Bested by TurboTax!

So, if I go through TurboTax one way, I get a big, fat goose-egg for a return; if I go about it another way, I could get back $1000s+! Theoretically speaking (I didn't figure it all the way through). And I'm not talking about cheating - actually, that's the whole point: I don't know which way is the "right" one, so I just filed for an extension.

Basically, if I put all of my business expenses under Business Expenses, I don't owe anything, but I get (at best), like, $33.00 back or 0, depending on how I figure my Internet costs (which are technically 100% deductible, but I don't get anything back if I list it as a straight home-office expense, and for some reason get like a $30+ refund if I list Internet as a "all around the house" expense - no effing sense to this madness, whatsoever); but if I list my business expenses as deductions, I make a nice chunk o' cash for 2008 and owe quite a bit, but am apparently eligible for the EIC, which will not only offset the amount I owe, it should give me a refund...

I went back and forth all morning and I still can't figure it out. There really is some arcane amounts that you can enter on these pages that literally gives you refunds of thousands of dollars; you change one of those numbers so much as a single dollar, and you owe hundreds! I really need to find someone who knows this stuff better than I. I sure as hell don't want to screw this up! Plus, if it turns out I did my 2007 taxes wrong, I may be able to amend them and get some money back from there, as well.

A real hassle.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009