< Previous topic | Next topic >

All Boards > Buying A Home

Sort:
11-03-2009 at 8:43 PM
amor_etern...
Not Ranked
Joined on 01-07-2007
Chicago, Illinois.
392 Posts
7,818 Points
amor_eterno is not online. Last active: 11-19-2009, 10:30 AMNewbie

Is it worth amending taxes for the $8k credit?

Hi ladies,

Just wondering your opinion.  We're not in a hurry to receive the money (although it would be nice to start getting some interest) but I'm not sure if it's even worth amending.  I guess I'm just afraid something will go wrong down the line and maybe it's best to have the paperwork ready.  We closed on 7/22.

Also, do you guys think it's worth doing the amendment yourself or taking it to a tax accountant?  I have someone that can do it, but she wants to charge $100 for it, and she didn't even know we could get the money now instead of waiting until next Spring.  Needless to say, my confidence in her is a little low, but I've never done my own taxes and don't want to screw anything up.

 I'm open to any and all opinions since I'm really not sure how we should go about it.  TIA!
 
Report
Reply Quote
11-03-2009 at 8:50 PM
Beth&Derek
Not Ranked
Joined on 01-12-2007
Massachusetts
1,872 Posts
36,749 Points
Beth&Derek is not online. Last active: 11-21-2009, 7:18 PMBronze
At this point I'd probably just wait until I did my taxes. By the time you got the $8k, it'd probably be January already, so you're not looking at getting it much sooner than your normal refund, I would guess.
So much to be thankful for!


Married Bio I Home Bio
 
Report
Reply Quote
11-03-2009 at 9:20 PM
pixieprinc...
Top 500 Contributor
Joined on 02-09-2006
Northern Virginia
8,372 Posts
155,289 Points
pixieprincss is not online. Last active: 11-21-2009, 9:34 PMGold

We will amend our taxes ourselves. I just looked at the form and it is super simple:
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f5405.pdf

As for waiting, I'd rather have the money sooner rather than later.
After 50+ houses toured and 11 offers (6 SS, 5 FC) made over 9 months...

A small foreclosure house that we want to make as eco-friendly as possible.
Current status: painting, cleaning, repairing, making sure the cockroaches are really gone (ick!)


Nest Bio | Knot Bio | MoreGreenForLessGreen Blog

Ancient Mycenae, Greece
 
Report
Reply Quote
11-03-2009 at 9:25 PM
Beth&Derek
Not Ranked
Joined on 01-12-2007
Massachusetts
1,872 Posts
36,749 Points
Beth&Derek is not online. Last active: 11-21-2009, 7:18 PMBronze
pixieprincss:

We will amend our taxes ourselves. I just looked at the form and it is super simple:
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f5405.pdf

As for waiting, I'd rather have the money sooner rather than later.

Keep in mind, it's not just the 5405 form that you need to fill out. You also need to amend your taxes with the 1040x. If you've e-filed before, filling out the 1040x online with the same program (Turbo Tax, Tax Act, etc) is super easy. If you've never  filed yourself, though, you'll need to pull out your 1040 from your 2008 taxes to transfer the information onto the 1040x.
So much to be thankful for!


Married Bio I Home Bio
 
Report
Reply Quote
11-03-2009 at 10:44 PM
snowday!
Not Ranked
Joined on 12-01-2008
883 Posts
16,933 Points
snowday! is not online. Last active: 11-14-2009, 12:03 PMBronze

Personally, I don't care what my accountant charges.  It's worth it to me to not have to worry about it. I paid $150 for my accountant to amend my taxes.  It seemed a bit steep, but a good accountant is worth their weight in gold.  I can't believe I ever tried to do my taxes by myself.

But I think I'd ask around for some recommendations for a new accountant if you're not feeling very confident about this one.

The IRS does have a number to call with questions about filing the amendment, though.  And the forms aren't hard if you have a copy of your taxes.  It's totally possible to do it yourself.

Green is a color, not a movement. Movements are brown. 
Report
Reply Quote
11-03-2009 at 11:20 PM
MrsNLasVeg...
Not Ranked
Joined on 05-28-2007
Las Vegas, NV
241 Posts
4,263 Points
MrsNLasVegas is not online. Last active: 11-21-2009, 11:11 PMNewbie
yes.  interest.
Visit The Nest!Visit The Nest!Visit The Nest!> </div></td> </tr> <tr> <td class=
Report
Reply Quote
11-04-2009 at 12:56 AM
blue_elle
Not Ranked
Joined on 04-21-2009
142 Posts
2,958 Points
blue_elle is not online. Last active: 11-22-2009, 2:50 AMNewbie
Regarding paying someone to do it for you - it's not a hard process at all if you have access to your taxes from last year. You'll have the 5405 that just your name, property address, etc. and then you'll need the 1040X, which is the actual amendment form. Ok, I'll admit the 1040X confused me, but a 5 minute phone call to the IRS and I was done. The woman told me exactly what to put on each line (it's basically just transferring info from the filed taxes to the amendment). Spending that 10 minutes to fill everything out and pop in the mail was worth saving my $100 I think.
 
Report
Reply Quote
11-04-2009 at 4:53 AM
mscapricor...
Not Ranked
Joined on 05-25-2007
High Point, NC
53 Posts
1,080 Points
mscapricorn79 is not online. Last active: 11-20-2009, 9:08 AMNewbie
We are going to amend our taxes. We close next week and I didnt want to take hte chances of filing it with my taxes because of how long people are saying it took to recieve their check, we didnt want to take the chance that the 8,000 would delay the regular refund.  ( plus we normally file our taxes around March and then we would have wait even longer to get the 8000).. I am going to try and amend ours ourself and if it appears too hard, i would get someone to do it..
I married my best friend--Rahsaan--- May 10, 2008..... " 
Report
Reply Quote
11-04-2009 at 7:42 AM
samanthas8...
Not Ranked
Joined on 06-17-2007
672 Posts
14,316 Points
samanthas8882 is not online. Last active: 11-20-2009, 3:40 PMBronze

I am an accountant and feel what some of them charge is crazy! It is so simple for them to do it unless you have a business; individual returns are a breeze.

I think it is worthwhile for people to try to get educated and use a site or software to file.

In regards to filing now or later, you are better off waiting as amending your return can take up to 12 weeks or more. You will have what you need to file at the beginning of Feb and can efile and receive the money in 2 weeks!
 
Report
Reply Quote
11-04-2009 at 7:51 AM
pumpkinsee...
Not Ranked
Joined on 04-14-2008
Burlington, NJ
128 Posts
2,778 Points
pumpkinseed12 is not online. Last active: 11-20-2009, 2:53 PMNewbie
samanthas8882:

In regards to filing now or later, you are better off waiting as amending your return can take up to 12 weeks or more. You will have what you need to file at the beginning of Feb and can efile and receive the money in 2 weeks!

This. We closed 10/16 and sent our paperwork in on 10/19. We've talked to the IRS twice and they said we should not expect our money until ATLEAST March. They said they are backed up 4 weeks for just receiving your paperwork into the system, let alone processing anything. We would have been better off filing with our 09 taxes in February.
Image and video hosting by TinyPic 
Report
Reply Quote
11-04-2009 at 8:12 AM
Mikes_Wife...
Top 150 Contributor
Joined on 08-03-2006
Erie, PA
11,379 Posts
210,692 Points
Mikes_Wife06 is not online. Last active: 11-20-2009, 9:48 PMGold

It is extremely simple to amend your taxes yourselves for the first-time homebuyer credit. There is no way I would pay $100 to have it done. It literally only took about 5 minutes to do.

As for whether or not to wait, we closed 7/7/09, the IRS received our amended return 7/13/09, and we've been told not to expect the check until sometime in December at the earliest. Had I known it would take that long, I probably would have just waited until filing our 2009 taxes.







My Blog
My BFP Chart 
Report
Reply Quote
11-04-2009 at 11:21 AM
DavidsBrid...
Not Ranked
Joined on 02-03-2005
Houston, Texas
1,407 Posts
26,824 Points
DavidsBride2Be is not online. Last active: 11-22-2009, 2:12 AMBronze
We closed at the end of June and decided that since we did not need the money right now we would just wait until 2010 to file.
 
Report
Reply Quote
11-04-2009 at 12:23 PM
pattymctat...
Not Ranked
Joined on 01-05-2006
Minneapolis
2,718 Posts
50,669 Points
pattymctatty is not online. Last active: 11-21-2009, 7:19 PMSilver
It was one sheet of paper to fill out for us. But since it's so close to tax time again, I'd probably wait.
My Blog Rusty's Blog 
Report
Reply Quote
11-04-2009 at 9:02 PM
marclovesm...
Not Ranked
Joined on 07-25-2002
130 Posts
2,697 Points
marclovesme is not online. Last active: 11-21-2009, 9:31 PMNewbie
We just adjusted our withholding so we'll get the credit in our paychecks with the remainder as a refund on our 2009 return.
 
Report
Reply Quote
11-05-2009 at 6:59 PM
ForMeItsYo...
Not Ranked
Joined on 08-29-2009
Madison
88 Posts
1,674 Points
ForMeItsYou is not online. Last active: 11-20-2009, 3:35 PMNewbie
We just closed yesterday and we are going to wait. We will file in Feb and I cant imagine we would have it by then anyway.
Anniversary

Anniversary

Buying A Home

Image and video hosting by TinyPic 
Report
Reply Quote
11-09-2009 at 11:05 AM
amor_etern...
Not Ranked
Joined on 01-07-2007
Chicago, Illinois.
392 Posts
7,818 Points
amor_eterno is not online. Last active: 11-19-2009, 10:30 AMNewbie
I'm sorry, I'm just getting back into the post, but it was report card week, so it's been crazy.
 
We went ahead with it.  We figure that we don't really need the money, so if it comes soon great, we can go ahead and start earning some interest; and if it doesn't come until tax time, then that's great too.
 
Thanks for all the opinions/advice! 
 
Report
Reply Quote

search boards

choose another board

hot topics

"Turkey tips and recipes?"
Posted by: BensBabe823

"Favorite beauty products?"
Posted by: mdinohio

"Is it ok to schedule sex?"
Posted by: DeAndrea Wheeler

most active posters
JARbaby
116 posts
Tambcat
114 posts
Serendipit...
105 posts
staycee
101 posts
Goldie_Loc...
91 posts
RevJen
78 posts
cjeanette
70 posts
GypsyLou
64 posts
pixy_stix
63 posts
BlairWaldo...
61 posts

connect with these online Nesties
mnbv9502! stefwade1023
AJplusKev kyrastapp
lisaherberhold@hotmail.com mrsjohnny
RileyGrace DarcyLongfellow
924wedding foxsmomma
tmn06 jirzlee
Mrs.Masie kimfoley88
shirz903 hellopoppyseed
twopeasinapod *katie&dan*
Ron*N*Kel soxgirlie2476
FormerCityGirl pdanley
sweetgirl425 GladToBeMrs.SRS
adrianahg xnickerx
HElizabethDU samanthony
woolgathered lyni17
From the blogs:
Dressing Your Thanksgiving Table

Holiday Baking 101

Love in the Time of (Swine) Flu
Choose a market:
Apartment & Home Rentals

>> Singh [Detroit]
Looking for a new place together? A home with some pizzazz that fits both your needs?

>> Village Green [Detroit]
Village Green brings you a lifestyle for rent with nearly 35 luxury apartment communities

Banking & Mortgage Services

>> Mike Minicucci [Boston]

>> MetLife Home Loans, Greg Giokas [Boston]
Offering seven years of industry experience and a commitment to providing personalized

>> See resources in another market