This year I did my taxes without the assistance of an accountant. I used the online free Turbo Tax program, which turned out to be $60 by the time I finished. In the end I owed about $1270, but had I done a few minor things my guess is that taxable amount could have been lower.
- Charity receipts. Before leaving San Diego I donated a lot of stuff to Goodwill. The one receipt I got was lost in the move. Shame on me. And I’m not going to make up a safe number. Lesson learned.
- Theft report. When my bike was stolen, I never filed a report with the police department. I had no idea that was deductible. Lesson learned.
- Dumb stock repurchase. I bought and sold the same stock ticker inside 3 days. Considering it was ETF that mirrored an index, I could have just picked a different index that moved in a similar pattern. Now I do all my trading from my IRA account. Lesson learned.
I’ve closed comments on this post so I’m not responsible for any bad or illegal advice.
