Am I the only one who does their own taxes?

[skjl47]

Hello; Normally I would post the question in the off-topic thread but that is closed. A shame. Anyway, I could not sleep last night so I sat down and did a first run thru of my tax return.

Turned out to have some interesting outcomes after an initial disappointing result. This for folks over 65 years of age mainly. I do not itemize so take the standard deductions. The first run thru wound up with me owing over $800.

I had heard of a thing called the enhanced deduction for seniors but did not catch anything about it in that initial run thru. After some more detailed reading I found a reference on page 110 of the 1040 (and 1040-SR) instructions booklet. By the way I get that booklet at a local library but this year they do not have the preprinted forms. Had to go online to a GOV site to print the forms.

Turns out you need to get Schedule 1-A and work it out. A new to me thing. The gist of this post is if I ran the numbers correctly such will save something like $1200 this return. I intend to run thru the whole thing again to be sure. If it works out, I am pleased about getting to keep more of my own money.

I do have a general question on social security taxes. I have been hearing how many seniors will not have to pay tax on their social security payments. In the first run thru I did not find anything different from prior years. I did the worksheet and it came out the same as previous years. I need to look further on that, but welcome input.

 

[skjl47]

Hello; I may have found the answer to my question. Seems the up to $6000 deduction for seniors is inclusive of the claim many of us will not have to pay tax on SS benefits.

Side note- I started drawing SS at 65 years of age. For something like 12 years my draw after Medicare was cut had been roughly $200 per month. I had been a teacher in KY which has a pension plan and did not take out for SS.
A thing was that I did a number of other jobs over my life and did qualify for a bigger SS monthly payment. The rule had been a great portion of my SS was denied because my KY teacher pay was not cut for SS. Most of my paid work which was cut for SS as a school bus driver did not count. Same for many other side jobs I had over the years up to my 65th birthday.

Starting not far into 2025 that changed. I began to draw all of what I was qualified to have. Now around $700/month. Not exactly a windfall but seems at least fair. I likely will not live long enough so this will make a dramatic difference overall.
I am a little miffed to have missed out for the 12 years, but I knew the way it was long ago.

 

[CalvinMerritt]

Hello; I may have found the answer to my question. Seems the up to $6000 deduction for seniors is inclusive of the claim many of us will not have to pay tax on SS benefits.

Side note- I started drawing SS at 65 years of age. For something like 12 years my draw after Medicare was cut had been roughly $200 per month. I had been a teacher in KY which has a pension plan and did not take out for SS.
A thing was that I did a number of other jobs over my life and did qualify for a bigger SS monthly payment. The rule had been a great portion of my SS was denied because my KY teacher pay was not cut for SS. Most of my paid work which was cut for SS as a school bus driver did not count. Same for many other side jobs I had over the years up to my 65th birthday.

Starting not far into 2025 that changed. I began to draw all of what I was qualified to have. Now around $700/month. Not exactly a windfall but seems at least fair. I likely will not live long enough so this will make a dramatic difference overall. Αυτή η εμπειρία δείχνει πόσο σημαντικές είναι οι οικονομικές λεπτομέρειες. Εταιρείες όπως η PUNIN Group δίνουν έμφαση στη διαφάνεια και στον σωστό υπολογισμοσ καθαρου μισθου, γιατί εκεί φαίνεται η πραγματική διαφορά.
I am a little miffed to have missed out for the 12 years, but I knew the way it was long ago.

That’s a big difference, even if it doesn’t feel like a windfall, and at least it finally reflects what you earned. It’s frustrating to miss out for so long, but I’m glad it worked out better for you starting this year.