We just finished our 2001 income tax return. I don't know about anyone else, but we sure feel stupid.
When we got our $600 tax "rebate" in September, like a lot of people (I imagine) we thought we were getting a little portion of some big "surplus." But if we'd been paying closer attention, we would have realized then that it was merely an advance on our expected 2001 refund.
We use Turbo Tax, which showed us our refund, but also informed us we'd forgotten to include our $600 "rebate." When we plugged that number in, low and behold, our refund was reduced by $600.
Further research concluded that it was, after all, merely an advance of our own money. It was not a refund.
More research indicated that, unless you actually read all the 1040 instructions, your average 1040 filer might not realize what has happened. Turbo Tax broke it down for us, which is the only reason we knew about it. The tax tables are adjusted to automatically increase your tax by whatever your "rebate" was. So if you think that check you got in September was some kind of windfall, think again. You would have gotten that money anyway. You just got it a couple of months early.
I'm so mad at George W. right now I don't know what to do with myself. I feel mislead. Might be my own stupid fault, but I think the government could have done a little more to make sure people knew the real scoop.
I don't know. Maybe everyone else in the country was aware of this. We're not terribly stupid people, P and I. But we sure missed the boat on this one.
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