Presidential Election Campaign Fund tax question

[Amethyst]

It took me many many many years to convince my husband that he should be checking yes on the box on our tax returns to the question: Do you want $3 to go to the Presidential Election Campaign Fund?

I'm surprised how few people check this. Certainly I know that we need much more campaign finance reform, but I always think of this question this way: Of ALL the money that you pay us for taxes, Ms. Citizen, you get to decide where $3 of it gets to go. Now, you can forfeit this right, and we'll decide for you, just like we do for all the other money you give us. But here's your chance. What do you say? Three dollars towards a fund that is trying to have public financing of presidential elections? Or let Congress decide? Maybe we'll use your $3 for more bombs, or more nuclear weapons. Who knows where will put your money!

Does anyone else here check yes? (And yes, I know that this fund has not been successful and most candidates don't use it so they are steering the money to other causes.)

Bonus question: Does anyone else here still do their own taxes? I mean without the help of a professional? Or without the help of a computer program?

[kokotg]

I have always checked it, but now that no one uses it anymore it feels a bit pointless. And we do our own taxes, although we have enough self-employment income/deductions at this point that we probably shouldn't. I'm super cautious about deductions--probably much more so than an accountant would be. Oh--just reread--I do use Turbo Tax.

[Amethyst]

I tried Turbo Tax (two years in a row) and I got so frustrated by the amount of information that they wanted me to put in before we even got to doing the taxes, so I eventually gave up. 

Although, I mean it, next year I'm having someone else do our taxes. I've never had someone do ours. But it gets more and more complicated every year. Next year dh will be all self-employed, there will (hopefully) be the sale of a rental property, and I'm tired of ending up in tears. I find it ridiculous that my 24 year old daughter has friends who PAY someone to do their taxes when they have ONE job and NO property - what a waste of money. But I think I've done enough years of this to have earned paying someone else!

[mlktwins]

I have never checked that box.

I do my dad's taxes by hand.  I do ours by Turbo Tax, but it is easy now that all the main information from previous years is imported into the current year's return.  I am doing my in-laws for the first time this year.  DH wanted to use Turbo Tax and I think that may be making it harder this year with the info we are having to put in.  But...it may make it easier for next year.  It is started in Turbo Tax so we are going to continue with it.  They are not able to help with any of it now so I hope we get through it ok.

[vonfirmath]

I don't check it. And I don't see it as "here is a way to tell Congress how to use $3 of the taxes" -- esp as you say, since no one uses it so the money gets used elsewise anyway.  When congress pays for something, then they get to put constraints on how it is used. I'd rather choose with more granularity which politicians I will support than to have my money paying for all of them in the election process.

 

[Ailaena]

No way would I check that box without knowing exactly where the money goes.   Yes, I do understand where it’s *supposed* to go.

I suppose I could argue that I don’t know where most of our tax money goes, but I don’t have a choice in that.

Plus, although I see you can say it is supporting the process as opposed to the person, I don’t particularly feel supportive of any of that, at all.

We do our own paper taxes because everything is straightforward for us right now.

[Lanny]

I always check the boxes about the Presidential campaign fund. 

I use an Online version of TurboTax.  On some of the issues with our tax returns, I would be lost without it.

They have Free Support which I believe is U.S. based. By phone if you want to call. Or, online.

Recently, I was contemplating changing our Married Filing Jointly return to Married Filing Separately, because we are one of the approximately 8 million "mxied" families where one spouse has a SSN (me) and one spouse has an ITIN (DW).  I created a thread in the TurboTax Support Forum.  That was during the week. To my amazement, I had a thorough reply from a TurboTax employee, in approximately 30 to 60 minutes explaining why I should not file an Amended Return. It looks like I will get the Refund, without having filed an Amended return and done a lot of unnecessary work for that tax year.

As to TurboTax asking a lot of questions, yes they do that, but if you want to, you can bypass that and go directly to the thing you want to work on at that time. TurboTax is far from perfect but the help they have available is IMO incredibly important if you need help.

If someone needs a live tax professional, I suggest considering an "IRS Enrolled Agent" in addition to a CPA.  Probably far less expensive and possibly more knowledgeable about certain tax issues.  I used one when I lived in Texas.

[vonfirmath]

46 minutes ago, Lanny said:

I always check the boxes about the Presidential campaign fund. 

I use an Online version of TurboTax.  On some of the issues with our tax returns, I would be lost without it.

They have Free Support which I believe is U.S. based. By phone if you want to call. Or, online.

Recently, I was contemplating changing our Married Filing Jointly return to Married Filing Separately, because we are one of the approximately 8 million "mxied" families where one spouse has a SSN (me) and one spouse has an ITIN (DW).  I created a thread in the TurboTax Support Forum.  That was during the week. To my amazement, I had a thorough reply from a TurboTax employee, in approximately 30 to 60 minutes explaining why I should not file an Amended Return. It looks like I will get the Refund, without having filed an Amended return and done a lot of unnecessary work for that tax year.

As to TurboTax asking a lot of questions, yes they do that, but if you want to, you can bypass that and go directly to the thing you want to work on at that time. TurboTax is far from perfect but the help they have available is IMO incredibly important if you need help.

If someone needs a live tax professional, I suggest considering an "IRS Enrolled Agent" in addition to a CPA.  Probably far less expensive and possibly more knowledgeable about certain tax issues.  I used one when I lived in Texas.

My mother was an Enrolled AGent for a while. It was a difficult test to earn the designation, and then she had to do continuing education to keep it. She eventually decided to let it go because it was so hard to keep up with.

[Amethyst]

2 hours ago, Ailaena said:

 

I suppose I could argue that I don’t know where most of our tax money goes, but I don’t have a choice in that.

 

 

But you do have a choice about this one teeny tiny thing! And if you choose no, fine, but I feel like many (most?) people think that they are making a contribution and they are paying more tax because of it.

[TravelingChris]

No, we don't do it. None of the candidates use it anymore so it is pointless.  I did taxes by hand since I was 13 and my father died and my mom got situational depresssion.   Then as programs like TurboTax and H and R Block arose, I used those for about 14 years.  Then our taxes got too complicated so we have switched to an accountant/

[Bootsie]

42 minutes ago, Amethyst said:

But you do have a choice about this one teeny tiny thing! And if you choose no, fine, but I feel like many (most?) people think that they are making a contribution and they are paying more tax because of it.

I don't see this really as a choice--I can "choose" one thing.  Yes, if I don't, the $ may go for a bomb, but the $ may go for something I would MUCH prefer. And, I don't think, even if every person in the US check it, that it would make a bit of difference in the spending/budget of the government or that they would use any less money on the things I would prefer the government not spend my tax money on.

 

[WildflowerMom]

if no one uses it, where does that money go?   

[Bootsie]

To me it is much like "choosing" where a United Way donation goes, at least in my local area.  United Way allocates money to different groups separate from, and before it gets donations where people "choose" where they want their money to go.  So, it has already been decided that $500K will go to Boy Scouts and $200K will go to Feed the Hungry.  If I check that I want my $1000 donation to go to Feed the Hungry it does NOT mean that Feed the Hungry gets $1000 more than it would have otherwise, it just means that less of the money in the "undesignated" pot goes to Feed the Hungry.  

[Ailaena]

2 hours ago, WildflowerMom said:

if no one uses it, where does that money go?   

I believe the money goes to the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act that puts the money in an NIH common fund that gives grants for pediatric research.

 

[Longtime Lurker]

I have never checked that box, but I do realize that it would not cost us extra to do so.

I have always done our taxes by hand. I used to do them on paper, but a few years ago I started using the IRS Free Fillable Forms. It is just like doing it on paper (it does not figure out anything for you except for it will do some addition and subtraction), but gives you the ability to e-file. I still always work through our whole return on literal paper first. If you currently do your taxes on actual paper, I highly recommend the Free Fillable Forms. But they are not a substitute for any kind of tax software. And, honestly, they are not super user-friendly even for the tax savvy. This year I took the extra step of looking up the actual IRS Free Fillable Forms Line-by-Line Instructions, which turned out to be super helpful 🙂

[Amethyst]

51 minutes ago, Longtime Lurker said:

 

I have always done our taxes by hand. I used to do them on paper, but a few years ago I started using the IRS Free Fillable Forms. It is just like doing it on paper (it does not figure out anything for you except for it will do some addition and subtraction), but gives you the ability to e-file. I still always work through our whole return on literal paper first. If you currently do your taxes on actual paper, I highly recommend the Free Fillable Forms. But they are not a substitute for any kind of tax software. And, honestly, they are not super user-friendly even for the tax savvy. This year I took the extra step of looking up the actual IRS Free Fillable Forms Line-by-Line Instructions, which turned out to be super helpful 🙂

I do the same thing. I do it on paper, and then when I’m satisfied, I use the fillable forms so it’s nice and neat when I mail it in (snail mail). 

[Longtime Lurker]

2 minutes ago, Amethyst said:

I do the same thing. I do it on paper, and then when I’m satisfied, I use the fillable forms so it’s nice and neat when I mail it in (snail mail). 

Have you considered e-filing with the fillable forms?

[Amethyst]

3 minutes ago, Longtime Lurker said:

Have you considered e-filing with the fillable forms?

I think I thought about it at the beginning of this year’s ordeal but then forgot at the end and just printed them out as usual. 

[Longtime Lurker]

18 minutes ago, Amethyst said:

I think I thought about it at the beginning of this year’s ordeal but then forgot at the end and just printed them out as usual. 

I first started e-filing when the IRS made a mistake on our refund several years ago. I called to ask about it, explaining that I had a copy of our paper form and expressing confusion since their correction notice had a different number in one spot. The IRS rep explained that they don't keep the paper forms anywhere. Instead, someone manually enters the numbers from the paper form into their computer system. And that someone had entered it incorrectly. Totally understandable of course because mistakes happen, but I still had to file an amended return even though my original return was correct. So that's when I decided I would enter all the numbers into their computer system myself 🙂