very well since it got moved to April, as the public would recognize “Idea of March” from Shakespeare but not readily adapt it.
This year I volunteered with the AARP TaxAide program, which prepares simpler tax forms for seniors and low income households for free. It was an interesting experience and I plan to continue.
First, you get a glimpse into the good or bad financial situations of strangers — just a glimpse, but it gives you an appreciation that some 80+ year olds are still working because they need to.
Second, the arbitrariness of US tax law. Here’s a simple example. There are two possible higher education credits; you can only qualify for one. With one credit, textbooks are deductible. With the other, textbooks are only deductible if they are purchased through the college.
Just one of our national dysfunctions.
Not really a dysfunction (well, maybe mine, but): 38 years ago, I moved back to the U.S. from Canada. I had income in both countries that year, and also had sold property there and bought property here, so I was unsure about how complicated my taxes would be.
I called around (no Intertubes yet!) and found an accounting firm that had some Canadian experience, paid them to do returns. The end result was a U.S. 1040-EZ and a Canadian return (which were always sane compared to American taxes anyway), so I felt vaguely foolish for having spent $275 in much-bigger 1986 dollars. But at least I had some sense that it had been correct.
The next year, simpler return (no property transactions, one job) I had them do it again because I hate doing taxes, and they billed me $650. I called and left a message basically saying “WTF’–and never heard from them again. Not even a “past due” notice. And no, it’s not on a credit report.
Needless to say, I didn’t go to them the third year. And I’ve wondered about their accounting skills ever since, if they can’t even handle their own billing and receivables!
Needs today’s Liō:
https://www.gocomics.com/lio/2024/04/15
Embedding the comic MCWIII linked to:
Thanx for the info that the SR version is the same, just printed larger. I use TurboTax, and there is no mention of any SR version in their software. I was wondering if I was missing out on something.
There is simply no way a Form 1040-EZ was proper with foreign earned income. Your preparers were grossly inept, and you were super lucky.
Downpuppy: Interesting. Even though it was income from when I lived there? My understanding at the time was that the two were basically unrelated: I’d lived and earned and paid taxes there, and then lived and earned and paid taxes here. Which *appeared* to make sense.
The good news is that this was 38 years ago, so I’m pretty sure the statute of limitations has expired! If I ever get audited <*knocks wood*> I’ll distract the auditor by starting off with that story, see what he says…
Got a good chuckle from the Roz Chast cartoon. It’s been 6 years since I’ve had to fuss with US tax return forms with its myriad of itemizations and math problems. The sentiment “Make me” or something ruder is always lurking right under the surface.
You were probably right to exclude the income, but you’re supposed to report it on Form 2555, attached to 1040 to claim the exclusion. There’s also the question of the totalization agreement & Social Security – which could give you a bit of
..fun reading if you’re a total masochist.
Downpuppy sounds like they’ve done this once or twice…
/me now knows who to ask if his current accountant (of over 30 years) can’t deal with something!
There is a form that ought to be called the 1040-DOA. It’s the 1041, the form that is used for the estates of people who died.
If you’re going to file an extension and aren’t using tax software or don’t have it yet (heh) you can do an online payment which if you select EXTENSION as the reason it will do one automatically.
The IRS instruction for filing for a dead person is very direct:
Write the word “DECEASED,” the decedent’s name, and
the date of death across the top of the tax return.
Here in Massachusetts we have a couple of extra days to file. The 15th falls on Patriots day, and Tues is Emancipation Day in Washington DC.
Are there any comics relating to either holiday?
🙂
How about the 1040-RIP.
Once I found out that you can get a six-month extension for any or no reason, I got one every year. So instead of panicking as the 15th of April approached, I could delay panicking until the 15th of October approached.
Eventually I hired an accountant, and he found deductions I’d never used so his already-moderate cost was completely covered by my refund, with quite a bit left over.
Ah, the joys of UK PAYE (never thought I’d say that)
Anyway – @Downpuppy, re deceased, are any taxes due on the estate of someone who dies, or from any beneficiaries?
Downpuppy: When a person dies, you file the final income tax return on a Form 1040. That is for all income and deductions up to the date of death.
After death, all real and personal property passes to the estate, a new entity. If there is any income, which there will certainly be if the person had any brokerage accounts or income-producing property, an income tax return must be filed for the estate. After you go to your state’s probate court and open the estate, you go to the IRS and get an EIN for the estate, which is the equivalent of a TIN or SSN. You file a Form 1041 and you may file by calendar year or fiscal year. An estate can stay open for many many years as the lawyers for the heirs play games.
For estates in the tens of millions of dollars and above, the estate must pay estate taxes on inheritances over a certain amount. That’s Form 706, which should be Form 706-DOA.
There are some states with their own inheritance tax, as I and my siblings found out when my uncle passed and we were among the remainder heirs. As we weren’t even aware that we were due to inherit anything, having some go to the state of Iowa wasn’t super painful.
And having most of your assets in a trust makes things _much_ easier for your executor/heirs – my parents had a trust, when Dad died the only things Mom and I had to struggle with were the stuff that wasn’t included (various more-recently-added accounts, mostly). She’s been working on getting everything included in the trust so it can all be handled together when she goes. The money is perfectly available to her while it’s in the trust.
If you go with a trust, a “pour-over” will is often suggested. That just says to put anything not in the trust into it. Most recommendations I have seen say to pass retirement accounts like 401ks and IRA via beneficiaries, especially for spouses as they can retitle the accounts in their names rather than as an inherited one.
There is something my parents did. You can do it in Vermont, but I don’t know if all states allow it. They lived in a condo apartment they owned free and clear. They sold it to their daughters for a nominal amount — a few dollars. If that was all they did, it would have been considered a gift and caused problems if they ever needed to go on Medicaid. But when they sold they reserved a “life estate”. That is, as long as they were still alive they had to right to live in the condo, rent it out for income, or sell it and keep all the money themselves. If they had died before the money ran out, the daughters would have owned it free and clear, without it having to go through probate.
Unfortunately they had to go to assisted living, many thousands of dollars every month, and they had to sell the condo to pay for it. But at least the kids didn’t have to pay the assisted living bills.
Many states now allow beneficiaries on the deeds for real property. This bypasses probate, and the heirs benefit from step-up in cost basis.
Grawlix – NYS used to also get that extra day as did/do states whose residents file their returns with the Massachusetts office of IRS as the office is closed for the holiday.
Over the decades when I worked for an accountant whose practice my dad later took over when my boss retired and I then worked for my dad when he combined it with his practice – at various and overlapping times I prepared tax returns not only for clients in NYS, NJ and CT but also: PA, MA, NC, CA, HI, NM, Paris France, and Auckland NZ. I still prepare returns for the client in NM as well as ones in NY. I have vague memories of a Canada return, but I am not sure.
At one time I was dealing with the clients in France and Hawaii. NY time is 6 hours off from each. I would have to stop and figure out what time to call – was that client ahead or behind the 6 hours? Then I came up 3:00. If I called either one at 3 am or 3 pm here – it would be either 9 am or 9 pm where they were – neither was too late or too early to call.
Chak – But an extension only extends the time to file your return. If you owe any money it must be paid by April 15 or there will be penalties and interest for late payment.
One of my clients only has to file a return for NYC and only because she is entitled to a refundable credit from NYC. She got the info to me late this year and I prepared the return and mailed it to her early last week. She was worried about filing the return late – I explained that since she did not owe them, they owed her she would not penalized if it was filed late.
And if they are late paying the refund, do they get slapped with penalties & interest?
michaelperry101: If the IRS does not issue the refund within 45 days of the tax deadline, they will pay you interest at a certain set rate, based on the number of days until they send the refund. This interest is taxable income to you so you will get a 1099-G the next year.
This was a good year – I got our return on time - just – also!
I used to joke that my clients would say that they want the returns before April 15 and did not want an extensions while Robert would say to me – “Before July this year,please!” Ours went out on time this year.
Now I am trying to find my desk under everything, as well as catch up on everything else including bank recs which for some unknown reason are not working out - and this is the bank rec for one of the savings accounts!
So “as a reward for finishing all the taxes for which I had the info” we went to the eye doctor today for our annual visits. (All is well.)