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By god I hate doing my taxes but what I hate more is paying money for someone to do them for me.

Here's the thing. If taking your W2s and property taxes to someone with the training and paying them $70 makes you feel better. Do it. BUT if you're stubborn and bitchy, you CAN do it yourself and if you're reading this post I'm going to make the assumption that your AGI is less than $79000 and therefore you qualify for free file. (and if you don't know what an AGI is then yes, you qualify).

It's honestly going to be okay. We will get through it together.

This guide is not going to be thorough, and while I will try to answer questions if you ask them, I'm not an expert: my knowledge comes from filing my own taxes for the fourth (fifth?) year in a row using the free file program and going through a number of life changes that I have to reflect on my taxes.

The post includes a link and screenshots. I will describe the bare minimum information of the images in Alt Text, but will not fully transcribe the full text as all the images will be from the IRS website which has accessibility options.

Here we go:

I want you to go to this page and then chose the first big blue button (unless you want it all in Spanish, then click on Spanish and I'll pray for you that it's all the same process)

If you are a brave, brave soul then take the fillable forms and be free, my children. I cannot help you there.

BUT if you chose the guided software options it's going to take you to these options

You may chose to browse options on your own. This does feel somewhat choose-your-own-adventure and I'm not your mother or your boss. HOWEVER. I implore you to take the guidance as far as you can. Chose the big blue button that says "Find Your Trusted Partner(s)" (very polycurious, if I may say).

This survey is meant to be straightforward. There is a little blue questionmark that opens to explain the filing statuses very clearly and in detail. Chose the right status for you, then some other questions will show up. Answer the questions that come up (again, this general page should be info that is straightforward. most of us should be able to answer the general questions with just what's in our heads), then click next when the questions are done.

Now, you will need to know your income for this page, which probably mean you need your W2s or whatever other forms you might have that reflect/summarize your 2023 income. You don't need to get into extreme detail, you just need totals. Worked a couple of jobs and have W2s for all of them? Add "box 1" from each W2 together, select the first box under "Income" and type in your total in the fillable box that opens.

Further down this page is space for adjustments to your income, so stuff about student loans and health savings would be helpful, but again this survey isn't about the nitty gritty. Round numbers are fine.

Once you're done here, you'll click next and then it'll ask you about the Earned Income Tax Credit which is really just about if you have kids or not. Answer that question, click next and BOOM

This is the only free file partner that I qualify for this year (again, life changes), but in previous years I have used HRBlock and Tax Slayer. All three sites have been guided similarly to this survey and as easy to use as can be possible given the US tax system.

Thus ends my guided portion, as going to 1040(.)com will show you a great deal of my personal info, but I will give you a few more notes:

Throughout the year, collect your tax forms/important papers in a safe, secure place that YOU WILL NOT FORGET. (preferably a safe or at least a heavy fireproof security box).

Once you get to the tax website you're going to use, you will need all those papers.

Start your filing early. I like to start when I get my W2s.

For one, you'll get everything done and then in April when someone, stressed and anxious, asks if you remember that taxes are due, you can smugly say you filed ages ago. For another, if you do run into significant issues, you have lots of time to resolve them.

Don't necessarily file super early. Sometimes congress does stuff that affects taxes as late as March. It's easier and less stressful to edit your pending forms than it is to file a correction.

When you have all the information in, look up the local and national news and see if there's anything going on regarding taxes. This year there's talk about extending the child tax credit. I haven't kept up with that because it doesn't apply to me, but it might be important to you. If there's nothing happening that might affect you, go ahead and file.

If you have a question, ask! Even the free file services have a help section

I lied, one last snip. This is from 1040. They have an FAQ section, and it's not just about the site itself. I have submitted questions to all three services I've used and all of them have answered me.

They won't hold your hand through every step, but if you have a specific question, they'll do their best to answer it.

You can also do a general internet search! "what this form?" and "do i need to include XYZ on my taxes" are all things i've found the answers for by searching them on duckduckgo

HRBlock has a huge amount of accessible information that I've used often.

I'll wrap here by just saying - if you get frustrated, save your work and walk away.

I called my employer's HR to ask something, waited a couple days then started an email to them, and realized the answer as I was writing the email.

If you Owe Back Taxes, if you are suffering from an Economic Hardship and if can’t pay your Monthly Living Expenses, you May be in Luck!☘️

When you owe back taxes to the IRS, May suddenly become very interested in your monthly income and expenses!

In fact you may want the IRS to know about your personal financial situation!

You may want to share your monthly expenses, such as your;

• Housing costs

• Car payment, gas, and insurance

• Gas, water, electric and other utility bills

• Medical insurance

• Cell phone

• Groceries and dining out

…and much more.

Why would you share this information with the IRS?

It all comes down to what the IRS calls Allowable Living Expenses.

The second you become a tax debtor, the IRS has a Secret tax lien against everything you own, including your future income. This is a feature of federal law, and it’s the basis for all the other collection actions that the IRS can take against you, such as a Wage Garnishment or Bank Levy.

Because of the lien, the IRS legally has a say in how you spend your money. Nobody likes this, but it’s the reality of how the US tax code works.

As with most laws, there is a long and complicated list of rules that go into determining what place the IRS holds in line behind or ahead of your other creditors, but the bottom line is that the IRS wants to get paid, and they have power to make your life a living nightmare by enforcing the tax laws over your money and assets.

It’s not all bad, however. There are specific legal protections that exist to prevent the IRS from taking everything you own. In simple terms, the IRS is not allowed to make you destitute. In other words, they are not allowed to put your family out on the street or force your children to starve if it creates an Financial Hardship on you and your family.

This is where those Allowable Living Expenses (ALE) come in. The IRS must allow you to pay all your basic living expenses, even if it means you cannot pay the IRS what you owe them. Sounds Great! Mostly, other than the tax lien they may file.

The IRS has legal standards that is required to follow and allow you and your family to pay before the IRS can collect anything. These are the usual categories:

• Food, clothing, personal care products, and “miscellaneous”

• Out of pocket health care costs

• Vehicle ownership and operating costs

• Rent or mortgage

• Utilities, including gas, water, electric, cell phone, Internet, and more

For vehicle operating costs, housing, and utilities, they do take into account regional variations for these costs. The rest are all based on national numbers. All the numbers also have adjustments based on family size.

These numbers “dictate” what the IRS will allow you to spend every month to live. Your income, when compared to these allowable standards, is what determines which IRS tax relief options you may be eligible for.

If your income is less than the total monthly allowable living expenses for Honolulu or where you live and family size, you might be eligible for a program that allows you to pay the IRS nothing. Yes, nothing. Zero. Nada. Zilch.

If your income is also less than the total monthly allowable living expenses, the IRS calculate for you, but you have assets – such as lots of equity in your home, stocks, bonds, classic cars, crypto, or the world’s most valuable Vinyl Record collection – then they’re going to take into consideration the value of those assets, too. But, in such a situation, you may be able to settle your tax debt for less than what you owe, and walk away from the rest.

If your income is more than the allowable living expense calculation, then the IRS is going to take that “excess” income into consideration for a reduced settlement. If you’re not eligible for a reduced settlement – which most people are not – then this “excess” income becomes the monthly minimal payment the IRS can require as a monthly payment.

One of the first things that Tax Relief Services can help our clients when they hire us to help them with a tax debt problem is to conduct a detailed Preliminary Analysis the exact same detailed financial analysis that the IRS should do but most of the time will not. We do the Preliminary Analysis for a number of reasons, such as:

1. Determining which IRS programs you’re eligible for.

2. Seek opportunities to legally increase your allowable living expenses.

3. Determine if the IRS balances are correct.

4. Look for unique circumstances that might open doors to outside-the-box resolution options.

This preliminary financial analysis is crucial for us to be able to get the best possible deal for our clients. Since the vast majority of tax debtors will end up on a monthly payment plan to the IRS, our job is to help get you the smallest possible monthly payment and help you minimize the short-term financial impact on your budget.

The IRS is NOT LOOKING OUR FOR YOU, BUT TAX RELIEF SERVICES IS!

If you’re in a situation where the IRS is hounding your, then we should chat. You don’t want to wind up in a situation where the IRS simply pigeon-holes you into the situation that is most convenient for them, leaving you unable to pay other monthly bills. Just schedule a time to chat:

WWW.TAXRELIEFSERVICES.COM

CALL TODAY!

TAX PROBLEMS DON’T GO AWAY!