Keep your fingers crossed
Monday, Apr 15, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From NBC 5…
Gov. Pat Quinn admitted he’s a procrastinator when it comes to taxes.
The Governor said there’s nothing wrong with waiting until the last minute to file tax returns. In fact, Quinn said he’s filing them close to the deadline himself. […]
“You can file early on and if people want to do that I commend them, but those of us who often do our term papers at the last minute often times do our taxes at the last minute,” he said. “But as long as you get in on the deadline you’re OK and that’s what I plan to do.”
As you may remember, the governor did his own returns last year, filing them on April 16th, which was a Monday that year. As we eventually discovered, he goofed up his taxes a bit…
The federal tax he reported paying was actually $1,607.48 less than the tax he reported owing. But he looks like he reversed the numbers. Instead of subtracting what he owed from what he paid, which would have given him a negative result, he subtracted what he paid from what he owed, and then asked for a $1,607.48 refund when he actually appears to owe that amount.
So, filing at the last minute does have its downsides.
Have you filed yet?
- Leave a Light on George - Monday, Apr 15, 13 @ 10:13 am:
Heck he can’t file early. To busy working day and night on… ?
- siriusly - Monday, Apr 15, 13 @ 10:14 am:
I used to file at the last minute. But PQ is making it very unfashionable to do so. I filed on April 4th this year.
- Cassiopeia - Monday, Apr 15, 13 @ 10:29 am:
I think Quinn’s tax filing last years sums up why he is such a hapless governor. He listens to his own counsel and flubs up on the execution consistently.
- MrJM - Monday, Apr 15, 13 @ 10:31 am:
E-filed last night.
(Now I’m considering blowing our Illinois refund on Killing Joke tickets.)
– MrJM
- OneMan - Monday, Apr 15, 13 @ 10:39 am:
Since I was owed money for the first time in a long time, filed early,…
Remember kids, if you haven’t filed still time to give to pediatric cancer research on this years tax form.
- Chavez-respecting Obamist - Monday, Apr 15, 13 @ 10:41 am:
I got my return in February. I spent it paying off a credit card.
- ??? - Monday, Apr 15, 13 @ 10:45 am:
I filed my federal taxes at the end of January, so I could get my refund faster. I knew I’d owe state taxes, so I just filed those last week. My check has already cleared, they sure don’t let those sit around for very long.
- Huh? - Monday, Apr 15, 13 @ 10:50 am:
If I am getting a return, send in early. If I owe, I wait until April 15th to send it.
- Wensicia - Monday, Apr 15, 13 @ 10:59 am:
E-filed last month, refund received in less than three weeks. I’ll use most of it to pay my property taxes in June.
I miss seeing all those long lines at the post office. Do they still take returns until midnight?
- Tommydanger - Monday, Apr 15, 13 @ 11:01 am:
Annual ritual. I go every April 15th to the Post Office and get the return hand post marked. No sense in giving up my .75% interest rate on my money before I have to!
- TooManyJens - Monday, Apr 15, 13 @ 11:12 am:
E-filed yesterday, then realized I didn’t take a deduction I may have entitled to (my husband worked overseas for three months, and that brought up a bunch of issues I’ve never dealt with before). So I’ll probably be filing a 1040X. At least I won’t get hit with any penalties, and it’s not like I was earning much interest on that $.
- Hans Sannity - Monday, Apr 15, 13 @ 11:15 am:
I was surprised to read that over 80% of Americans use proprietary software or pay someone else to complete their returns.
Nader had a column suggeting the IRS complete a return for every taxpayer based on the information they’ve already been sent. The IRS completed return could then be edited by the taxpayer.
The article is “Filing Taxes — It Shouldn’t Be So Hard” & appeared in the 4/2/2013 “Economist”.
- thechampaignlife - Monday, Apr 15, 13 @ 11:26 am:
Owe no tax and still get a refund so I filed early in the morning on the first day TurboTax would take it. I actually filled out the forms the first few days of January but had to wait to submit for all the fiscal cliff changes to percolate through.
- RNUG - Monday, Apr 15, 13 @ 11:34 am:
Filed in early March … even paid the State their Internet Use Tax based on the table.
- Six Degrees of Separation - Monday, Apr 15, 13 @ 11:43 am:
I am an accountant’s nightmare…just ask my accountant! But I gave her all the stuff about a week ago and she made sense out of it, and I am getting a modest refund from the fed and state this year.
- Wumpus - Monday, Apr 15, 13 @ 11:52 am:
Filed in Feb?early march and got money in a few weeks. Paid for a lifetime subscription to Cap Fax.
- RNUG - Monday, Apr 15, 13 @ 11:58 am:
Wumpus.
You bought a brewery?
- Children First - Monday, Apr 15, 13 @ 12:15 pm:
I paid around $2400 in IL State Taxes and get $13 back! Woohoo!
- How Ironic - Monday, Apr 15, 13 @ 12:24 pm:
Did my taxes as early as possible, as I had money coming back to me.
I did also pay the Internet ‘use tax’ for items bought on the internet that I had not paid sales tax on.
- Norseman - Monday, Apr 15, 13 @ 12:41 pm:
I filed in mid-February, a couple of days after I received the last document I needed.
My rule of thumb, which is probably most people’s rule of thumb. Do the paperwork ASAP and file early if due a refund, file around April 15th if money is owed.
- girllawyer - Monday, Apr 15, 13 @ 12:44 pm:
Drives me nuts when the media uses the terms “return” and “refund” as if they mean the same thing. What’s with people doing that here? C’mon people. The return is the form you file, the refund is the money you get back if you’ve overpaid.
- 32nd Ward Roscoe Village - Monday, Apr 15, 13 @ 12:46 pm:
Just got back from Loop post office filing extensions and making tax deposits, certified mail, return receipt requested (the best way to prove you filed timely but have never tried e-file). Line wasn’t too bad, about 15 minutes but getting longer by the minute.
- Liandro - Monday, Apr 15, 13 @ 12:56 pm:
Already filed, and incredibly frustrated that paying ahead on a business mortgage incurs so much tax. I’d rather be investing in expanding my business, but the government would rather have tax money than expanding businesses…
Considering how much property impacts the margins for most businesses, you would think they would be a little more serious about treating it as a business expense.
- CircularFiringSquad - Monday, Apr 15, 13 @ 1:10 pm:
used the new fangled internet to send them forms off…..very scary
- D P Gumby - Monday, Apr 15, 13 @ 1:14 pm:
Filed the kids back in Feb electronically, mailed mine today as I owed.
- Cincinnatus - Monday, Apr 15, 13 @ 1:17 pm:
Did my taxed weeks ago and had TurboTax auto-submit late last week. Is it time to start living off the grid?
- Small Town Liberal - Monday, Apr 15, 13 @ 1:38 pm:
- but the government would rather have tax money than expanding businesses… -
Jimmy Johns seems to be expanding pretty steadily.
- Liandro - Monday, Apr 15, 13 @ 1:53 pm:
What’s your point? I don’t own Jimmy Johns, I own an LLC that operates one local franchise. Sterling/Rock Falls residents have been coming in for five years asking when we are opening one there. Unfortunately, my total tax burden for all governments is more than I make in profit, so the answer has always been “as soon as I can afford to”.
As of this year, that answer is finally “later this year”. But all of that is not relevant to my point, which is that your average 20-year business mortgage depreciates over a whopping 39 years. That tax hit is made even harsher if you are prudent enough to pay ahead on your mortgage. Essentially, you are punished via tax code for lowering your leverage in preparation for expansion
If you think the tax code should punish business expansion in that manner, by all means, share your argument. I’d genuinely like to hear it. And don’t use the crappy “tax shelter” nonsense; nobody serious is asking to depreciate property in one year or even ten.
Or perhaps you think Jimmy John’s is the only business in Illinois that incurs property as a business cost? Given that most JJ’s rent, not own, this tax code issues is even more of a negative for mid-size companies for which growth means many created jobs…
- Living in Machiaville - Monday, Apr 15, 13 @ 2:14 pm:
The Missus and I been using Turbo Tax for five or so years and find it to be handy and accurate. Still takes a full day of concentrated work though. Used accountants in the past with varying luck. We filed about two weeks back and got our federal refund last week. Don’t expect to see the IL refund till August if then.
- Living in Machiaville - Monday, Apr 15, 13 @ 2:16 pm:
ps: its all made possible cause She is a superior record/receipt keeper….bless her heart.
- Liandro - Monday, Apr 15, 13 @ 2:24 pm:
Although my tax concerns seem petty after reading about the explosions today at the Boston Marathon. God be with them.
- Jim - Monday, Apr 15, 13 @ 3:51 pm:
Hey Liandro, don’t you realize that you are the enemy, a chicken who must be plucked.
Paying more in taxes than you make is an outrage, but my bet is that most people unlike you could not care less.
- Muffin Man - Monday, Apr 15, 13 @ 4:19 pm:
In regard to Quinn and his own taxes being submitted at the last possible moment, the phrase “leadership by example” comes to mind.
If Lisa doesn’t run, we will have him in the governor’s office again. Would the last person to leave Illinois please turn out the lights?
- Kathryn - Monday, Apr 15, 13 @ 6:15 pm:
Did he have to pay a penalty for not paying enough estimated taxes like to rest of us Joe Schmos. We have to pay a penalty for not paying the gov in advance
- Just The Way It Is One - Monday, Apr 15, 13 @ 6:26 pm:
Done, but hate years when I find myself pushing it up to the last day–too many years, I might add, like 60% of ‘em! But the Fat Lady HAS sung by my House, indeed! Woo hoo!