Llama Money » Taxes

Estimated Tax Payments due today

Llama Money — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 01:12:29 +0000

If you’re self employed, or receive any sort of self-employment type income, then Q2 estimated federal taxes are due today. Yes, it’s quite odd, when you consider that the second quarter ends June 30th – but this is the federal government we’re talking about here. Logic need not be applied in many cases, including this one.

The bottom line is this – if you have any estimated payments to make, then it’s time to head over to EFTPS and send Uncle Sam some cash. It won’t be fun,especially if you’re like me and forget your EFTPS password every single time you log in. The fact that you’re parting with some of your hard earned cash is even worse. But, your favorite uncle will assess penalties and interest if you don’t make the correct estimated payments. So do your best and guesstimate what you owe, and get that crazy uncle paid.

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Estimated Taxes Due Tomorrow

Llama Money — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 02:29:07 +0000

If you’re self employed, or even partially so, tomorrow’s an important day. Quarterly estimated tax payments are due tomorrow, April 15th. So if you’re a slacker like me, you better get cracking and file your taxes! I just made a cool $2000 payment via EFTPS, after it finally let me log in. It seems like I have to reset my password every time I try to use the site.

So if you haven’t done your taxes yet – hurry up! The clock is ticking, and the IRS loves to charge you interest if you’re late.

Win a free copy of TaxCut Premium Federal Software from H&R Block

Llama Money — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 02:14:16 +0000

Waiting until the last minute to do your taxes? Well, wait no more. Llama Money is giving you the chance to win a free copy of TaxCut Premium Federal Software. Thanks to H&R Block for providing the software.

How do I enter to win?

Very, very simple. Just follow @llamamoney on Twitter, and tweet this phrase:

I entered to win TaxCut Premium Federal for Free. Follow @llamamoney and RT to enter. See http://tinyurl.com/d9tpvf for details.

That’s it. Don’t worry, if you’re already following me, you just have to RT the above phrase to enter. It’s that simple. I’ll pick a winner on Monday, March 23. Tweet away!

Hi there - could you help spread the word about Llama Money? This is a new site, and I could really use your help in getting my work out to new readers. If you would send someone a link, email, or even mention it to your friends, I would appreciate it. Win a free copy of TaxCut Premium Federal Software from H&R Block is a post from: Llama Money

The hidden tax

Llama Money — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 03:39:37 +0000

We all pay federal income tax. Some pay state income tax. Nearly all of us pay sales tax. Social security tax. Medicare tax. Property taxes if you’re a homeowner. These are all taxes that we’re painfully aware of – we see them loud and clear. But there’s an even worse tax than all of these, and it’s about to get worse.

Inflation – the hidden tax

Yep, inflation is a tax. Never thought about it that way, did you? Perhaps worse than an income tax or a consumption tax ( sales tax ), inflation is a wealth tax. As the years pass, the money supply grows, and any cash you have to your name is worth less and less. You don’t see it directly because your dollars don’t go away. But they do buy less.

Expect worse inflation in the coming years

Stimulus plans left and right, bailouts all over the place. Ever wonder where all the billions of dollars come from? Well, they’re borrowed into existence. Whether borrowed from China, the Federal Reserve, Social Security, or other places… they’re all borrowed. So not only does the money supply increase drastically from the creation of new money, it must be paid off with interest. As these billions flood into the economy, they will dilute the value of your dollars. And BAM – inflation, the hidden tax, eats away at your savings. While I don’t expect anything crazy like a sustained 12% per year inflation rate, you can be it will be higher than the 3% – 4% we’re used to.

Taxes Done – Thanks to Turbo Tax

Llama Money — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 03:47:27 +0000

Well, I finally got my act together and finished my taxes. It was a little less painful than last year.. I was a tad more organized. Still pretty messy…. but an improvement in any case. The net result? I had to pay a cool $384. On the flip side, I did have $5500 set aside to pay additional business taxes… so I basically have a net $5100 refund. That’s a far cry from last year’s $9k plus… but I suppose it’ll do. Certainly it will go a long way toward making up for January’s net worth drop.

For those wondering, I chose to go with Turbo Tax again. I used the Small Business edition, which cost $75. There is a free version if your return is relatively uncomplicated. As for me, I had a big ugly Schedule C, some stock gains and losses, all kinds of various incomes and deductions… so I went with the big dog. $75 is surely less than the $500-$1k a professional would charge me – and I have my doubts that a pro could get a better result.

So, February is well on her way – are you done your taxes yet? You aren’t one of those procrastinators who waits until April 15th, are you?

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Did you file your taxes yet?

Llama Money — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:14:18 +0000

Today is the deadline to file your taxes if you live in the US. If you are a procrastinator, then stop it right now! Head over to TurboTax and file your taxes electronically right now. As in right away, no delay, don’t wait, no more putting it off. The IRS is one of those agencies that you simply don’t want to mess with – they can make your life hell if you don’t handle your taxes properly.

Besides, nearly everyone who files taxes ends up getting a refund. There’s a good chance that there’s a sack of money sitting on an IRS agent’s desk, with your name on it. He’s holding your money for you – and all you have to do is take the time to file your taxes. When everything checks out, he’ll release your money. And remember – he’s not paying you interest. The longer he holds your cash, the more lost opportunity you have. File your taxes now so you can get your money.

Hi there - could you help spread the word about Llama Money? This is a new site, and I could really use your help in getting my work out to new readers. If you would send someone a link, email, or even mention it to your friends, I would appreciate it. Did you file your taxes yet? is a post from: Llama Money

File your Taxes Today for Free

Llama Money — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 12:44:48 +0000

The deadline to file your taxes is April 15, 2008. Just in case you lost your calendar, that’s less than a month away. By now you should have your W2 and any 1099 forms you’ve been waiting for. In other words, there’s no excuse for waiting any longer. The sooner you file your return, the sooner you can enjoy your tax refund. And of course by enjoy I mean save or invest .

Don’t get too impatient, though, and get a Refund Anticipation Loan. I wrote about the downfalls of these loans a couple weeks ago. If you’re considering going down this road, please read my post on the topic. I guarantee you’ll change your mind

There really is no excuse for not filing your taxes today. You have everything you need, the deadline is approaching, and the US Government is holding on to your money. If your boss was late in paying you, you wouldn’t have a problem talking to him about it, would you? Do your taxes, get your money, and enjoy it. Plus it feels great to have it out of the way and done for the year.

Filing your taxes is free

If your return isn’t too complicated and fancy, TurboTax has a free filing option. If things get a little fancy, then you could end up paying a modest fee – but they’ll warn you first. Even if you do pay a little, it’s much cheaper than going to a tax specialist. Plus TurboTax does all the math for you, so you don’t have to worry about simple adding or subtracting mistakes. Best case scenario – it could take you a half an hour to get your refund on the way. Don’t wait for the last minute this year.

Hi there - could you help spread the word about Llama Money? This is a new site, and I could really use your help in getting my work out to new readers. If you would send someone a link, email, or even mention it to your friends, I would appreciate it. File your Taxes Today for Free is a post from: Llama Money

Refund Anticipation Loans are a Bad Choice

Llama Money — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 06:06:48 +0000

If you’ve been lazy and haven’t quite gotten around to doing your taxes yet, don’t worry, there’s still time. If you do your taxes today, your refund will probably show up in your bank account in about 2 – 3 weeks. That’s not really so long to wait, now is it? The folks at H&R Block ( and other tax preparation firms ) sure thing it is. To this end, they have come up with one of the most insidious financial devices ever created – the Refund Anticipation Loan.

For the pleasure of having your money in an estimated 1-2 days ( rather than 2-3 weeks ), H&R Block will make you pay dearly indeed. Let’s say your refund works out to be a cool $5,000, and you just can’t wait for your money. You have to have it right now, no ifs, ands or buts about it. What will it cost you? Let’s take a look-see. The first fee is a Refund Account Fee. No idea what that means, but it’s $29.95 right off the bat. After that you pay a finance charge of 53.65 ( that’s 36% APR for those who pay attention to that sort of thing ). As if that weren’t enough, they have the nerve to charge you $20 to “process” the check. Grand total? How about $103.60, just to have your money a few days early. And that’s not even including the cost of actually doing your taxes – figure another couple hundred bucks for that.

Now I don’t know about you, but $103.60 is a heck of a lot of money to pay, just to get your refund a few days early. Maybe you’re rich and don’t need that $103 – but then if you’re rich, you can wait a few more days for your refund. The bottom line is this – if you want your tax refund earlier, do your taxes earlier.

Disclaimer: I don’t mean to pick on H&R Block specifically – there are other companies who offer this sort of product. H&R Block is simply the largest, and one that everybody has heard of.

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Tax Refund – Wow

Llama Money — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 20:32:36 +0000

I received a surprise on Feb 29 – my tax refund showed up in my bank account! I actually got part of my tax refund about 2 weeks prior. Two parts to a tax refund – what is this guy talking about? Well let me explain. Since I run a small business part time, I receive some 1099 income that is not taxed. I am supposed to pay estimated taxes on this money, although I didn’t in 2007. I did set aside money to cover my expected taxes though. Once I did my taxes early in February, after all my W2 income and 1099 income, my refund came out to be a cool $3737. That’s not a bad refund at all.

It’s better than it looks

However, the story isn’t done. Remember that cash that I had set aside to pay for my business taxes? Since I figured my 1099 income into my tax return, that cash suddenly became freed up. I had a total of $5505.15 set aside for this purpose. Combined with the $3737 that I got as a direct deposit, my refund effectively becomes a whopping $9242.15. Now that is a tax refund.

2008 will be stunning

The really amazing thing about this tax refund is the potential. I purchased my first house towards the end of the year, and didn’t pay enough in interest / property taxes to itemize deductions. The refund I received was using the standard deduction. Next year things will be different, and I will be able to itemize.

Aren’t tax refunds bad?

In theory, yes tax refunds are bad. After all, it’s nothing more than an interest-free loan to the federal government. On the other hand, it feels really, really good to get back over nine thousand of my hard earned dollars in one lump sum. From a psychological aspect, tax refunds are great. They can make a big dent in certain bills, or provide padding for a savings account.

What did I use my refund for?

The bulk of my tax refund went straight into my money market account, to pad my emergency fund. $2800 went to fund my Zecco account, so I can begin purchasing individual stocks commission-free. And finally, $972.31 went to pay off my Best Buy credit card. The balance was at 0%, but it was time to be rid of it. And you’ll be proud – I used a grand total of $0 on wasteful items. There are many things I’d like to purchase for my home, but I bought none of them. How was your tax refund – did you use it for purchases or saving / investing?

Taxes are Evil

Llama Money — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 01:56:57 +0000

That pretty much covers it. I’m trying to gather up all the paperwork I’ll need to do my taxes this year. Most likely I’ll be paying someone for that honor, but they’ll still need all the paperwork. I’ve done a horrible job of keeping everything this year, and it’s going to bite me in the butt.

Running a small business and poor organization do not go well together, especially at tax time. Note to self: Keep better records in 2008.