Taxing and Trying--eFiles and Oops!!

I missed the post to this blog for yesterday--this one will do for February 28, 2010.  I was working on my USA taxes--both federal and state taxes using TurboTax software.  (I've been using TurboTax for about 17 years and use both their Business edition and their Home and Business editions.  With these services I can file returns for a corporation (form 1120), and individual returns (1040) with Schedule C (business) and (for Mom) investments. 

It takes quite a while to gather the information together.  It would be quicker if I kept up-to-date using two other Intuit products--Quicken and Quick Books.  All of the Intuit products are great.  I just don't keep up with yearly upgrades--except in the case of TurboTax.

I also feel much better about these returns (already triple-checked by TurboTax) when I sign-up for Audit Defense (also through TurboTax).

As of now, all of the required returns have been eFiled at the federal and state levels and I have secured Audit Defense for all three returns--Moms, mine, and the corporation.

Now I am thinking about what I need to do for next year.


This year, with the economic downturn, I had some questions and used the "Live Community" (free responses to tax questions) and the "Ask a Tax Expert" services offered by TurboTax.

When I first filed my corporate taxes, I used the wrong form and the IRS rejected my return.  I used the 1120S when I have an 1120 corporation.  TurboTax for Business has both packages and I just created a new 1120 return and filed it today.

I had three additional businesses this year to be reported on my individual tax return (1040).  TurboTax Home and Business helped me with all of that and I received some excellent advice from "Ask a Tax Expert."  TurboTax also guided me through working through the sale of stock on Mom's account and finding the "cash basis" for the stock to determine capital gains.

Turbo Tax Makes Filing Taxes in the USA Less Taxing

This is tax season in the USA--nearing the time to file Income Tax returns at the Federal and State levels.  I've been using Intuit's TurboTax for years and have found it to be an invaluable aid--assuring accuracy, offering Audit Defense, and asking me relevant tax questions, then providing expert help as needed.

I file taxes for Meta Corp (of NV) as well as personal income tax returns for myself and my mother.  I purchase the Business and Home and Business versions of TurboTax and it covers all of my needs, including the state taxes for filing personal income tax in Illinois.

In 2009 I started a new business, DrM-Resources.  In preparing my tax returns I had to look at the two businesses I am running and to identify the relevant business codes for each--making sure that both were not sharing the same code.  Joelmonty.net, my consulting business, uses business code 541600 (Management and Technical Consulting Services).  DrM-Resources, largely an Internet publishing and Educational Support Services business, uses business code 611000 (Education Services--Education Support Services). 

Both services are interrelated, though the codes distinguish particulars.  The good news is that Turbo Tax helps me keep everything straight--along with the other components of my taxes.  My mother, at age 95, has tax issues related to retirement income and medical expenses.  TurboTax comes through for us there as well.

Information Retrieval in a "Green Economy"--Paper or Digital Data or Both?

I'm still working on taxes and, as usual, am finding more success looking for information I have stored on my computer than paper files that I have stored in containers.  Some paper is missing and I went online to the providers of the paper, only to find that the Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) versions of the missing files are not available online.  Instead they are mailing me paper copies.  Because their computer gave me some initial information, I was able to go to my own data files (a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet) and confirm the data I needed.

For many years I have found it easier to find and retrieve essential information stored digitally on the computer--with supporting external hard drives--than dealing with paper.  Google Desktop, a free program from Google, has made my life much easier by indexing all of my drives and external hard drives.  I can institute a Google Search of that Desktop Index and it displays the location of the files and, sometimes, a temporary copy of the file.  If I have rearranged or deleted the file in the mean time, it cannot help me.

While I realize that it is sometimes important to retain paper copies of things (tax returns for example), I also know that I can retrieve and share information much more effectively and quickly working with digital data files.

TurboTax, by Intuit, prints a .pdf version of my tax return that I keep on my computer.  It also keeps a version in TurboTax and allows me to submit my tax returns by e-filing directly to the state and federal government.