I file my taxes as soon as possible, since we usually get a return. They're already spent and stored away. I do my own with the help of a free online company.
Ask the Readers: Have You Filed Your Taxes Yet?
Photo: Alan Cleaver
Editor's Note: Congratulations to Guest, Jacqueline, and renee for winning this week's contest!
Tax season is upon us again! The joys of getting confused by tax code and sending your money off to the IRS tends to make this time of year not so fun for everyone. The filing deadline this year is April 17th since April 15th is a Sunday and April 16th is Emancipation Day in the District of Columbia.
Have you filed your taxes yet? Did you (or will you) use a tax professional to do your taxes? If you get a refund, how will you spend it?
Tell us if you've filed your taxes and we'll enter you in a drawing to win a $20 Amazon Gift Card!
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Good Luck!
I filed mine as soon as all the forms came in the mail. Already have my return and bought new windows with it!
We have not filed our taxes yet. We used to use a professional tax preparer, but now my husband does them. We are going to take a vacation with our return this year.
My husband and I filed our taxes on January 31st! Once we received all of our tax documents, we were excited to file jointly for the first time so we knocked it out in a few hours. We did not hire a professional, we used Turbotax with the USAA discount and once we received our return, we immediately used it to make an additional principal payment on our new home.
We have not yet filed our taxes. My husband likes to do them but usually waits until the last minute! Last year we used our return toward paying down the principal on our mortgage. If we get a return this year, that's probably what we'll do again, or we'll apply it toward our daughter's college fund.
Haven't filed taxes yet (need an extension because not all info in by 4/15).
No tax professional (unless you count TurboTax).
Don't think I'll get a refund this year, but won't owe any extra taxes either. :)
I haven't done my taxes yet, and I plan to go to a professional sometime within the next 2 weeks. And since I've been responsibly paying down debt for a couple years now, I plan to use my refund (if I get one) to help pay for a nice, week-long vacation. I might have to use some of the refund to buy a new phone after the vacation...because I might throw it into the ocean :)
I have had my taxes done since February 9th.
I don't use tax services, I just do my own taxes.
As for my refund, it is going in the bank to be put towards a down payment on a house.
I have totally already filed my taxes with TaxACT! No one was going to come between me and my direct deposit refund this year :-P
Have you filed your taxes yet? Did you (or will you) use a tax professional to do your taxes? If you get a refund, how will you spend it?
Yes! My husband and I filed in early February -- as soon as we received all of our paperwork. Our local library hosts the United Way, who has volunteers come in to help people do their taxes for free. They helped us notice (and fix!) some problems last year, so we went back again this year.
This is our first year with any dependants, and we have two! We received a better refund than we ever had in the past. We budgeted all of it -- half immediately went on a credit card, more went into savings, some was earmarked for car repairs, and a bed for our son.
The remainder was split evening between my husband and I. He chose to spend all of his portion on a ski trip. I still have most of mine, but I have budgeted it, also, for likes like a winter coat (when they go on clearance) and non-maternity jeans. ;)
I did file my taxes already through a professional and the refund is going into our savings account :)
We filed our taxes at the beginning of February. Our refund (not much, but enough for a nice out to eat) was deposited by Valentine's Day.
I have yet to file my taxes--I know I'm losing out on the interest I could be making in my rewards checking account but this has not led me to file them yet...procrastination has reared its ugly head...perhaps I should read your article on 10 ways to stop procrastination!
Filed the first available day, got it back before they started delaying, and spent it on 1) a credit card balance, 2) property taxes, and 3) replacing tires on the car.
We have not filed yet, but have had them prepared so we could complete the FAFSA. Haven't sent them in yet because we owe, so holding off until we have to do it.
I have already filed my taxes myself (in both DC and VA for the second year in a row - don't move between states - it's a hassle!) All of my refunds came in pretty quickly, and I've decided to invest in a cyclo cross bike to get me around the city (just for fun, not commuting). Picking up the bike tonight and heading out on the trails!
My husband and I filed our taxes (both state and federal) through our CPA on February 25th. We've already received our federal refund and have put part of it in savings and used the other part to pay bills.
I have! We filed with a tax professional, so it was very quick. With the refund, we bought ourselves tablets, screen protectors, and cases. There's still some refund remaining, though, so I'm trying to decide whether to save it or splurge on my first leather bag.
Ack! No I haven't! I need to soon, though, just to know how much money I owe. Ah, the joys of being self-employed.
And here's my tweet with the answer: https://twitter.com/#!/sushimustwrite/status/179599650909724673
Yes, I filed just haven't paid yet. Used Turbo tax, sent the state return via paper form, and filed the federal form electronically. Federal, is the one waiting to be paid. For my state refund, will probably go to pay Fed (if it comes on-time), and to pay off credit card debt.
I did my taxes myself using the TurboTax software. Why pay a professional when I can do it myself? I'm not getting a refund though, boo!
I havn't files our tax but looked them over and well will get a refund. I will do our taxes myself. The refund will go towards our property taxes!
Yes, I have already did my & my husbands taxes...that was the main reason we got into the computer age over 10 yrs ago. We used to take it to a "tax place" and I saw the person do it rather quick, just punching in numbers...etc. and then charge us an arm & a leg for doing it. I thought I could do that, ...so with our refund that year, we bought a computer, and I have been doing them ever since :) We did get a refund, and save it for home repair, possible vacation, or emergencies when they arise...
Liked you on Facebook.
I already filed taxes, and did them myself. I had to pay in because I freelance. :(
I did our return as soon as all the docs were in! We purposely get only a small refund each year (I don't like letting them hold my money interest free!) and it will go into our emergency fund!
I've done them with TurboTax online, but not filed yet as I need to check them over once more. I'll be getting a good refund, which is mostly earmarked for savings~ part for my Christmas fund.
yep and used my refund to pay off my credit card debt. dear government, you're welcome for that no-interest loan, and thanks for giving it back rapidly.
Filed my taxes and have already received my return. :) I've paid to have my taxes done since I was in high school because my first boss was also an accountant! Now I live far away but I still send him my forms. It's nice to have someone you trust has your best interests in mind, because he's super thorough. My refund goes into savings for now.
I filed my taxes in February, as soon as we received all of our pertinent documents. I have always used Turbo Tax to do my taxes. This year I got a refund and it is being used to do repairs around my house so I can get it ready to sell.
I filed my taxes. I wanted to use my refund this year to buy a new computer but instead I fixed my old computer and used the rest to help out with brother's school tuition.
Yes, just finished last night using Turbo Tax; will owe $700 to Fed and CA... never give them my money to use interest-free and never pay more than $1000 total each year. :)
I haven't filed my taxes yet, but when I do, I'll use TaxAct Online as I have the past few years. And when I get my refund, I'll use it to pay bills.
Yes, I file them as soon as all the documents arrive in the mail. We will save half and use the other half towards a family vacation.
Of course not... that's my spring break activity. What I'm gonna do when I work outside academia, I'll never know...
We haven't filed yet, but almost finished! We used turbotax, but we have some tax experience, so we feel pretty comfortable. Will probably save most of our refund, but put a little towards some house projects.
Not only have we filed. We've received our refund, spent $900 of it on bedroom furniture for our son and sent the rest to the credit card we are currently snowballing. Take that, debt!
Filed the end of February. Didn't get a large refund (which is good!) but put it towards some savings goals.
I haven't filed yet. I usually file as early as possible, but this year has been too busy. I will be using TurboTax. I plan to put my refund in the bank.
I've filed already and used a professional tax preparer to do so. A home purchase late last year - after many years of renting - significantly changed my tax situation too late in the year to make changes to withholding, so I'm getting a large refund. Have already received the federal; still waiting on the state (California!). Spending part of the refund to purchase a washing machine; rest is going into a savings account earmarked for future home repairs/upgrades.
We filed our taxes the instant our W2's all arrived in the mail. And there's no way on earth I want to try to file them myself, so I hire a professional to do them for me.
Yes, filed my taxes using free fillable forms that I printed out and mailed last week. Refund will go towards children's college funds.
We went to our accountant to get the taxes done in Feb., but NO we haven't filed them yet because we're waiting for one more piece of information. There is no rush for us since my husband is self-employed and we owe : )
I have not filed my return yet. I am still awaiting my final forms and will rush them to my accountant as soon as they are in hand. This is the same routine every year. I file them the weekend before they are due.
We file ours as soon as we get all the info in. I worry about procrastinating and then being rushed to get it together.
I did my federal in February but the headache of my state taxes has led me to procrastinate on those!
I filed my taxes about 2 weeks ago using online tax software and e-filing. I received by federal refund in about 10 days and will use that money for pure pleasure activities during my upcoming trip to the Florida Keys.
I filed my taxes by myself for the first time a few weeks ago! I used to rely on my sister for help, but was amazed at how easy it actually is! A coworker also just pointed me in the direction of another tax break: I currently live in Cincinnati, but up until a few weeks ago worked in an office across the river in Kentucky. For every day that I did not work in Kentucky in 2010 and 2011 (worked from home, went on business trips), I got a break on the local income tax I was paying in Kentucky!
Yes, I filed already. Sort of like pulling of a band aid; you want it over quick. I used a local tax pro. He was rather impressed at how close to zero I got this year. Needless to say, I was hoping for a bigger refund.
We haven't yet filed our taxes (our deadline is April 30th). We're still waiting for statements to be mailed to us... but otherwise, we're all set. I know we'll be owing an arm and a leg this year... so we're not too eager to do our darn taxes.
yes, I have filed my taxes. I used the H&R Block office near my house. I'll spend my refund only on necessities like food and electricity. Thank-you.
I have filed my federal taxes, but not state taxes yet. I live in a state that requires a jointly-filed state return for people registered as domestic partners, but since my partner has not yet filed her federal taxes, I am waiting on her to get the state taxes done.
Just finished mine this past weekend!!! My refund(s) are going straight into the savings account. I hope to buy new windows this year for my condo.
Not yet - everything's organized and ready to enter though. I try to gauge it so that I just owe a bit each year - don't want to give Uncle Sam an interest free loan. Usually I file my own taxes, but this year I'm making use a friend's new tax service -less stress for me and business for her and about the same cost. If I happen to get a bit back, well, it'll go into the emergency fund I'm building.
