Fell off the wagon.

[Deer Slayer]

Today sucked, I found out I owe a bunch of money for taxes that I didn't know about! That really sux, because I'm broke, and don't see any immediate way to make some money!!! I had enough set aside to pay the tax that I thought was due at the end of the year, but it was supposed to be payed quarterly. The bungholes here in michigan have a 5% penalty per month, that goes to a maximum of 25% total, so I owe 25% more than expected. Damn tax laws, there's no way you could hope to understand it without a bunch of education. *** do they expect people to do, they don't make it clear at all what they owe!!! So I'm screwed, say bye bye to my truck, the only thing of value I own. Now I sit here halfway through a bottle of vodka, with no real desire to stop drinking. ***, should have just never filed, at least that way they would take a while to figure it out.

[guiness]

yea taxes suck alright, Am hoping like H** did em OK. Make that firewater last a little while at least, put on some tunes and enjoy.

I may lose my job of 28 years this July, your area is one that I will look to for employment before I think of leaving the state.

Grab a friend tomorrow and work things out! Good luck!

[Smurfer]

File online I just got done doing mine just now. 15.00 for the online federal form and 1.95 for state.

Also you may qualify for credit and ask for an extension, they have online help and am sure you can work it out with them. Don't stress they will actually work with you, if you have to... give them a call and ask for help. They can't take away your livelyhood if they take your truck everybody looses they know that.

[Deer Slayer]

That's what I owe!!! I have about $2000 if I can get it all together in time. It's not enough though, and I only was expecting about $1500. This blows, damn government. As if they don't steal enough money out of our pockets, they have to impose some stupid obscure penalty. This is so LAME, *** am I supposed to do???? Where am I gonna come up with $1000 in two days? This is absolutely retarded, I can't beleive how much this stupid penalty is!!! Damn it, I'll send them the $1500 and tell them to wait for the other $1000 and see how that works.

[guiness]

Had one year could not pay full amount, they let me set up payments, seems did $25.00 month, which was the minimum at that time.

[Smurfer]

You can ask for credit and an extension, I feel your pain in the penalty's, and I agree it's stupid to hit low-mid income people/family's when they already have enough to deal with. You better get in touch with somebody and start asking questions/help. And not filing is even worse because it will always come back at you in the end. Your doing the right thing and money comes and goes I used to stress over money, and learned not to... it's tough but my life is for the better.

[BBThumper]

......so how long were you on "the wagon" for?.........

[Deer Slayer]

I have $1500 for sure, I can get more if I scrounge. I'm so broke though, it's fricken ridiculous! My cat won't leave me alone, he knows something is wrong, weird how animals pick up on that stuff. Well, I've almost run out of vodka, and it's about time for bed. I'll be making phone calls hungover as h3ll. This is gonna suck, I hope I don't get hosed!!! If they allow me to make payments of like $200 a month or so I can do that. I dunno though, I haven't had a real job in so long they might not let me do it. If it weren't for the damn penalty, I'd be set!!! B4574RD5, they need to fix this crap! I guess they wouldn't make as much money on people's confusion if the did though.

[BBThumper]

.........you might be surprised if you call the I.R.S.. Working for them a few years back, I was always told if you go to them they will always work with you but if they have to come after you, forget about it. Good luck and give them a call in the morning. If you need any phone numbers let me know.......

[guiness]

Remember, on the phone, DO NOT **** them off! whatever you do! The code words of the convo should be .... yes maaam, yes sir, thank you... I know it sucks... but it goes a long way.

[Deer Slayer]

OMG, I'm trashed! Vodka goes down too easy, so I dunno what I'm gonna feel like when I wake up. I've killed about 2/3 of the bottle, and can't walk straight. I can still type though, but the keys are kinda fuzzy. If I close one eye it clears up a little though, 1 of the 3 buttons goes away! I'm not kidding, I can't see straight. Ugh, go eat a bunch of B12 and hope for the best!! Good night yall, I'm sure I'll get a late start tomorrow!!!

[guiness]

yep, bout noon or so see ya later neighbor

Take care

[PCBruiser]

Deer Slayer: You can pay taxes due over time. You use IRS Form 9465 (linked below to get the form) to do that. You file it with your tax return. You pay whatever you can now with the return, and then can spread the remaining payment in a budgeted amount each month. You can pick what you can affort to pay each month. So, pay the $1.5k than you have now, and then agree to pay a couple of hundred each month thereafter. Here is official info on this from the IRS web site:

What to Do If You Can’t Pay Your Taxes

Tax Tip 2005-69, April 7, 2005

If this year’s tax filing deadline will be a “pay” day for you and you cannot pay the full amount you owe, you should still file your return by the due date and pay as much as you can.

You can charge your taxes on your American Express, MasterCard, Visa or Discover cards. To pay by credit card, contact one of the service providers at its telephone number or Web site listed below and follow the instructions. The service providers charge a convenience fee based on the amount you are paying. Do not add the convenience fee to your tax payment.

• Official Payments Corporation
  
  1-800-2PAY-TAX (1-800-272-9829)
  
  www.officialpayments.com

• Link2Gov Corporation
  
  1-888-PAY-1040 (1-888-729-1040)
  
  www.pay1040.com

If this option is not a good one, you may be able to pay any remaining balance over time in monthly installments through an installment agreement. If you can not fully pay your taxes, you can apply to pay less than the full amount owed through the Offer in Compromise program.

To apply for an installment payment plan, attach Form 9465, Installment Agreement Request, to the front of your tax return. The IRS has streamlined the approval process if your total taxes (not counting interest, penalties or other additions) do not exceed $25,000 and can be paid off in five years or less. Be sure to show the amount of your proposed monthly payment and the date you wish to make your payment each month.

The IRS charges a $43 fee for setting up an installment agreement. You will also be charged interest plus a late payment penalty on the unpaid taxes. The late payment penalty is usually one-half of one percent per month or part of a month of your unpaid tax. The penalty rate is reduced to one-quarter of one percent for any month an Installment Agreement is in effect if you filed your return by the due date (including extensions). The maximum failure to pay penalty is 25 percent of the tax paid late.

If you do not file your return by the due date (including extensions), you may have to pay a penalty for filing late. The penalty for failing to file and pay timely is usually five percent of the unpaid tax for each month or part of a month that your return is late. The maximum penalty for failure to file and pay on time is 25 percent of your unpaid tax.

For more information about filing and paying your taxes, refer to the Form 1040 Instructions or IRS Publication 17, Your Federal Income Tax. You can download forms and publications from this Web site or request a free copy by calling toll free 1-800-TAX-FORM (1-800-829-3676).

Taxpayers who need Form 9465 or any other federal tax form or publication should act soon to be sure they have the item in time to meet the April deadline.

Links:

• Electronic Payment Options
• www.officialpayments.com
• www.pay1040.com
• Form 9465, Installment Agreement Request (PDF 100K)
• Installment payment process
• Partial Pay Installment Agreements
• Is an Offer in Compromise Right for You?
• Publication 17, Your Federal Income Tax (PDF 2,072K)

Note, all the forms you need are either in tax software or may be downloaded from the IRS site in PDF format for printing.

[KingTermite]

Yes, it is too hard to understand. There is a lot of press about that this year (more than previous years) because somebody set up some sort of investigation and discovered that even IRS didn't understand it and was giving bad advice.

The stats I heard were that 98% of the tax laws apply to 2% of the population. I've been hearing that scream for a "flat tax" more this year than previous!

Personally, I'd like to see that happen (the flat tax).

[Ford Freak]

*shivers*flat tax*shivers more*

The rich people are going to love it or the poor people are going to hate it. Could be both also. I remember hearing about that when I was in my early teens almost 12 years ago! I am getting old. Time for cheap insurance in a couple months.

GL with getting them to help you out. I had to pay $200 one year to a greedy state I wasn't even living in. That was Alabama. After that, I changed my residency to WA. I know it isn't as much as you have to pay but it still sucked.