Tax returns?

Gordon wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

I complete my returns as soon as I have all the required documents. When I am getting a refund I efile as soon as possible. When I have to pay, I wait until the last minute and mail in the paper.

As to whether there will be a revisions, your guess is as good as anyone's. If your return is relatively simple, there shoudn't be any changes. It's been my experience that the late revisions usually concern investment income, and they came from my financial institution, not the IRS.

Hi, Gordon.

File as soon as you are comfortable with the information you've put into you return.

There should not be any further revisions - but then, nobody's perfect, not even Intuit or the IRS.

If there are later revisions that demand changes, then that's what amended returns are for.

In addition to all the reasons we've had in the past for early filing, we are now hearing about a new reason: Thieves are using taxpayers' identities to file fraudulent returns and claiming refunds - even when no refunds are due. The IRS sometimes pays out the refunds, and then when the legitimate return arrives, it is rejected, often resulting in months of hassles. No, I have not experienced anything like this, but it has been in the news last year and this year.

While I've been retired for over 20 years, my advice would still be to file early - and electronically.

Good luck - with the IRS and with your health problem.

RC

-- -- R. C. White, CPA San Marcos, TX (Retired. No longer licensed to practice public accounting.) snipped-for-privacy@grandecom.net Microsoft Windows MVP (2002-2010) (Using Quicken Deluxe 2014 R 6 and Windows Live Mail in Win8.1 x64)

I have our 2013 tax returns finished and ready to submit, electronically. Is there any reason I should wait and see if there will be any more revisions before I file these? I have a serious health problem and may not be able to do this, later. I'd like to get it out of the way so I can relax and forget it for the time being but I'm concerned that there may be some significant revision before the tax filing deadline. Any insights here? Gordon

There are some very good reasons to file late but revisions isn't one of them, seldom will a TT revision make a difference in your return and it if does you can amend your return.

I usually file around midnight on April 15th because:

1. I have a K1 form from a trust that shows taxible income from 1. I have a K1 form from a trust that shows taxible income from $0.00 (most years) to over $15,000 (some years) and very little advance warning. $15k makes a substantial difference in my tax liability so I delay until I get the K1 or can get some advance warning and 2. I'm also not filing early because a couple of brokerage houses have refused downloading to TT until after February 15th and I really don't want to enter the info manually when it's so much easier to wait! 3. I know I have no refund coming so there's no incentive to file early..00 (most years) to over ,000 (some years) and very little advance warning. k makes a substantial difference in my tax liability so I delay until I get the K1 or can get some advance warning and
2. I'm also not filing early because a couple of brokerage houses have refused downloading to TT until after February 15th and I really don't want to enter the info manually when it's so much easier to wait!
3. I know I have no refund coming so there's no incentive to file early.

Thanks to each who responded, for your very valuable suggestions. I went ahead and completed our e-filing this morning and all went well. Of course I won't know for a few days if the state or federal review will go well but I see no reason to think it would not. I didn't have any investment or other complex information...just our ordinary income and living expenses. Our address hasn't chanced for years and we are both retired, now. I do have some complex oil well production income but that was keyed in as reported by the oil well companies. We took the standard deduction instead of itemized, so there should be no problems here. Time to go grab a cup of coffee and relax a bit.

Gordon