1st tax year after retirement questions

[Tailgate]

Couple of questions as our first full tax year comes around.. taxes have already been calculated and paid out of the income sources as they were realized (SS, pension and SW from IRA).. questions are about what forms to expect to use to file. This year I'm doing my own with Turbotax vs. using the accountant I used for 20 years.

1. SS report form is SSA 1099
2. Pension income will be 1099R
3. Bank interest will be 1099 INT
4. SW will be 1099B

Am I correct with the above? Is there anything else I should be on the lookout for? Thanks...

 

[REWahoo]

Made me look...

Your expected forms look like what I get each year - except my IRA withdrawals (from Vanguard) are reported on a 1099R. YMMV...

 

[kaneohe]

REWahoo is correct. 1099B is for stock/fund sales from taxable accts.

 

[RunningBum]

Couple of questions as our first full tax year comes around.. taxes have already been calculated and paid out of the income sources as they were realized (SS, pension and SW from IRA).. questions are about what forms to expect to use to file. This year I'm doing my own with Turbotax vs. using the accountant I used for 20 years.

1. SS report form is SSA 1099
2. Pension income will be 1099R
3. Bank interest will be 1099 INT
4. SW will be 1099B

Am I correct with the above? Is there anything else I should be on the lookout for? Thanks...

What is SW?

 

[BBQ-Nut]

savings withdrawals?

 

[Tailgate]

What is SW?

sorry... systematic withdrawals... mine come from a TIRA

 

[RunningBum]

Like someone else said, 1099-B if you sold any stocks or funds from a taxable account.

1099-DIV for dividends from taxable accounts.

I'm all for people doing there own taxes, but this might be a case of one more year with an accountant being a reasonable idea. Do Turbo Tax as well, and compare the two outputs. Assuming you can reconcile them, after this you would be set to do Turbo Tax on your own and compare to the previous year to see that you got everything.

Probably not necessary if it looks straightforward but it could give you some comfort, or avoid years of repeating the same mistake that could either get you in trouble with the IRS or cause you to pay more taxes yearly.

 

[Tailgate]

Like someone else said, 1099-B if you sold any stocks or funds from a taxable account.

1099-DIV for dividends from taxable accounts.

I'm all for people doing there own taxes, but this might be a case of one more year with an accountant being a reasonable idea. Do Turbo Tax as well, and compare the two outputs. Assuming you can reconcile them, after this you would be set to do Turbo Tax on your own and compare to the previous year to see that you got everything.

Probably not necessary if it looks straightforward but it could give you some comfort, or avoid years of repeating the same mistake that could either get you in trouble with the IRS or cause you to pay more taxes yearly.

RunningBum.... excellent suggestion! I will do the one more year with the CPA and compare with TurboTax... thanks!

 

[Bamaman]

Turbo Tax just asks all the questions a CPA/tax professional should be asking--but forgot to ask.

And for most simple tax returns, tax professionals are just plugging the numbers into a TurboTax type computer program anyway. I can just as easy do the plugging myself.

 

[jwkde]

If you are getting a 1099B probably means a 1099-DIV also. Look out for any foreign taxes paid on the 1099B's

 

[2B]

Turbo Tax just asks all the questions a CPA/tax professional should be asking--but forgot to ask.

And for most simple tax returns, tax professionals are just plugging the numbers into a TurboTax type computer program anyway. I can just as easy do the plugging myself.

My FIL was "proud" of his CPA that did his taxes every year. He would brag about it at tax time. When DW and I took over his finances, we saw that he was paying over $600 to have his return done. He didn't itemize deductions and his income was a handful of pensions and SS. It was a 1040EZ! There were no special tax savings the CPA had. I did his taxes for about 7 years when I did mine until he passed away. I doubt it took me more than 30 minutes tops and that included going over it with DW who had his POA.

 

[RE2Boys]

Turbo Tax just asks all the questions a CPA/tax professional should be asking--but forgot to ask.

And for most simple tax returns, tax professionals are just plugging the numbers into a TurboTax type computer program anyway. I can just as easy do the plugging myself.

Hey, that's my seasonal job, start on Thursday!! Seriously, if all you have is the forms you presented, and have nothing tricky like side business, annuities, iffy deductions, children, or what would be classified as "other" income, TurboTax, HR Block software, or Tax Cut should easily handle the job. TT changed their products this year so if you have a 1099B, they force you to go to their Premier level, the HRB software may be better value.
When I worked at HR Block (over ten years ago) they always invited folks to bring their return in for a "professional review" hoping to catch something and gain you as a customer. You always could try that, but a good salesperson won't tell you what is wrong, just say they'll save you money if they find something.