So, it is a bit over a month through the 2010 tax season and things are rolling along. So far there have been a few consistent things…
- People are surprised their tax refunds have been lower – forgetting that their federal withholding was reduced early in 2009 (sometimes referred to the “Obama Tax Cut”). What people are forgetting is their take-home pay went up due to the lower taxes withheld, but their tax liability did not change (so, if you got a refund from 2008, you will get less of one in 2009 if all things are equal). I’ve had a few people actually owe for 2009 due to the change in withholding.
- Returns with the First-time home buyers credit need to be mailed. The IRS system could not be modified in time to process all the updates / extensions to this law that were passed quite late in 2009 and in early 2010 so e-filing is not possible. However, remember you can still do direct deposit with a paper-filed return.
- I’ve been happy that I can now e-file certain types of business tax returns (S-Corps especially) but that is only on the Fed side – IL does not allow it yet… hope that changes next year!
- Most of my clients still want paper copies of their tax return, sometimes in addition to the PDF copy – old habits die hard I guess – just be sure to put your papers in a safe place – like a fire-proof safe / filing cabinet!
On the personal side, sleep is still at a premium but can take some time to do my volunteer genealogy work as well as keeping my diet & exercise programs going – doing OK so far so no worries all my friends out there! Been hitting the Efusjon energy drinks daily too – if you are not familiar with those, check out: https://www.myefusjon.com/thodge for more info on these healthy energy drinks.
Drop me a note sometime – always happy to hear from you!