BG Experts Tax Question

[AoE]

To keep a long story short, I need to file for a tax extension by tomorrow. I put my W-2 in the hands of a relative whom assured me she'd get it done but never did and then ended up telling me she lost it without enough time for me to request another one to get sent to me by my job. I tried to go to my school's accounting office but the only guy there that could help me won't be in until tomorrow and I don't think I can wait until tomorrow.

I don't know if I owe taxes so I need to narrow it down but looking at my last pay stub from last year and the form I need to fill out, I'm not sure how to determine how much I might owe them so I'm asking anyone in BG who can help me figure this out to send me a PM so I can be more specific.

If it helps, the difference between how much I made last year to the year before is about $200 bucks.

[Atreides]

Have you checked to make sure they're actually due tomorrow? I know NJ has an extension until May 11th, not sure about NY.

Also if you late file the worst thing that happens is the government charges interest on what you owe, right?

[AoE]

Have you checked to make sure they're actually due tomorrow? I know NJ has an extension until May 11th, not sure about NY.

Also if you late file the worst thing that happens is the government charges interest on what you owe, right?

I'm gonna look into that. Just reading stuff makes it seem like the government will rape your wallet and unfortunately right now I need every penny I earned.

[Atreides]

ah, well it turns out the extension is only for residents of 12 counties in NJ affected by floods or some shit, so I don't think you apply.

I've wondered how it works if you late file and the government owes you money. Do they pay you interest? Lol

[Norellicus]

ah, well it turns out the extension is only for residents of 12 counties in NJ affected by floods or some shit, so I don't think you apply.

I've wondered how it works if you late file and the government owes you money. Do they pay you interest? Lol

No, and they'll still penalize you for filing late without an extension and/or waiver to penalty.

They could care less if you under-claim and leave extra money in their pockets, but they're damn sure to get it from you anytime they can prove it's due :D


OP: There's not really a good way to tell how much you actually owe without your forms, unless your paystub shows the cumulative 2009 tax withholdings as well (some do, some don't). That's the important part, how much you made is only relevant to the total tax you owe.

[Dolmen]

I'm a tax accountant. If you PM me your gross federal wages, how much in federal taxes you had withheld, and how much you had withheld in state taxes, I can E-Mail you PDFs of extensions to print/mail.

[Dolmen]

No, and they'll still penalize you for filing late without an extension and/or waiver to penalty.

They could care less if you under-claim and leave extra money in their pockets, but they're damn sure to get it from you anytime they can prove it's due :D


OP: There's not really a good way to tell how much you actually owe without your forms, unless your paystub shows the cumulative 2009 tax withholdings as well (some do, some don't). That's the important part, how much you made is only relevant to the total tax you owe.

Actually, if the government owes you money they won't charge you a penalty for late filing. Also, they will pay you interest. We had one client who was married to a bat shit insane guy that demanded they file "Married filing separate." Needless to say, once he died we amended her returns and got her thousands of dollars back. In the checks the government included interest on the money she got back.

[AoE]

PM sent. Thanks again, Dolmen.

[Dolmen]

PM sent back with all of the information. Send in that extension and then file that return ASAP, you've got a nice refund. Also, get a new copy of the W-2 for you to submit with the return.

[Norellicus]

Actually, if the government owes you money they won't charge you a penalty for late filing. Also, they will pay you interest. We had one client who was married to a bat shit insane guy that demanded they file "Married filing separate." Needless to say, once he died we amended her returns and got her thousands of dollars back. In the checks the government included interest on the money she got back.

I gotta say that's the first time I've ever heard of that kind of thing happening lol, my mom was a tax adjuster for a while and had plenty of late filers who lost a (small) portion of their refunds because of filing penalties or something...it wasn't processing fees. And one financial review she helped on ended up getting the guy a huge chunk of money from like six years ago (though I confess I don't know whether interest was included or not, the story was just to prove that you can still get money back if there was an error or such).

[Dolmen]

After a certain amount of time you can lose your refunds, we have a client that didn't file for over 10 years and lost tens of thousands. Generally they won't come after you if they match everything and realize they owe you money, go figure. States might take parts of your refund, I'm not up to date on all of them. The IRS might have taken portions in the past, so I can't speak for policies pre-tax year 2006.