Recalculating
Did taxes become more complicated this year?
Last night I filled out my 1040-EZ form online. At first it seems like you just need a few things:
- a W-2
- an email address
- a cell phone number
- a bank account number
- a driver's license number (Is this new?)
Seems simple enough. I type in all of my numbers and *gasp* I'm getting back HOW much money? Oh no, that can't be right. That's ALL of the income tax I paid. *fix fix fix* And I owe $25. Well that's boring.
"Ok, now prove who you are using your 5-digit pin from last year or your AGI from last year."
...really? How do I figure this out?
I log in to my work's pay site and get my 2015 W-2. Ok, I see Box 1. Is that the same as my AGI? (In my case, yes it is, but didn't know that yet.) So there's a link to retrieve this from the IRS. Now you need 8 digits from any credit card. Now I definitely don't remember this part! I type in everything and the system rejects my cell phone number. Oh forget it. I guess at my 5 digit pin and submit. At worst, the IRS will think I'm trying to hack them to give them $25.
40 minutes later it comes back rejected. They say I have a date wrong somewhere and I'm missing health care. I find a tiny health care box I forgot to mark. Don't see any wrong dates, but maybe it's one of those bugs that will disappear once health care is fixed. I change my 5 digits to my Box 1 in case to see if that will work better. Submit.
40 minutes later it comes back rejected again. Finally I see where I typed in my birthday instead of today's date. For crying out...submit. 40 minutes later, accepted. Great. Hardest way I've ever tried to get rid of $25.
During all of that I finished off my state taxes too and earned $45 back. So net total of $20 in my favor. Gee, what am I going to do with my winnings?
(Actually, that's exactly how I want my taxes to look. Otherwise I'm doing something wrong.)
Last night I filled out my 1040-EZ form online. At first it seems like you just need a few things:
- a W-2
- an email address
- a cell phone number
- a bank account number
- a driver's license number (Is this new?)
Seems simple enough. I type in all of my numbers and *gasp* I'm getting back HOW much money? Oh no, that can't be right. That's ALL of the income tax I paid. *fix fix fix* And I owe $25. Well that's boring.
"Ok, now prove who you are using your 5-digit pin from last year or your AGI from last year."
...really? How do I figure this out?
I log in to my work's pay site and get my 2015 W-2. Ok, I see Box 1. Is that the same as my AGI? (In my case, yes it is, but didn't know that yet.) So there's a link to retrieve this from the IRS. Now you need 8 digits from any credit card. Now I definitely don't remember this part! I type in everything and the system rejects my cell phone number. Oh forget it. I guess at my 5 digit pin and submit. At worst, the IRS will think I'm trying to hack them to give them $25.
40 minutes later it comes back rejected. They say I have a date wrong somewhere and I'm missing health care. I find a tiny health care box I forgot to mark. Don't see any wrong dates, but maybe it's one of those bugs that will disappear once health care is fixed. I change my 5 digits to my Box 1 in case to see if that will work better. Submit.
40 minutes later it comes back rejected again. Finally I see where I typed in my birthday instead of today's date. For crying out...submit. 40 minutes later, accepted. Great. Hardest way I've ever tried to get rid of $25.
During all of that I finished off my state taxes too and earned $45 back. So net total of $20 in my favor. Gee, what am I going to do with my winnings?
(Actually, that's exactly how I want my taxes to look. Otherwise I'm doing something wrong.)