F... Filing Taxes

First thing I will say is please don't turn this into a political thread, I just wanted to vent my frustrations at the first year where filing my taxes has been a major pain in the ass. In all my previous years filing, I have been lucky enough to file the basic 1040EZ form with basic deductions, no credits, etc. anything that might require a tax expert or extra guidance. This year was the second year where I had to file for my regular 9-5 job, which I worked 40 hours a week for 52 out of 53 weeks last year (with my one week vacay thrown in), as well as file a 1099-misc for a side job I worked approximately 52 hours out of the year last year. Now I figured I'd have a cut taken out because no income taxes were paid for the side gig I did, which I earned 1 grand for those 50 hours worked last year.

Anyways, I used Turbotax first, but after encountering problems filing with the 1099 form I decided to try out HR Block's filing system to see if that would be easier. Neither of them were helpful, and there were a couple roadblocks with both (the big one was HR Block telling me to delete my 1099 because no state income taxes were paid on it) which I had to spend time on the phone with someone from Virginia's department of taxation on before it got worked out, and then after all that it wouldn't let me e-file with Virginia because I owed them money (isn't it awesome making 23 grand last year and owing money to your home state?) and I still have to figure out how to get a copy of the form to mail to the state of VA, because it kicked me out after I e-filed my federal return.

Instead of continuing to bore you guys with details of my shitty experience filing my taxes this year, I'm just going to say f taxes. I can't imagine how much it must suck for those of you with way more things you need to fill out on your tax form than I had to do, or those of you who pay to have tax experts fill out your taxes only to find that you owe state/fed taxes on top of of what you owe the tax guy for prepping your taxes.

H&R Block in Pasadena CA were able to help my wife and I file last year when we discovered a huge error in deductions AND saved us a couple of thousand dollars.

I'm sure different locations are run differently.

Mooby, I'd suggest asking around for a personal reference.

What's funny is I missed a year, and had absolutely no way of making sure I had everything (long story), so I called the IRS, and they sent me a printout of my entire form as it should be filled out for that year. All the W-2s, a few misc 1099's, and some form I still don't know really what it was. They had everything they needed but since i didn't give them my copies at the time I paid the fees and fines... (I owed about $200 before fines and fees)

Mooby, looks like I'm going to be in almost the exact same boat with my taxes this year. I've always had a 1040EZ (ah, the life of a single renter) but this year I will have to fill out a 1099 for my side job as a referee, and I'll probably owe money this year because no money was taken out when I was paid.
Maybe I should get someone to look over my paperwork this year because I am terrible at this stuff.

I probably pay around 3 grand to have my taxes done each year and my other paper work that must be filed through out the year. My CPA has me pay more then I owe over the year so I usually get back a nice check every year.

You can thank Obama for all these 1099's because if a company pays you more then $600 any given year they must send you and the feds a 1099 showing your earnings. Most people did not claim these side jobs income but now you have no choice.

Mooby, looks like I'm going to be in almost the exact same boat with my taxes this year. I've always had a 1040EZ (ah, the life of a single renter) but this year I will have to fill out a 1099 for my side job as a referee, and I'll probably owe money this year because no money was taken out when I was paid.
Maybe I should get someone to look over my paperwork this year because I am terrible at this stuff.

I would definitely recommend having someone prep/look them over even if costs some money or not because I assumed it would be a straightforward process for me this year and it wasn't at all. I feel lucky that the refund for my 9-5 was big enough to cover what I owed for my side gig last year, even though I didn't make jack at my side gig. If I had gone to an expert I would've broke even instead of getting a small refund.

@rat: depending on what forms I have to do for next year I might go to an expert. If I end up with just a basic form I'll probably do them free online again.

#blameobama

When you're unemployed, doing taxes is a god send. I've NEVER owed. When I am employed, I work part time due to being in grad school full time. So due to me being practically broke, I'll get enough back from taxes to live on for a few months.

I have an MBA in finance and am generally a super smart, super good looking individual who always fights his guts out. I do them myself. But it's such a pain in the ass. I have an easier time analyzing a merger than I do filing my taxes. F them is right.

I'll probably owe about 3,500 in taxes. **** uncle sam taking my scratch during the year.