The great Tax Frustation!

This is part of the venting that I mentioned I would do from time to time, just to warn you!

I have an accountant. I like him. He gives me money every year. Marty likes him too but wants to try Turbo Tax this year. . I thought "How hard can it be, let's try it out."

And so the frustration began.

I was beginning to gather our documents and planned to tackle the taxes in the next week or two. Until Marty found out that the Bogus Basin season pass sale ends last night. We made an arrangement that he would purchase passes for him and Cole with part of our refund, if we got enough back. I was a little stressed to have a deadline, however, I was also happy so we could just get them finished and off our minds.

We sat together, ready to do it when Marty received a phone call from a classmate and realized that he had an assignment that was due. Once again, I wasn’t thrilled that 1) we were doing Turbo Tax. 2) I now have a deadline and 3) I’ll be doing it by myself while Marty does his homework and he's the one that's good with the numbers. I am not, I have accepted this about myself and doing this will only make me feel bad. Because I am wrapping up my Body Shop business this year, there were SO many questions. Which of course leads to a bigger refund, but so time consuming and some of them I just didn't understand. I'm getting a little more frustrated now and start complaining a bit when Marty tells me "If you can't say something positive, just don't say anything" WHAT! Are you kidding me! This was his deal, not mine, so he will listen to me vent when needed. Yea, I went there. ;)

Finally, it's O-V-E-R! And we were pleases with the return amount, quiet a bit larger than usual, and I was thinking that Turbo Tax is the only way to go!

I checked my email this morning and have a message from Turbo Tax "Your Federal Return has been rejected by the IRS"- How scary does that sound?? I click away and learn that it's an issue with the electronic signature in order to E-File. Here's the issue...I just recently technically changed my last name on my SS card- I don't know why, I guess being a stay at home Mom, I never HAD to change it, so I didn't want to go through the hassle of going to the SS office if I didn't need to, until I starting working at the cafe of course, that finally made me do it! So, Marty and I have always filed Married, Jointly, but with my maiden name. In order to E -File with Turbo Tax, you must sign the form electronically by entering in your Adjusted Gross Income from the previous year's tax return, then answer the question...Did you file Married with your spouse or separately. Well, married, I assumed. It didn't like that answer since Cassandra M. H wasn't in their records. I tried and tried again and again, with no luck. My special situation isn't an option. After much searching, my friend, Kaia, found the phone number to call for help. The lady there informed me that I need to print the signature form and mail it in, which could extend receiving our refund a month! That's such a bummer when you are expecting it sooner. =( I informed her that they should think about putting situations like this on there next year. And that I am now less likely to recommend this product. She was really nice though, that helped.

BUT of course, it couldn't end there, I had to call the IRS (again, scary!) to be sure that is the correct form. A nice man, Mr. something official, answered and asked me what department I needed. I tried to give him the short and sweet version (aren't YOU jealous? HA!), and he misunderstood which drove me to explain the situation in depth and his response was "I am not able to give an advice or opinion". Thanks buddy. Thanks. My story ends with me being on hold for 42 minutes and hanging up because at that point, I was left with 4 minutes on my phone for the next 2 days. Isn't that the most frustrating thing ever? I'm washing my hands of this- it's up to Marty now. I just can't handle it. He's happy though, he was able to purchase the Season passes. Thank you and goodbye, I must breathe for a moment. I will end on a good note though…Cole and I are heading outside to view to eclipse with his new telescope. It will be the perfect ending to this day. And coming soon…pictures from our girls day at the park and a post seeking advice for a little trip I am putting together for this summer. .