Procrastinators Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from chronic procrastination.
Accounts and Tax Challenge!
As a few of us have decided to anticrastinate on our taxes and accounts I thought it might be helpful to have a Check In thread where we can support each other and celebrate our successes, so here it is!
- Login to post comments
Restart: very old group support "taxes & bills" thread for all.
Join in now -- 2014 -- all welcome.
Hi there. We cannot start new threads, due to the forum technical glitch.
But this old TAXATION and financial paperwork thread is still available. So why not use it?
Working on taxes for whatever region or nation or locality where you live?
Old taxes? Current taxes? General financial paperwork? Bills to pay? Come on in!
Click on "add comment" at the bottom of threadstarter at top of page, to add your post.
This thread was started in 2006 -- Nearly EIGHT years ago.
Look at the date on the bottom of a specific post before replying to it.
Please don't reply to the very old posts.
** Here are some 2014 tips from the I.R.S. **
"The What-ifs for Struggling Taxpayers"
http://www.irs.gov/uac/The-%E2%80%9CWhat-Ifs%E2%80%9D-for-Struggling-Taxpayers
"Payment Plans and Installment Agreements"
http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Payment-Plans,-Installment-Agreements
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Welcome,Reply @this post w/ your financial paperwork goals&steps
April-May-June-July-August-September-October 2014 and forwards --
reply to this post with your struggles, hopes, and actions.
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Movingalong's tax goals starting April 2014
Find the info for 2012.
Find the info for 2013.
Find the W2s
Find the forms online
Fill out forms.
Breathe.
request refund.
File.
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movingalong insurance-financial paperwork, 2014
For organizing health insurance, auto insurance, life insurance, etc., etc., etc.
* Enrollments
* Certifications
* Payments
* Claims
* EOBs
* organizing file cabinet.
Etc.
movingalong: insurance,finances, personal paperwork: Nov-Dec '14
Miscellaneous personal financial paperwork projects and goals
for November-December 2014:
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Financial PROJECT: Post-S.app follow-up
. . . -- Need to recheck submitted S.app.
. . . -- Get copies from H. (typed that list item two months ago -- but now have no idea what it means. Will keep it here for a while in case I remember.)
. . . -- scan/email existing S.app materials to I.atty.
. . . -- Find all associated S. papers in home and organize.
. . . -- Read all the paperwork to understand the financial info.
. . . -- Request the copies from Sept appt w/ dr.LT.
. .-- ✓ Call worker at S-agency to explain financial prognosis.
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Financial project: get assistance/advice from other agencies
-- _ Contact coordinator "Am. " at A.Agency
-- _ Tell Caseworker N. about A.Agency.
-- _ Follow up with Caseworker N. about other agencies esp. KWA
-- _ Find out who is SW.Worker
-- _ Follow up with Caseworker N. about SW.worker and Means of Coping.
-- _ Follow up with Caseworker N. about other agencies.
-- _ Call back Ca.Ch. re. help.
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URGENT -- File new insurance claim!
-- ✓ Call claim mgr. (tried several times, finally got through.
-- _ Find paperwork.
-- _ Fill out form.
-- _ Mail paperwork.
-- _ Copies to attorney.
Financial PROJECT: Rent for December/January and forwards
-- ✓ During November, for December rent: Contact DS agency and CAC
to report new income and coordinate rent issues.
-- _ During December, for January 2015 rent: Contact CAC to coordinate rent issues.
Additional personal financial paperwork tasks:
-- _ IMPORTANT -- time-sensitive
. . . Research funding for auto repairs --
. . . alongside automotive project on bookending thread.
-- _ IMPORTANT -- Call T from DAC -- (typed that list item months ago -- but now have no idea what it means. Will keep it here for a while in case I remember.)
-- _ research financial solutions re: cat care expenses
. . . -- _ Contact. D.
-- _ Check on PrsRet.drs
-- _ As part of declutter project on other thread --
. . . unpack items hastily boxed/bagged and set aside during emergency home repairs ...
. . . Specifically for Finances: sort through boxes and find financial papers from this year.
-- _ Get copies of HousingAgency paperwork from them.
-- _ File in file cabinet all the rental/utilities project paperwork from April-May 2014
-- _ Continue to work with atty on healthcare billing issues.
-- _ Scan paperwork and email to Atty.
. . . -- __ update as needed.
. . . -- __ Ns letter to Ds.
. . . -- __ other medical notes from practitioners.
-- _ Research health insurance plans and select most appropriate option
-- _ Make appt with atty.
Go to appt. with atty.
movingalong: insurance,finances, personal paperwork:Sept-Oct '14
Miscellaneous personal financial paperwork projects
for September-October 2014:
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Financial PROJECT: S.app finishing
-- ✓ main S.app already *mostly* submitted April 2014
. . . Additional info requested and submitted during following months.
ADDENDUM, more info and follow-up required before app. fully submitted.
. . . Now it's time to do with other pieces:
. . . --
Consult a special S.atty?not needed. . . -- ✓ Check on status of medical referrals to S.app worker. (done)
. . . -- ✓ Go to new medical appt as directed.
✓✓✓ APPLICATION PROCESS SUCCESSFUL. WOW.
-- Success. Grant awarded! THIS IS HUGE.
--------------------------
Additional personal financial paperwork tasks:
-- ✓ IMPORTANT -- time-sensitive DONE
. . . Research financial sources for Auto Ins for Sept/Oct/Nov --
. . . alongside automotive project on bookending thread.
Additional comments for September-October 2014:
This has been a stressful time due to *new* financial-health challenges.
Re-starting in November 2014.
movingalong: insurance,financ, personal paperwrk: June-Aug '14
Miscellaneous personal financial paperwork projects
for June, July, and August 2014:
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Financial PROJECT: S.app followup
-- ✓ main S.app already submitted April 2014
-- Need to answer additional S.app questions.
... Update: ACK! The S.app person phoned me looking for the questions. Eeeek!
... Second Update: Lost the list of questions. Panicked
-- ✓ POSITIVE UPDATE:
Completed the additional S.app questions via phone interview. YAY.
-- scan/email existing S.app materials to I.atty.
-- Consult a special S.atty?
-- ✓ More medical referrals to S.app worker.
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Financial project: get assistance/advice from A. Agency
-- ✓ As directed, attempted to contact coordinator M.
. . .. update: M. no longer works there. Replaced by Am.
-- ✓ Left message for Am.
-- ✓ Received callback from Am. Update .. this call was interrupted.
-- _ Need to call again
update: Got caseworker to help ... with VARIOUS agencies.issues.
-- _ Need to ask her to help specificially this A.Agency situation.
--------------------------
Additional personal financial paperwork tasks:
Check on PrsRet.drs
File in file cabinet all the rental/utilities project paperwork from April-May 2014
Continue to work with atty on healthcare billing issues.
Scan paperwork and email to Atty.-- update as needed.
-- ✓ Ns letter re: ch.
-- __ Ns letter to Ds.
Research health insurance plans and select most appropriate option.
Work out costs for automotive/transportation issues:
-- Details will be step-by-step on the bookending thread here:
-- http://procrastinators-anonymous.org/node/2988#comment-65921
Make appt with atty.
Go to appt. with atty.
✓ Car insurance June -- handled gracefully, done.
✓ Car insurance July -- handled gracefully, done.
✓ Car insurance Aug -- handled badly. Done but lost future aid.
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Checking in June 13, 2014.
Feeling stuck. Posting here to remind myself to move forward.
Checking in June 17, 2014,
Still stuck... praying for higherpower to move me along.
Checking in ... July 2014 ...
progress on S.App.
Need to commit in August for remainder of items.
Checking in -- end of August 2014:
Lost some traction here in financial goals; but made progress on health/fitness goals.
New issue arose in S.app -- got that new piece dealt with.
Filing project delayed due to home renovations chaos.
Clutter chaos panic distracted me from practical goals.
Will move undone tasks to new post, and make it part of a new list for September.
movingalong: insurance,finances, personal paperwork: Apr-May '14
This individual post was started during April 2014.
Continuing to edit/add/update as I go, (on into month of May).
Working on basic survival finances
for shelter, utilities, insurance, and transportation;
and also some medical finances.
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✓ DONE yay! rental financing for month of May 2014 project pieces:
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✓ DONE == HUGE VICTORY!
rental financing ongoing for 2014
Rental project done in pieces:
(Started this back in February, worked in it in pieces during March,
but I was classified into incorrect category and have to appeal.)
Starting here with April 2014 and beyond: actions for ongoing rental project:
✓ S.app done
✓ Started appeal to Ds
✓ Made appt for NS
✓ Went to appt for NS
✓ Got letters and referrals from NS
✓ Gave referral from NS to MT
✓ Faxed letter from NS to Ds for appeal.
✓ Located records from 1990trx. Copied&faxed to Ds for appeal.
✓ Verified that Ds received 1990trx documentation
✓ Verified that Ds received letter from NS.
✓ SUCCESS !!! Three months of work with Ds. Approved!
✓ DONE: remaining steps for June rent onwards:
✓ Made appt with CA for rent.
✓ Got paperwork from CA to prepare.
✓ Emailed paperwork to LLCC to fill out.
✓ Check PO Box for mail from LLCC
✓ Go to appt and return completed info to CA.
✓ Emailed LLCC to confirm all is completed!
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Additional financial/legal/insurance/paperwork projects:
_ Need to scan in copies of everything to send to atty.
-- ✓ Need to phone Atty re: NS.
-- ✓ followed up with email to Aty re: NS
-- _ Ds letter from Ns (moved to next post)
✓ Electric app done, approved, financed through sept YAY!!
✓ Auto club paid for next twelve months.
✓ Auto ins paid at end of March for April
✓ Auto ins paid at end of April for May.
✓ Need to strategize/brainstorm with D. about
how to pay Auto ins at end of May for June??? DONE and paid.
✓ Count remaining money on hand and in bank. Plan what to do with it.
✓ PO Box rent paid for next 12 months. Yay.
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FYI: Posts below this line are from several years ago
The posts below this line are from several years ago. Please don't reply to those because the posters' situations may have changed since then, and also the taxation information is years out of date.
To find the date of a post: Look at the bottom of an individual post, and see the date next to the poster's name.
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Hit a nerve (rightly so)
I am so grateful (to you all) this popped up on active forum topics re: taxes -- AND of all days today when I am just ending my first wk of having begun occasional phone bridges/chatbox/check-in-out on PAweb.
I thought I was happily into a groove of all this and this forum topic re-opening has (i) kind of (only a bit) energized me even further and (ii) at once, though, has caused great despair to see how far I have yet to go even in short term to get healthier and feel better.
I would like to reveal more -- and a part of me is yearning to my core to "fix all this". I am just not ready yet to lay it all out.
But I am thinking I need to reach out. I have--as I do - related all this with extra baggage and compounded my thinking that I almost do not know where and how to begin.
I have visualized fixing it but the past anxieties (and lies) and envelopes etc etc are just too much bear to myself on this just yet.
REGARDLESS, thank you for raising this....and count me IN as a devoted member of this particular forum.
On a lighter note... http://www.lyrics007.com/The%20Beatles%20Lyrics/Taxman%20Lyrics.html
Agnus anticrastinates taxes and accounts
My accountant wants me to complete a feasible P&L all by myself, for the last year I had a business (2008). It feels enormous because I was not careful about mixing personal and corporate accounts. As the sole employee and shareholder, I didn't have a moral problem with that, and I'm hardly Enron. But he refuses to file my taxes until he has audited me as carefully as post-Enron standards require. So my sloppy accountability has created an accounting nightmare.
I sorta thought an accountant was supposed to do that stuff for me. So here are a couple questions maybe other PAers can answer:
1) Is that normal, for an accountant to require me to do all the work before he files my taxes?
2) Should I be looking for another accountant? Or maybe another kind of helper to get my books in order?
3) Or am I just trying to avoid doing the work, which is tedious but not impossible?
accounting and accountants
Your accountant must have the basic information about your income and expenses in order to do your taxes, and this only can come from you. He can't make it up for you. If he did and you were audited, he would be liable. He has to sign his name to your returns. I don't know what they do to accountants who knowingly defraud the government, but it can't be good.
There are ways an accountant can help you with this, but you have to get him the records. My accountant offered to go through my bank statements for me - I just had to get him the bank statements and tell him which accounts were personal, which were business, etc. In the end, I didn't take him up on this. I went through every statement myself, entered every freaking item into Quicken, and generated the income and expense reports that he needed to file my returns.
I'm also not very good at keeping my accounts separated, but I know what is what. If I buy a computer, it's a business expense, etc. In Quicken, you can use tags to mark each income and expense item as personal or business. It took a long time for me to catch up on that accounting - I was years behind - and I had to contact banks for some missing statements, but I did it. And then my accountant filed my returns.
A P&L statement is just a summary of income and expenses - actually less than the detailed report I was able to generate from Quicken. I don't think your accountant is unreasonable to ask for this. If you don't know how to give it to him, then tell him and ask for advice on how to proceed. You do have to be prepared for some unpleasant catch-up accounting. There is no way around it.
success!!
Bump to say that at least two of us here have caught up on big backlogs in this department. You can, too!!!! :)
gratz pro!
I know you've been working that for awhile, must feel great! Good for you
After joining PA I got caught up on personal taxes 2003-2008 and corporate 2004-2007 ... but now I've backslidden on corp return for 08, the last year I had a business. CPA says it's piling up $85/month in penalties so that won't be pretty.
Guess it's time I dealt with it. Thanks for the bump (I think!).
staying current
I've gotten behind on this before, and I never want to go through this again - TOO painful. I'm working very hard at the maintenance aspect - as hard as I did on the catch-up. I do my accounting every day. When I do it that way, it's easy and takes very little time. I'm trying to develop new habits. I think that's the key.
Time for Journey to deal with the SSA
With the help of this site and Dave Ramsey, I've gotten my taxes and budget in order. NOW, it's time to get my Social Security Stuff taken care of. I never changed my SSN to my married name, which was never a big deal, but in the past few years they are cracking down on that stuff because of identity theft. I took them my marriage license but that wasn't enough for those !@#$%^& bureaucrats so now I have to get all kinds of documentation. And then go down there and stand in line for probably a whole day.
Apologies if you work for the Social Security Administration :) but it's really painful to deal with that institution.
Maybe that's why I've been procrastinating on this issue for 26 YEARS. I'm not kidding. That's probably some kind of procrastination record!
Anyway, this seems like a good forum in which to post my progress. First thing to do is dig out the paperwork and make a list of everything they said I needed three years ago.
Jo
"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."
New to the forum
Hi everyone:
I'm new at this, but an old procrastinator. I don't have so many years to catch up on in taxes, only 2006 for Arizona. But I have to get data ready for my daughter's financial aid, which is already late. Sigh. I'm afraid to even look at the bills and don't know my account balances and started using my credit cards again 'cause I'm afraid to look at the bank statement. I have a feeling others will know what I am talking about. So, for my first checkin, by this time tomorrow, my goal is to find out the account balances. If I can just conquer that fear . . .
Allmixedup.
allmixedup...
Welcome! So how did you do with your task?
I think you'll find that check-ins work best when they are right before and after the task. Have you seen the daily check-in threads?
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Procrastination is the grave in which opportunity is buried.
Financial CI
Hi Pro-
Sorry, I'm a little new to the message thing, and didn't realize you had replied.
I did look up my account balances, and transfered money to meet present needs.
I sorted bills over the weekend, into piles.
today's task #1: *Open* the bills
today's task #2: balance the household account (with the bank) and decide what gets paid.
Slowly but surely . . .
I also started a dialogue with my husband about finances, which is to say we're fighting in a low key sort of way. But, ya gotta start somewhere I suppose. It's better than both of us with our heads in the sand. Which, as a financial advisor pointed out to us last year, leaves our butts exposed.
Re: financial CI
Sounds like you're doing well! Keep going!!
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Procrastination is the grave in which opportunity is buried.
Taxes in UK
In the UK we don't have to complete tax forms for the Inland Revenue unless they ask. We do have to tell them is we have any income that might be subject to tax. So my sympathies with you all.
Regards Rexroth
Housereclaimer tax todo list
Complete tax form for friday Irs call
put together other 2 documents for the call
make call friday
fax information
Call to request tax transcripts for every year back to 1990
start printing out tax forms federal and state
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2002
2003
2004
2005
Review publications for years above for new laws and new tax credits
round up old free tax software
HOUSERECLAIMER
where I'm out now
Complete tax form for friday Irs call [done]
put together other 2 documents for the call [done]
make call friday [done]
fax information [done]
Call to request tax transcripts for every year back to 2000 [done]
review transcripts back to 2000 [done]
Call to request tax transcripts for every year back to 1995
start printing out tax forms federal and state
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2002
2003
2004
2005
Review publications for years above for new laws and new tax credits
round up old free tax software
HOUSERECLAIMER
7 years is the norm
HR, if you were due refunds for years earlier than 7 years ago, forget it. They won't look back before that, and they won't give you any refunds, either. And you don't need to deal with messed up returns and possible owed taxes earlier than 7 years unless they tell you so. So it is probably a waste of your time to work on anything earlier than 1998. That's as far as the IRS will work on with me (thank God, because I'd only owe more!).
filing back to 1995
Actually you can file back to 1995 according to about.com. I am not filing for the refund I am filing for the offset. I only owe for 2003 and 2005 I can off set with the years they owe me. IRS.gov is for federal, IRS.tax.state.(name of state).US is for state taxes.
HOUSERECLAIMER
Oh, are you filing for State?
We don't have state income tax in Texas.
no state taxes?!
How does the state get money? Property taxes sky high? Sales tax?
Uh...
We do have sales taxes and property taxes. The folks who pay property taxes complain about how high they are, but I don't know about that--I don't have any property! Then there's the lottery--don't know how much it brings in, but as a pastor I hear about how much people waste on it. We have rather steep "sin" taxes on tobacco and something else (I don't remember what; my habit is to ignore taxes altogether! ;) ) We also are rather poor among all the states in providing social services and we have trouble with school funding. All in all, an income tax is probably a better idea.
Oh, yeah. The state gets a lot of revenue from oil and gas!
A "me-too" on doing back taxes
thanks for the info.
i'm making the call now.
is phone or internet contact most effective?
i'll google it, i guess, and see what happens.
Contacting the IRS
If you google IRS, you will get all sorts of quasi-IRS listings, too. The actual IRS is IRS.gov, I believe. You can do a lot online. If you call, expect to be on hold up to 45 minutes each time you call. (Really!)
slider's taxes 10/18, 2006
I need to come back to this forum because I have unopened IRS letters to deal with, again. These were expected--they are the record of everything we have actually filed and whatever money we have sent for the last 7 years. I have been putting off opening them because I figured they will be depressing. But it's better to know the reality and then figure out how to deal with it than live in fear of all the unknown things I can imagine. At least I know what kind of information is in these letters. Last time I was really scared because I thought they might contain demands or ultimatums. This time all I'm scared of is the depression of seeing the amounts. And it isn't really fear, it's just a preference not to feel that! So here goes.
To Do:
--Open and read letters
--Take extra set (there's one for DH and one for me) to CPA today
--follow through with whatever else the CPA needs (baby steps)
scary letters
I haven't been getting many letters because I haven't filed at all, so they don't know I exist. The only thing I've been filing is state quarterlies, so naturally the nasty letter I got was from the state.
Bleagh!
Nothing scary--but very disheartening to see thousands of $ worth of "what you owe". I see that they have put in penalties and interest that weren't there before, too. Very expensive procrastination! Calling CPA now.
Crap!
Turns out Monday was the deadline for filing a return for 2005. We had filed an extension but never followed through. I was assuming we had already screwed that up long ago. It stings to realize I just missed a deadline that would have avoided any further penalties. Oh, well. Since I figured we were screwed, we're not any worse off than I had been thinking we were.
I do that all the time
I can't tell you how many times I filed something late because I couldn't bear to open a letter that warned of an upcoming deadline.
Yesterday I filed my quarterly tax returns on time - it's one of the few times I've managed to do that.
Heading off on erands now
Dropping by court house, recycling, *CPA*, picking up kids from school, and hospital. The next step after dropping off this stuff to the CPA will be answering any questions she may have, and then, most likely, coming up with a payment plan. Ugh.
it's great that you are doing it!!
This stuff is so painful to face and deal with. I think it's great that you're doing it!!
Thanks for the encouragement
Got everything tended to, although I have to go back to the hospital or mail another payment. The hospital had a balance for one more set of X-rays than the billing agency had. If I hadn't been so conscientious as to fill out my check in the car before I went in, I could have paid it all! ;)
Financial responsibilites
I've determined that my biggest incomplete energy drain which is the focus of my procrastination is our financial situation.
There are three major components:
•Credit Card Debt
•4 years of State Tax returns to catch up on
•Only breaking even every month.
I hate this, since when I sit down and look at things income > expenses. But in practice, more often than not, it's the other way around. Where does that money go?
I'm going to work on this, this is my One Focus.
look at the bright side
At least you're breaking even. I'm not.
Neglect of my financial responsibilities is my biggest procrastination issue as well.
Initial plan
• Stay on top of expenses daily
• Enforce cash budgeting(no plastic)
• Process inbox, clean up paperwork
• Drop some unnecessary expenses
• Start paying on property tax before the end of the year
• Dig up tax information for 2002
• Order a recent credit report
• Continue payments on credit cards
That does'n seem to scary :O
Financial Check-In
Always(for now):
• Stay on top of expenses daily
• Enforce cash budgeting(no plastic)
• Process inbox, clean up paperwork
• Continue payments on credit cards
Done:
• Called and canceled one upcoming financial committment
• Evaluate and drop some unnecessary expenses (revisit again)
• Automate everything
• Start paying on property tax before the end of the year
Don't let it slide:
• Dig up tax information for 2002
• Order a recent credit report
• Taxes 03,04,05, and 06 will be here before I know it
Financial Follow-up
Always(for now):
• Stay on top of expenses daily
• Enforce cash budgeting(no plastic)
• Process inbox, clean up paperwork
• Continue payments on credit cards
Done:
• Called and canceled one upcoming financial committment
• Evaluate and drop some unnecessary expenses (revisit again)
• Automate everything
• Start paying on property tax before the end of the year
• Dig up tax information for 2002, got it sent off
• Taxes 03,04,05, and 06 will be here before I know it(I'm going to wait for response re 2002 before taking these on)
• AND I just Ordered a recent credit report
I believe that's a wrap, we'll see if I can keep it up. I'm ready for something new...
Focused 1Focus