Results 1 to 5 of 5

Thread: I did my own taxes and survived.

  1. #1
    Veteran Member
    Joined
    Apr 2005
    Posts
    212
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post

    Default I did my own taxes and survived.

    Well, I did my own taxes and survived, thanks to Turbotax.

    I've been keeping a running record of all my work in spread sheet and keeping a spread sheet and paper folder of deductions.

    The adult entertainment business only accounted for a fraction of my earnings, as I have a 9 to 5 job, but I still ended up owing the IRS. No biggie, as I had money stashed away to pay them and my city. (The city I live in demands 2% of your income and will only credit you 0.5% on taxes paid to other cities.) It ended up being less than I had budgeted, so my savings account breathed a big sigh of relief. (I figured out taxes for 33% of what I'd earned and then a total of 2% for everything I'd earned at the city level.)

    I reported everything I earned. I'm not interested in "playing the game" and trying to hide income from the IRS. No thanks! Paying taxes sucks, especially when it doesn't seem to be helping my local school district at all, but what are you going to do? Death and taxes, right.

    I'm posting this partly as a morale booster for anyone considering doing taxes themselves and also to ask a question. Realistically, since I was a student in last tax season and my income wasn't very high, and since I didn't take out a whole lot of deductions (shoes, a hotel I had to pay for), how likely am I to be audited?

    I live in fear of audit. My parents' business got audited a while ago and it was a nightmare. I know that if it happens, I've kept detailed records.

  2. #2
    Banned Melonie's Avatar
    Joined
    Jul 2002
    Location
    way south of the border
    Posts
    25,932
    Thanks
    612
    Thanked 10,563 Times in 4,646 Posts
    Blog Entries
    3
    My Mood
    Cynical

    Default Re: I did my own taxes and survived.

    Realistically, since I was a student in last tax season and my income wasn't very high, and since I didn't take out a whole lot of deductions (shoes, a hotel I had to pay for), how likely am I to be audited?
    That's a VERY good question. There are a large number of reasons that contribute to higher audit risk. with a few of the majors being ...

    - income over $100k (probably not a big factor for you this year)

    - deductions representing a high percentage of income (also probably not a big factor)

    - random audits (actually three times higher risk for you because you must file with federal, state and city tax authorities, whereas residents of other states/cities only have to file federal and state, or even just federal)

    - automatic tax reporting documents sent to the IRS that disagree with your tax return (depends on what you reported vs what employers/others reported about you)

    - specific high audit risk occupations (which are known for 'cash' transactions, high rate of past non/under reporting)

    - specific high audit risk financial structures - one example foreign bank accounts

    - friends, family, co-workers calling in an anonymous tip about you

    - working for an employer/business which is already involved in tax trouble of their own

  3. #3
    Veteran Member TarynJolie's Avatar
    Joined
    Oct 2005
    Posts
    572
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default Re: I did my own taxes and survived.

    Doing your own taxes isn't a big risk if you keep good records and are honest about your income. And it sounds like that is what you did so I wouldn't worry too much about an audit.

    Don't fall for the sacre tactics some people will feed you that says otherwise.

    And good for you for being honest about your earnings too. Too many people in this country try to cheat. It's greedy and it screws us all in the end.

  4. #4
    God/dess GoldCoastGirl's Avatar
    Joined
    Oct 2002
    Location
    ...hehehe... email me to ask me where i am ! (i dare you!)
    Posts
    11,486
    Thanks
    42
    Thanked 127 Times in 51 Posts

    Default Re: I did my own taxes and survived.

    Quote Originally Posted by TarynJolie
    And good for you for being honest about your earnings too. Too many people in this country try to cheat. It's greedy and it screws us all in the end.
    Not just your country.. try Australia as well! I've met too many strippers who are just flippant about their taxes. They have 'stuff' in their name (car rego, tenancy lease for instance, etc) yet when it comes to tax.. "I havn't done one in years!"

    Whilst I do not live in fear of an audit I do realise that in the longer term (thinking big picture not just 5 feet in front of me, as such) I am going to be better off... esp. in re: wealth creation.


    enter: E3167322D9 for your 10% discount

  5. #5
    Banned Melonie's Avatar
    Joined
    Jul 2002
    Location
    way south of the border
    Posts
    25,932
    Thanks
    612
    Thanked 10,563 Times in 4,646 Posts
    Blog Entries
    3
    My Mood
    Cynical

    Default Re: I did my own taxes and survived.

    Doing your own taxes isn't a big risk if you keep good records and are honest about your income. And it sounds like that is what you did so I wouldn't worry too much about an audit.

    Don't fall for the sacre tactics some people will feed you that says otherwise.
    ^^ complete agreement here. With a good program like TurboTax there's absolutely no problem for a person to prepare their own tax return ... no matter how complex the taxable earnings are. I have used TurboTax with income from 6 different states, royalty income, foreign income, cap gains from stock sales, all sorts of deductions etc.

    If there is any difficulty, either during tax preparation or during an audit, it will come from lack of accurate documentation/recordkeeping.

    I've met too many strippers who are just flippant about their taxes. They have 'stuff' in their name (car rego, tenancy lease for instance, etc) yet when it comes to tax.. "I havn't done one in years!"
    This was/still is a frequent occurence in the USA as well. Additionally, some girls have the 'balls' not only to deliberately not report their dancing incomes, but to apply for and receive social welfare program benefits based on their very low reported incomes.

    However in the USA at least, the IRS is increasingly using automatic reporting and data transfer technologies to 'close the loop'. Increasingly this means that anybody who purchases a house or car or 'expensive' item, or anybody who has a 'significant' bank account / retirement account / investment account balance, will wind up having their previous tax returns cross-checked for a reported income which feasibly matches the amount of money they are spending / saving / investing. I'm sure that other countries are considering upgrading their own computer equipment and financial laws too in an effort to collect more tax revenue. Thus it is only a matter of time before earning money 'under the table' and then spending / saving / investing that unreported money will quickly land that person in front of an auditor and/or judge !

Similar Threads

  1. I survived LiveJasmin's......
    By Lady Xplicit18 in forum Other Work
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 12-21-2009, 06:09 AM
  2. Survived my first week!
    By Sia in forum Coming Out
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 09-12-2009, 08:55 AM
  3. I survived my first night
    By dzintra in forum Newbie Board
    Replies: 13
    Last Post: 04-30-2009, 10:20 AM
  4. Well I survived!!
    By Cally in forum Stripping (was Stripping General)
    Replies: 10
    Last Post: 09-05-2006, 10:04 PM
  5. I survived!!!!!!!!!!!!!:
    By mercedez in forum Body Business
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 03-19-2004, 04:19 PM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •