I'd reviewed my returns twice.
On Saturday, I submitted the tax returns online as usual. I got the email that they'd been received, both federal and state. That was a relief. Done for another year. I usually don't give it another thought. I'm not one of those people who constantly check to see if our refund had been issued yet.
Imagine my surprise on Friday, when doing the weekly balancing of our checking account, when the bank information line said we had a deposit for the amount of the Missouri tax refund! That has to be a record! Submitted on Saturday, refund deposited on Friday! It usually takes a few weeks. And in the past, Missouri has lagged behind the federal refund.
Anyhoo... it's not like we're rolling in dough. We always have the taxes held out up front from any monies we receive, and set our exemptions so that we are more likely to get a refund rather than having to pay. I know that we are just giving the feds interest money by letting them hold out more than necessary. But it prevents a "surprise" tax bill. You never know when we might sell a flip house, or if Hick will have a really good year of SUS2.5 sales.
The Pony was working on taxes Sunday. He called for the amount we had spent on the QuickFlip renovations between buying it, then selling it three weeks later. The Pony got his own paperwork for his portion of the sale at closing. So he had those figures, just not the expenditures. Back at the time of the sale, The Pony looked up info on capital gains. He set aside some of his profit for tax time.
The Pony said his taxes are done, but he's waiting a week to file, so he can look over it again with "fresh eyes" to see if there's something he might have missed. He will be paying again, not getting a refund. But he says it looks like the amount will only be about half of what he planned for.
Poor Genius. He also has to pay. An amount that is near what The Pony made off the QuickFlip. POOR Genius, indeed! That's a terrible problem to have...
Hi Val, I have to say that my state tax refund came very quickly this year too. Then again, my federal tax refund came before I expected it too. What is going on? I expected to wait longer for both tax refunds this year.
ReplyDeleteMaybe some states upgraded their computer tax systems. Or had updates ready earlier. I don't know, but it's a good thing! I'll check on the feds when I balance my account on Friday.
DeleteIt's always nice to get a refund and sooner than expected is doubly nice. I did our taxes at home with the paper forms for years and always got decent refunds for myself and hubby. On his own after we separated he suddenly had a tax bill to pay instead of a refund! I don't know how and I don't care.
ReplyDeleteI always pay ahead with my electric bill, I don't care, like you, thta they are earning interest on the money, I do it so I don't have to worry about using the heating or the clothes dryer in winter, since the account is always in credit.
I used to do the paper forms. It's just following instructions, though you DID have to stop sometimes in the middle of one form to do worksheets and another form before proceeding. I guess most people didn't have the attention span. Or like Hick, don't like following instructions, heh, heh! Supposedly our forms were written on the level for an 8th grade student's reading comprehension.
DeleteIt IS much easier on a computer, especially with a tax preparation program like TurboTax, which asks you questions, then puts that info in the forms, which you never see until the end when you review them.
Ours came on Monday and were filed on Saturday. Both Federal and State. Not complaining, although it wasn't much. Still mostly grateful we didn't owe. Ranee
ReplyDeleteWow! That's the fastest I've heard. We've only had a couple years where we owed, and I think it was our state that required us to make quarterly payments for the next year. I hated that! I was afraid I'd forget, or misplace the little slips that were supposed to accompany the quarterly payments. We adjusted our withholding because we didn't want to owe again.
Delete