Sometimes, in my role as a home – based business owner, I end up saying, doing, and thinking things that I would never have expected. Last night, I found myself doing just that. I thought that it would be a good night to do my taxes, so I gathered the information that I would need and sat down at the computer. I knew that I had gotten an email from Turbo Tax a while ago, advertising that all of their fees (even on the home and business edition which I use) would be reduced by twenty five percent for a while. When I found the email, I was happy because the reduced price was still available. I think that the discount ends tomorrow, so if you are looking to save a little on your online tax preparation fees, you should definitely check it out.
As I went through Turbo Tax and entered my information in the appropriate areas, I thought back to when I prepared my taxes last year. I had not withheld any funds to pay the taxes with, and I was shocked when I realized just how much self – employment tax I would have to pay. To make a long story short, I ended up arranging to pay my taxes with an installment plan through the IRS. It’s a great option, but you can’t get a second installment plan once you are already paying on one for taxes from a prior year.
This year, since the installment plan option is not available to me, I knew that I would have to pay whatever tax I owe by April 15th. When I had finished entering my information into Turbo Tax, the program calculated my federal tax due as well as my state tax refund. When I saw the numbers, I did a little math in my head and then did a little happy dance. Mind you, I do owe federal taxes, yet I felt very happy. The refund that I am getting from the state will cover the amount that I paid to file my taxes using Turbo Tax. There will even be a small amount left over, which I plan to put towards my federal tax bill. I am able to earn the rest of the money that I will need to pay my federal tax bill before the date that it is due, while still covering the rest of my regular monthly expenses.
Usually, people feel happy when they find that they are getting a large tax return. As a home – based professional who pays self – employment tax, I have learned to be happy about having a small tax bill to pay, and for being able to pay it. After all, there hasn’t been anything withheld from my pay all year long like there would be if I were working at a traditional job. I never thought that I would be happy to owe federal tax, but then again, I never thought that I would own my own businesses either.
Photo by cohdra on morguefile.com.