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Tax forms and finding them

Jan 30, 2015 4:19AM PST

Since, I visit the library locally as returning patron, you notice things. One issue arising are other visitors asking about "tax forms". While none locally have arrived or anything 1040, it seems that things have changed. No longer are many of the "printed forms" present to be gotten. Only the immediate 1040 forms themselves will arrive, however little else. Going online to print any other forms or finding information(pamphlets) is going to be the norm. Maybe stopping in the tax federal building may have forms, but for now most of the USA is going without. Why? Due the passage of "US paper reduction act":

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-104publ13/html/PLAW-104publ13.htm

This is now really hitting an area that surely has a lot of paperwork to rummage through. Just visit the:

http://www.irs.gov

Find the links to your needs. Have a flash drive to save any forms and/or instructions, I think 1040A is over 80 pages for instructions/information.

good luck America -----Willy Happy

Discussion is locked

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pub 17
Jan 30, 2015 4:27AM PST

Best instruction form for each year. Goes into greater detail than the regular 1040 instruction manual.

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I'd been able to find them in the post office
Jan 30, 2015 4:54AM PST

but I rarely go there anymore. Taxes have become so complicated even for regular folks who itemize. You need separate forms and sometimes worksheets. If you give stuff to the VOA or other outfit that picks up clothing, household items and other stuff at your front steps, you need to show how you calculated the value of what you gave. You need to keep receipts and copies of cancelled checks. Of course the bank doesn't send those to you and need to find them on line. For Ohio, you need to keep track of on-line purchases for which no sales tax was collected so you can ante up when you file your state taxes. If you've any sort of investment income or interest bearing account, you need to keep the 1099s and add those on the appropriate lines. There's a form needed to show the name of the institution that provided the 1099s to you. If you're on SS, as I am now, you need to do a worksheet to calculate how much of that income is taxable. Take a look at the convoluted way that's calculated sometime. You also may need to figure your taxes using several possible scenarios to see which benefits you. Gone are the days when I could just use the EZ forms, attach my W-2, and get back money. It would take all of 15 minutes.

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RE: If you give stuff to the VOA or other outfit that picks
Jan 30, 2015 4:59AM PST
If you give stuff to the VOA or other outfit that picks up clothing, household items and other stuff at your front steps, you need to show how you calculated the value of what you gave.

Don't they give you a receipt for the amount that they received for your donation? Wouldn't that prevent overestimating on the donors part?
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They don't calculate the value for you
Jan 30, 2015 6:09AM PST

They don't even look at the stuff. You get a ticket (receipt) blank. You fill it out with what you consider it to be worth...the honor system. When you do your taxes, you fill out a form for what you gave that wasn't in the form of cash, check, or had a letter stating the value. You tell how you arrived at that value. There are no guidelines so you have to make something up.