Tax advice?

"Desu-San-Desu" (Desu-San-Desu) 02/05/2014 at 21:56 • Filed to: None

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So it's come time for me to file taxes. And I'm nervous and such. Moreso than usual, actually. Why? Because I have three separate W-2's (I had 3 jobs over the last year), which in and of itself wouldn't be that bad. But the real issue is that the last job, the AT&T job, had me save all my receipts for things like gas and food and such that I could use as job expenses.

I've never filed job expenses before.

I don't even know where to begin. So, I have 3 W-2's and a shoebox full of receipts for job expenses.

What do I do? What forms do I get? How do I add up the job expenses? Etc. etc.

Textured Soy Protein > Desu-San-Desu 02/05/2014 at 22:05

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I use turbotax, it's got a section for going over work expenses. If you have receipts it shouldn't be too hard.

dogisbadob > Desu-San-Desu 02/05/2014 at 22:11

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Another vote for Turbotax.

The gas and food and shit probably won't matter, especially if AT&T already reimbursed you for them.

Seems like a simple 1040EZ return that shouldn't be too bad.

desertdog5051 > Desu-San-Desu 02/05/2014 at 22:12

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Definitely Turbo Tax. They walk you through all the steps. I use it.

ttyymmnn > Desu-San-Desu 02/05/2014 at 22:14

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Turbotax or any other online tax preparation site will walk you right through it. There's a chance that the deductions won't make all that much of a difference, and you can leave them out if it makes you feel better.

Disclaimer : I am not a tax adviser. In fact, my wife does our taxes every year. I just rub her shoulders and refill her wine glass.

Desu-San-Desu > dogisbadob 02/05/2014 at 22:17

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Er...no. They didn't reimburse me for a single red cent- hence why they told me to keep my receipts. I also kept my receipt for the $300 I spent on dress clothes while job searching- assuming I could deduct that as a job-seeking expense.

XJDano > Desu-San-Desu 02/05/2014 at 22:32

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I also use turbo tax.

I have heard different things about milage and what one can claim.

I am a Union Laborer, but have worked for same company for 14 years. From a tax preparer person I have heard that I would have to drive to the company office, then to job site to be able to claim miles from office to site. Other guys have a work car for work only and claim all miles for that car, other guys claim milage from house to job site, I have also heard that the milage we can claim is only from the union hall to job site, that is if we travel to the union hall everyday before going to the job site.

The definition I was told by a pro would actually work well for me as I live 4 miles from the shop and basically have to pass it to get on highway anywhere I'm going. But I don't readily keep track of milage because I drive work trucks a lot and can't claim those.

I have heard that anything you buy food or hotel that is outside your Home region, you can claim.

I have been using Turbo tax since 2008 when I Married my wife and haven't got audited or anything. I also have a house and a rental property. the more crap you got the more you pay for turbo tax, like I have to pay $80-90 because of of the rental property is added as income although it is a loss.

Your best bet may be to pay a pro and ask all the questions and what you can can't claim, how much, ect. then use turbo tax from then on.

Although I do claim house interests, kids, and all, but I don't claim milage, or out of town expenses because I'm just not that organized, and dealing with the IRS isn't worth the few dollars I'd be trying to get back.

Good Luck

The Malibu is the first ad on my Local CL, and its free to look at.

jvirgs drives a Subaru > Desu-San-Desu 02/05/2014 at 22:34

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Honestly, Turbo tax or H&R Block Tax Cut (or whatever they call it now) is going to be your best bet. The only issue you are going to have with those expenses is they are considered misc. business expenses and are not fully deductible. The amount of expenses are deductible above 2% of your Adjusted Gross Income. There are a few things that go into getting to your AGI.

Desu-San-Desu > jvirgs drives a Subaru 02/05/2014 at 22:40

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So...if I only made $15k last year, and have receipts for about $1,500 in misc. job-related expenses, then $1,200 should be deductible?

Desu-San-Desu > XJDano 02/05/2014 at 22:42

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I had to drive to the office (20 minutes), then out to my job site (average of 30 minutes), often times having to drive house-to-house in the more rural areas, then drive back to the office, then back home.

And what's the deal with the Malibu? o.0

I'm trying to avoid having to pay a professional because I need every penny I can get.

jvirgs drives a Subaru > Desu-San-Desu 02/05/2014 at 22:48

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No. Its a lot more complicated than that. And based on some of your comments, some of those expenses may not be deductible. Your best bet is to get the software and it will do a good job of walking you through what you need to fill out from your W2's, where to put any business expenses (i believe it does explain what can and cannot be deducted). If you don't feel comfortable doing your taxes on your own with the software, you may want to go a place like H&R Block and have someone help prepare your taxes and answer any questions you have.

XJDano > Desu-San-Desu 02/05/2014 at 22:53

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just words are boring, pay no attention to the car that has nothing to do with the topic at hand.

Sounds like you should be able to claim everything you drove from your shop and house to house, but not back to your home. ( thats how it was explained to me)

If you claim milage you won't be able to do the ez1040, I don't think, but you can get fill everything out, and see how much you get. It only charges you when you submit CC# and send to IRS.

awe46m3zcp > Desu-San-Desu 02/05/2014 at 23:10

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I use taxactonline.com. Costs like $25 to e-file federal and state electronicaly. Definitely deduct your expenses. If you made $15000 that puts you in the 15% tax bracket, so you're looking at saving a couple hundred dollars. $200 is worth an hour of your time listing them all. They'll explain what's deductible as you go. Keep your receipts in case you get audited, but I highly doubt you will on $1500 of expenses. The IRS would rather target someone claiming 6 or 7 figures in expenses.

HiredHand > Desu-San-Desu 02/06/2014 at 00:38

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Best advice I ever got for running a small (meaning me) business: Find an accountant who you trust and pay him promptly.

As an experiment one year I did my taxes myself and then took them to him. His version came out with me owing about 3K less. Magic I'll gladly pay a couple hundred for.