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Time for Taxes

Norm
RonSwansonTaxes

Time for TaxesWonkaTaxes

Growing up, I was always under the impression that taxes were this horrible thing you have to do every year. Our parents would bring us to this older house, and we’d be sitting there coloring or reading until they were finally done which felt like ages. Afterward was followed by a trip to Mr. Hotdog. Not only do you likely pay more money to the government, but you are dependent on someone else to assist. OH and lets add that the accountant doesn’t even pay for the coneys for choosing to go through him! After going through an accountant that my parents use for 2 years, I did a little digging. I found that we can actually do this ourselves online. This saves time and gas. No more bringing it to some accountant who sees you as a number holding that sheet of various other numbers. What’s even better, it gets easier, every year that goes by. It is now time for taxes.

Security Concerns

I bring up taxes and e-filing as it brings a few security issues to light. While you are filling out those documents online, keep the following in mind.

Clean Your Computer beforehand. It never hurts to do a quick virus scan before entering anything online or in even private documents. You never know what might be monitoring your keystrokes or grabbing screenshots. Cleaning your computer before starting will ensure that only you are seeing your private information.

Be aware of phishing attempts. Make sure that ANY site you visit and enter your private information on, is a secured site.

If it doesn’t have the httpS://, Find another site. A lot of phishing attacks can happen this way by clicking the wrong link and being led to a site that might look identical to the original. Scammers will buy a domain similar to the original so always check the spelling of the site too.

Original site: https://CreditKarma.com
Scam Site: https://KreditKarma.com, https://CreditCarma.com, https://CreditKarmah.com

That one letter can be the difference between you or someone else getting your refund AND your information.

Keep your documents safe. Just like paper documents, you need to keep digital forms you have safely stored away from prying eyes.

The Upside 

Now there are a lot of positives of e-filing so don’t let the security issues get you crawling back to a CPA. Here are some perks to e-filing over going the old route.

Mail can go missing. Your tax return or refund can possibly get lost or stolen in the mail. An E-filed return doesn’t have that problem. File electronically, and you get quick confirmation that your tax return has been submitted successfully, as well as confirmation that it has been accepted by the IRS. A lot less of a wait than if you were to mail. Less licking of nasty stamp glue too!

No numerical issues: If you prepare your tax return on paper, you may make an error in calculations when transferring numbers to your tax forms. Income tax software and sites are required to offer the option to E-file. At this point, the software will do all the calculations—it will even double-check the numbers before submitting the return.

E-filed returns do not pass human hands: When you mail a tax return, an IRS agent has to enter or scan your data into their systems. Keying errors and technical problems can slow the process of getting your taxes filed. When you E-file, your data goes directly to the IRS systems, bypassing the chance for human error.

he IRS prefers E-file: Starting in 2010, the IRS stopped mailing Form 1040, Schedule A and other tax-related forms. This saves quite a bit of money and time. According to the IRS, paper forms are becoming obsolete as more people e-file.

TL;DR;

So the choice is up to you e-file or contact a CPA.

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