And how long did you wait at the Post Office?
On a Saturday afternoon, there were only 2 other people ahead of me. Haha.
And how long did you wait at the Post Office?
There is almost never a line at our rural PO. There is just 2 windows and one is always open.And how long did you wait at the Post Office?
I usually file on paper and mail my documents at the post office. Just seems safer. E-filing carries risk of hacking. Got enough of that already.
I usually owe a small amount or have a small overpayment that I roll to the next year.
I suppose, but you also get that almost instant verification that your return was accepted, which is comforting. As I understand it, if someone did the scam of filing as you, your e-file would be rejected, and at east you would know at that point. That could take ages with paper filing.
Sure. Everyone can make their own decision. But it is more than IRS being hacked. It is the e-file agent's website I am more concerned about. When you e-file, your return goes there as well. More copies equals more risk.I suppose, but you also get that almost instant verification that your return was accepted, which is comforting. As I understand it, if someone did the scam of filing as you, your e-file would be rejected, and at east you would know at that point. That could take ages with paper filing.
A quick search says the IRS was hacked back in 2015, but they got to the 'get transcripts' area, which exist for both paper and e-filed. And the articles about 'vulnerabilities' at the tax software sites looked to be mainly not having enough protection against phishing emails - but those are easily avoided - never click a link in an email like that, go directly to the site.
I'm not trying to change your mind, I'm just saying I'm not going to lose sleep over this.
-ERD50
I have never had a problem filing by mail. It's one trip to the post office every year, fill out the certified mail form, pay a few bucks and, boom, done.
Right, back in the day, when we filed on the last night, USPS uniformed folks waited on a circle close to the mail boxes and took envelopes from folks in cars and put them in those handy, dandy plastic bins. One guy trudged into the building with a couple of the boxes while other boxes were being filled up. It was kind of a ritual until e-file took away all the "fun."
Maybe I'm missing something... When you paper-file taxes for your kids, how do you know that their returns have been accepted & processed?
We had to paper-file for my kids this year (first time, unable to e-file for them -- otherwise I always e-file for DW & I). They owed ~$300 each, due to a larger-than-typical Alaska PFD + UTMA earnings. As expected, the Treasury cashed our checks within a couple weeks, but I can't figure a simple way to confirm that their tax returns are processed & put to bed.
The 'where's my refund' thing only works if you're due a refund. I can get my own records through my IRS account (via ID.me), but the ID.me system won't verify kids under 18, therefore I can't create an IRS account to access my kids' tax records.
I'm afraid that my only option would be to call the IRS & burn 1-4 hours of my time. Anything I'm missing? Or maybe it just doesn't matter? But the stories of lost returns make me nervous...