At least once but maybe twice I’ve received unexpected refunds with no explanatory letter, with no problem.
This is why I now file as early as possible. This year in early March was as early as I could file. Still received some tax stuff in the mail from my broker last week!
A few years ago I made a mistake filing, so I filed an amended return with a check for an additional $75. The IRS sent it back to me (a govt refund check) with no explanation. Oh well, I tried. So I just deposited the check and never heard from them again.
Well, I had the best tax preparation appointment EVER this past Friday!
As our CPA was finishing up our personal return, he looked puzzled so I asked what was up. He said, “I should have been getting your business a deduction every year…” He explained that the Domestic Production Activities Deduction is for businesses who are involved in manufacturing and construction. Architects and engineers are included! He’s not sure how he missed it, because he has claimed it for a few other clients.
He’s not only going to file amended returns for us at no cost for the past three years, he’s going to pay us, out of his own pocket, for the refunds we should have been getting since 2005. We’re talking enough money to pay for a semester of college! I’m in shock.
2017 is the last year you can claim this deduction. Starting in 2018, As an S Corp we will be able to claim a $16,000 deduction (it’s a flat amount).
After figuring out our taxes, the CPA ran our numbers as if it were for 2018. Our taxes would have been 8% less under the new laws. He said that about 85% of his clients will either break even or come out ahead.
Can I say here (because I can’t find the other complaining thread) that I HATE taxes! I’m finally doing them for two kids and me, and so far I’ve found that one of daughter’s three w-2’s has the wrong SSN on it, and of course it is the one that actually had some taxes withheld (the other two were for very minor amounts). And she’s the easy kid. The other one has taxable scholarships and I can’t get the 1098-T off her portal because they make them change the password every 3 months and she must have changed it. She has the flu again (had type A in January, now has type B). The federal returns are free, but I’ll have to do paper returns for the state because I’m too cheap to pay $30 to file for a $150 refund.
I HATE doing taxes, which is why I’m doing them on April 10. My parents found out today that their tax guy retired and moved away, so I’ll probably have to do theirs too. I hate this.
If you need more time to do the return, there is the possibility of an extension: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/tax-time-guide-automatic-tax-filing-extensions-now-available-use-free-file-to-get-six-more-months-to-file . Check your state for similar extensions.
However, if you owe taxes, you still need to pay by April 15, even if it takes longer to complete the paperwork.
Luckily, the daughter with the wrong W2 is getting a refund from both federal and state, so yes, I think hers will be late with no penalty. When I looked at the W2 again, they’d not only reversed the 2nd and 3rd numbers, but also the last was a 5 and should be a 4. The daughter with the scholarships has to pay on time because she owes a little to both entities, but I should be able to get that one straightened out tomorrow.
I just get frustrated doing them, having all kinds of passwords and codes for the tax programs, and of course doing them at night when I’m tired. I can do them quickly on paper forms so the state ones should be okay.
What’s a “tax refund?” I’m unfamiliar with that term…
@MaineLonghorn : Wow! Congratulations!!