Procrastinating on taxes after ER

[Dash man]

Tomorrow is my one year anniversary for hanging it up at work. I haven't even started my taxes yet even though I usually have already received a refund by this time of year. I'm curious if anyone else finds themselves procrastinating more after ER on taxes or anything else they used to do promptly?

 

[LOL!]

I guess I always procrastinated, so no change. Years ago, I got a corrected 1099 in the summer, so ever since I wait until April 14 or so to file my extension request and then file my return in October. That way I don't have to worry about a late 1099 causing me to file an admended return.

Another thing I wait on is the "check engine light" in my car. I let it go for about a year before I do anything about it.

 

[audreyh1]

No.

The opposite as after ER I had the time.

 

[Dash man]

No.

The opposite as after ER I had the time.

I think having the time is part of my problem. I don't have to "fit" it into my schedule, so i put it off.

 

[Brett_Cameron]

I procrastinate on taxes after ER as well.

 

[MichaelB]

Ben Franklin said "If you want something done ask a busy person"

I don't procrastinate, but I do take my sweet time to do things. When working I didn't have time for leisure and since retiring have tried to make up for it.

 

[Dash man]

I guess I always procrastinated, so no change. Years ago, I got a corrected 1099 in the summer, so ever since I wait until April 14 or so to file my extension request and then file my return in October. That way I don't have to worry about a late 1099 causing me to file an amended return.

We get a corrected 1099 most years in early March, so we're usually safe to file by then. I don't recall ever getting one later than that. Since I'd have to do my taxes to make sure I didn't owe anything before April 15, I'd just as soon file them and get it over with...unless I find myself procrastinating even more with the risk of paying penalties if I owe.

 

[scrabbler1]

No.

The opposite as after ER I had the time.

Same here, but not just because I have the time. As an early retiree, I pay nearly all of my tax payments via estimated taxes so I am monitoring my taxes throughout the year. By the time I get to late January of the following year, I already know what my tax return will look like. If I am not itemizing my deductions, as is the case for my current 2013 tax return, I don't have to wait for my 1098 form to arrive, only the 1099s.

I always owe several hundred dollars (no sense intentionally overpaying my estimated taxes just to get a refund LOL!) so I don't actually finalize my draft version until the end of March or early April (as in, around NOW) after my March monthly dividends arrive.

 

[Midpack]

No.

The opposite as after ER I had the time.

Me too. I've always done ours as soon as I have all the "paperwork," usually the first or second week in Feb. I almost always owe, by design. Retiring hasn't changed how I treat taxes at all.

 

[braumeister]

Another thing I wait on is the "check engine light" in my car. I let it go for about a year before I do anything about it.

Bad idea.
I think you should take care of that immediately. A small square of black electrical tape will fix the problem in under a minute.

 

[REWahoo]

When working I usually tried to get mine done by the end of March. Now that I'm retired I try not to wait beyond the end of February. Earlier filing also reduces your chances of identity theft and having someone file a false return for a big refund, something that has apparently become a very big problem.

 

[VaCollector]

I was an accountant in my w*rk days and had NEVER missed a deadline for filing my personal taxes…until…

Last year, I actually filed an extension…no real reason other than laziness…and then almost missed that deadline

Not gonna be much better this year

 

[pb4uski]

The opposite for me. When I was working I would normally file just before the deadline.

In retirement I am doing Roth conversions to the top pf the 15% tax bracket so in order to do that I essentially have my tax return done in late December before I do my Roth conversion for the year. I realize I could do a generous Roth conversion and then recharacterize any excess, but I'm not very keen on recharacterizations and the complications they create.

So for my return I just plug in the data as the forms come in in place of the estimates I had as of late December (most are spot on). I filed on March 5th and each return had a small overpayment that I applied to 2014. I would have filed earlier but we were away from home until the end of February.

That and I have the time to do it now so I have no good excuse.

 

[rbmrtn]

No change. I never file until the 15th, probably because I never get refunds.

 

[easysurfer]

Back while w*rking, I'd get a big jump on taxes and get that done early, not knowing how busy I'd be come April. In ER, was still doing taxes early, but one year did so before getting all the 1099's and the other before a corrected 1099. So now I wait until at least March to start.

For this year, my taxes are already done and filed and set April fools day as when to have the payment taken from my checking account.

 

[sailor]

I'm always procrastinating, because I get corrected 1099 all the times.
I just had one came with different qualified dividends amounts for IJS, IJR and VEU.
Also I don't file before March 15, because of potential of 401k plan failing top-heavy tests and getting refunds of your own contributions.

 

[jebmke]

Pretty consistent - normally file in late September/early October. Have been doing this ever since I was an expat and never had the paperwork to file early.

 

[SteveL]

Since we don't have pensions or other income which has taxes withheld, we have to pay estimates. I use TTax to model taxes so I can be close. Since I know what my tax situation is, and I am not getting a refund or I have to pay a little, there is no hurry. This way there is more time to read about all the folks struggling to get their refund......

 

[BTravlin]

Had always done it by early to mid February prior to ER but have definitely procrastinated this year. Just got everything out yesterday. Too many fun things to do other than taxes!

 

[W2R]

Gosh no, I don't procrastinate more about doing taxes now that I am retired, compared with when I was working! Doing taxes is a big milestone for me each year, now that I am retired.

This year I did both federal and state income taxes on February 3rd, the day after receiving the last document I needed, and received my tiny refund from the IRS on February 10th. Louisiana is way behind and didn't send my even more miniscule state refund until March 3rd.

When I was working, I probably would not have even realized that I had all the documents needed until later in February. Too many distractions.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Always did them really early. This year I will start them on April 10. Soon enough.

 

[Dash man]

Well, I dragged out my computer and gathered all the documents and started entering everything into TurboTax yesterday. We'll owe big...I'll look at it again next week to finish it.

 

[scrabbler1]

I should add that in the last 8 years I worked, I had to file not one but two state income tax forms. One was for my home state (NY) but the other was a non-resident form for the state I worked in (NJ). I always filed the NJ one in February because it was closely related to the NY one due to the resident credit I would receive off my NY taxes. The plan was to give the NJ one some time to get processed in case they told me I made some bonehead mistake on it. I could then fix it, maybe in time before the NY one was due so I would not have to file an amended NY return due to a mistake on the NJ return. This scenario never happened, thankfully, but the timing gave me some small comfort.

One small benefit to ER is that I never have to deal with the NJ tax forms ever again and the NY return became a lot easier.

 

[audreyh1]

We always wait until late March to work on taxes and e-file early April - mainly because we want to wait for any revised 1099s.

We do quarterly estimated taxes so I keep pretty close tabs on our income through the year.

 

[audreyh1]

Tomorrow is my one year anniversary for hanging it up at work. I haven't even started my taxes yet even though I usually have already received a refund by this time of year. I'm curious if anyone else finds themselves procrastinating more after ER on taxes or anything else they used to do promptly?

I don't consider waiting until early April procrastinating.