Sent mine in about the same time tonight. Not going to the Tea party, funny thing. I have to work to pay my taxes, so I can go back to work, to pay my taxes, so I can... Oh you get the idea...
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I am feeling a bit lazy to check out vanguard's FAQ, so hoping for a quick answer here :
apart from taxes, isn't today a the deadline for 2008 investments? Which ones?
IIRC, IRA/ROTH/Coverdells are limited for each year. How about 529s?
Anybody else like me - still mulling if any of these are worth investing in...
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It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
- AristotleComment
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online at http://www.theFrankes.com
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"Life is short, Art long, Occasion sudden and dangerous, Experience deceitful, and Judgment difficult." -HippocratesComment
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If you wish to make a contribution to your IRA for 2008, today is the last day to make that decision. Contributions made starting April 16 would be claimed on your 2009 tax return.
IMHO, you should try to max out your retirement contributions. The amount of your contribution is not considered income for the current tax year, plus the earnings are accrued tax-free until you begin withdrawals at retirement age.
It should be noted that any withrawals taken before age 59-1/2 are subject to income taxes plus a 10% penalty, so you shouldn't contribute more than you can safely do without until retirement.
JRJRComment
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Just to clarify, this doesn't mean that contributions made before April 16 always go to the previous year. When you make a contribution between 1/1 and 4/15 you should have the option of identifying the tax year to which those contributions apply. For example, you might have a recurring monthly contribution that always applies to the current year, but then (before 4/15) elect to make an additional contribution for the previous year.online at http://www.theFrankes.com
while ( !( succeed = try() ) ) ;
"Life is short, Art long, Occasion sudden and dangerous, Experience deceitful, and Judgment difficult." -HippocratesComment
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My brother works for the IRS and my mom used to work for H&R Block. I don't mess around, nor let him do my taxes. He and my mom try to take every deduction and get every credit. My mom argued with the IRS for two years about $20.
They've both have got to be on a 'special list' somewhere and I'm sure my return must get some sort of review since we have a unique last name and file from the same town. I'd rather over pay $50 and sleep at night than to argue about $10 and have them perform a detail review and find out I screwed up and they re-po my house!! 
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Amen. The cost and hassle of an audit is just not worth arguing over pennies.I'd rather over pay $50 and sleep at night than to argue about $10 and have them perform a detail review and find out I screwed up and they re-po my house!!
I just wrote two large checks, mostly for taxes on "income" associated with stock option exercises that yielded no cash. Which leads me to a small rant.
Our tax system is incomprehensible. Too many things to worry about when making decsions and the year-end preparations are horrendously complicated. If Joe Simitian (local state legislator) ever makes it to Congress and holds his "There Ought to Be a Law" contest, I'm going to suggest he submit a bill that requires members of Congress and the Executive Branch to fill out their own tax returns with no outside help.
I had to file tax returns in England for a couple of years. Theirs are a lot less complicated.Comment
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I previously posted "Death to the wash sale rule." This was a new one to me.
We had sold a small amount of stock early in the year, registering a gain. We tried to true that up for tax purposes on December 31 by selling some mutual fund shares for a loss (the difficulty was in choosing from among the many losses!). Unfortunately, we learned that any such loss is offset by any shares purchased in a plus-or-minus 30 day window from the sale - INCLUDING MUTUAL FUND CAP GAIN AND DIVIDEND REINVESTMENTS. Naturally, most mutual funds pay their gains in December, resulting in a few shares purchased.
That's when it gets interesting. The loss is offset by:
(the number of shares purchased through reinvestment)
x
(the cost basis of the shares which were sold at a loss).
The cost basis must be calculated using one of four models - FIFO, specific ID, average, or double average. All investements in that mutual fund, including reinvestments, must now be tracked in detail using that cost basis calculation until the end of time. Some mutual funds will provide ongoing tracking of cost basis using one of the methods, some provide no tracking whatsoever. In all of this it is incumbent on the taxpayer to know these arcane rules, show the details as to how they were applied, and track them annually. LOML and I anticipate that at some future tax season, and notwithstanding my detailed srpeadsheet and notes, there will come a time when we will look at that stuff and have a brain cramp.
We have a pretty straightforward tax profile, but this one little set of transactions just augured us into the ground for a couple of weeks. What a can of worms!
JRJRComment
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JR, I pay an accountant to worry about that for me.David
The chief cause of failure in this life is giving up what you want most for what you want at the moment.Comment
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I do my darnedest to contribute as much as possible to my 401k and a Roth IRA (used to max them pre-child/wife cash-sinks). That said I figure there is at least a 50/50 chance the rules will be changed to increase the bite on those dollars before I retire (or equal dollars deducted from the my madoffesque Social Security "investment") in order to cover debt service costs (think it'll be near 0% interest forever?), massive medicare deficits, and construction costs for new stadiums in every city (need somewhere for the circuses to perform)
Meh, tax day is depressing even when you're getting money back...Comment
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Wow They are fast
Sent the IRS my payment on Tuesday the 14, checked my account balance this morning. The cashed my check on Thursday the 16th. Never have had my check cashed that fast. Must need the money. I had some fun addressing the envelope and now will probably get audited.
TomComment
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