IRS Does Not Seem to be Slowed Down

It is tax time again and there seems to be some fear this year because of all the people being cut from the federal government. A lot of people are worried that Elon Musk and his seemingly gang of 20-year-old thugs is going to slow down tax returns being mailed to honest working Americans. Knowing this, I sat down last week and worked to get my extra complicated taxes filed. It took all week but I submitted them on Saturday afternoon. I then read the fine print and discovered I should expect my return within 21 days.

One of the reasons I have a complicated tax return this year is I cashed out a rather sizeable investment which I promptly reinvested in something with much better returns. The only problem is that I have to pay capital gains on the increase over the past 30-plus years. In doing so, I withheld federal taxes as if you owe more than something like $1,000 you will get hit with penalties. The state of Utah is different in that as long as you pay your taxes by April 15th, there are no penalties. My hope was that I would get enough back on my federal taxes to cover what I owe the state. I am actually getting slightly more back than I owe so I might be able to take my wife out to dinner or something. I did my taxes early enough that receiving the federal return within that 21 days would give me more than enough time to pay my state taxes.

Today I had to log into my bank account for a completely unrelated issue and noticed my balance is larger than expected. I clicked on the details and noticed that my federal tax return is sitting in my account ready to be sent to the state of Utah. It only took 5 days for me to receive my refund! This is the fastest I have ever received a tax return.

Let me return to my second sentence in this post about Elon Musk and his seemingly gang of 20-year-old thugs slowing down tax returns. I think this is one myth that doesn't fly with me. Granted my experience is one in 300-plus million Americans and your experience may vary. However I'd like to believe that the mere threat of dead wood being cut from the federal government has lit a fire under IRS workers and they are working with the speed we haven't seen in decades.

Tax Preparation Software

Last week I was able to carve out some time and complete my federal income taxes. As I work in California but live in Utah, I have to file in both states and got them done as well. That makes for a lot of paperwork.

A lot has changed since I first started doing taxes several decades ago. I used to fill them out by hand. Then a little company created a software package to help make the job easier. I continue to use Turbo Tax to this day. It is a great piece of software and I recommend it if you prepare your own taxes.

The beauty of tax software today is that it immediately files your paperwork with the appropriate agencies and dramatically reduces the time it takes to get your return. This is great for someone like me who will be getting money back from the Feds and the state of California. The sooner I get my money, the sooner I can use it to pay the money I owe to Utah. One week after filing, I received my first of two refunds. Now that is fast.