So, now that we've covered paying our taxes, isn't it about time to discuss the more fun topic of what to do with the refunds we receive?

Wonder where they are?

I got my federal refund direct deposited within 10 days but both of my state refunds (I moved from NY to VA halfway through 2008) are still MIA, even though TurboTax says they were processed and received correctly.

Grr.

Stupid states.

I prepare taxes at a CPA firm. April 15th can't come soon enough!

On another note, I am still waiting for the cat & cake pictures to come back.

@Etoiles: A few days ago I'd seen a story here where someone commented that their state refund was held back because of the state's economic situation.

@Etoiles: My louisiana refund showed up in four days flat. It really varies from state to state.

@Etoiles: Fun? Doing something fun? I stuffed that money into my savings account. It's fun to save!

I actually went to H&R Block for the first time this year and it was a great experience and well worth it. They even looked over my forms from the last two years and found tons of deductions we didn't receive but were eligible for. That's what I get for having my tax returns done by the military for free.

Another thing the IRS keeps fairly hidden...

The new Free Fillable Forms site allows you to electronically submit tax documents regardless of income level. It is not the same thing as the income limited "Free File" option.

Address to Free Fillable Forms: [www.irs.gov]

wasn't there an article on consumerist yesterday that said the home office credit is a big red flag for IRS audits?

We owe Federal, so I am waiting until the very last minute to send ours in. Strangely enough though, we're getting a refund from the state.

So now that i have tax tips who should I contact when im still waiting for a W2?

My girlfriend used to work in NH for a the clothing store Urban Behavior and they had her old NH address. After calling and calling her old store trying to get corporates number (which they always said they didnt have) she finally got a hold of someone who said they would remail her W2 to our current address now. That was a monday. THey said she should get it by friday. Well that was about 3 weeks ago and no sign of it. She has left numerous messages with the office she talked to before and now they don't answer her phone calls at all.

Any Suggestons?
I tried getting the coprorate number which it seems is non existant.

What refund? I owed the gov't about $80 this year :(

@valen: That site was awesome!
I used Turbotax to error check (it would've cost me ~$20 to file this year because I had capital gain/loss) and I had to read some of the instructions and documentation on what exactly to do - but it was so easy! And Free!

@Jesse: The cake is a lie. I think the cat ate it!

@Etoiles: I haven't gotten my NYS refund either!

@discordance: Do you have a link to that article?

@Oranges w/ Cheese: What if the cake ate the cat? O.o

@dandubois: A lot of the needed information might be on the last paycheck stub? YTD amounts, deductions and possibly even the tax ID numbers?

@dandubois: Inform the IRS and file a return along with Form 4852, which is a substitute W-2. She should estimate the W-2 amounts using her final pay stub, which she should have kept.

[www.irs.gov]

@Etoiles: Weird, I got my VA refund within a week of filing, though I filed on VA dept. of taxation website since I didn't want to pay. I can't blame you for using turbotax for state though, paartial year VA taxes are harder than calculus

@edwardso: Yeah, I paid for TurboTax for my state filings this year because (a) New York City resident tax is confusing as all hell, and (b) I had to do partial-year resident for two states. (Plus, I work in a state I don't live in, as often happens in the NY and DC areas.)

My fiancé got his VA refund, too, but it's the third year in a row he's filed here so maybe that expedited it. *sigh* I'm gonna have to call them, I can tell. I want my $97 dammit!

@pecan 3.14159265: Saving is fun! But financing my October wedding is a more pressing need. ;)

What do you do when the IRS enters information incorrectly but won't admit it even with the proof I have? Customer service isn't helping much, is there a number I can call to actually get someone to help me?

It's almost amusing how much trouble I am having, then not so much when I realize it's me. Oh man oh man oh man

@rhobite:

lets just say she wasnt as organized as I am until she moved in. I know for a fact she doesnt have her last pay stub. Otherwise I would have done that. I cant blame the company too much as they had her old address on file but you would think after weeks of continous calling they would get the hint.

@Etoiles:

I got married in October last year :) Hope your weather was as gorgeous as it was that day (btw, I live in VA too).

One note on your last suggestion: if you owe the IRS money and file for an extension, you must pay an them your estimated debt by April 15th. An extension to submit your tax return is not an extension for payment.

@Oranges w/ Cheese: Could be worse. My wife runs her own company that (as crazy as this sounds) is profitable and has low overhead. We got hit with a bill that was 100x that.

Almost enough for us to start thinking about adding a few self aware tax deductions to our family. ALMOST :)

@Saboth: Me too! I feel like there's a club we and some 7 million people are in.

@captainpicard: Sure, but that's not a reason not to take the deduction if it honestly applies to you.

@tinmanx: prob cuz u md up 2 mny abbs.

(ahem)

Probably because you made up too many abbreviations.

@Oranges w/ Cheese: That just means you didn't give an interest-free loan to the government. It's GOOD to owe money, as long as you don't owe so much that you get hit with a penalty.

@Saboth: bunch of VA folks on this site

@tinmanx: HA! Another NYer with no tax refund yet.... my return was accepted 2/2/09. Their website FINALLY updated like a week ago from "We have received your refund and it is being processed" to "Your refund is in the final stages of processing, in most cases, you can expect your refund within the next 30 days."

Thanks for pinpointing that little detail, NYS.

What will I being doing?? Fixing the sill on my house, cleaning and servicing the furnace, and other not-fun ways of blowing a wad of cash.

Fun times, fun times.

WE THE PEOPLE are the government. Giving our fellow citizens an interest-free loan by overpaying on taxes isn't THAT awful a thing, is it?

@DurwinMelbourne: Try the Taxpayer Advocate Service [www.irs.gov] or let your Congressional rep (actually, the staffers) help.

Here's another piece of advise. If you are using Turbo Tax to e-file, go to fidelity.com and click on the tax tab in the center of the homepage. Follow the link to Turbo Tax for a discount on filing. I recommend the visitor entry if you are not a Fidelity customer.

While the 1040EZ's are always free on Turbo Tax, if you are filing a Deluxe you save $12 on federal (I believe you may also save on state, I did for IL). You will always have to follow the link each time you enter Turbo Tax until you pay.

P.S. I only paid $27 to file the Deluxe 1040 for my parents by completing their taxes by March 27th. It's always cheaper on Turbo Tax to file early :)

Turbo Tax has a free basic e-file for the federal returns, and my state CA also has a free e-file. Taxes for free with electronic deposit to my checking!

I'm still kinda sad I only got $7 from the feds and $95 from the State.... Guess my deductions were right on the money.

I STILL haven't done mine. I think I'll try to do it myself this time. With the free stuff it won't cost me unless I owe state.

My refund will have to go to fix my faucet in the bathtub. I have to turn the hot water off at the water heater until I use it because the tub faucet leaks HORRIBLY.

That first link ("The 11 Most Overlooked Tax Deductions") should actually be "The 15 Most Overlooked Tax Deductions." The last 4 are on a second page.

Not that any of the 15 pertained to me, but I looked anyway.

One simple form will get an extra six months for those ultra-procrastinators out there.

Except that it's only an extension to file; you still have to pay taxes owed by the 15th. So you have to figure out how much you owe anyway in order to file the extension -- and by the time you've figured that out, you might as well just fill out the damn return and be done with it. I never quite saw the point of an extension.