Nearest H R Block

Obama-cozy Podestas lead the bundling game

The  [Podesta] couple, already known as top-tier Democratic donors and lobbyists, appears back-to-back at the top of the FEC’s lobbyist bundler database. Both Podestas bundled over $320,000 each in just the first six months of this year, blowing away the nearest competitor and setting themselves up to make an early impact in what is shaping up to be the most expensive political cycle in American history.

Think about this cozy relationship in the context of Obama's constant anti-lobbyist rhetoric. His closest advisor is brothers with the lobbyist who raises the most money for his party. Tony's clients include Bank of America, Blue Cross, BP, Credit Suisse, Duke Energy, General Motors, Google, H&R Block, Lockheed Martin, Merck, National Public Radio, United Technologies, and Wal-Mart. Many of these companies have benefitted from Obama administration policies, and Podesta Group lobbying campaigns often overlap with the efforts of John Podesta's liberal non-profit, the Center for American Progress.

should i tried to do it myself to go to one of those tax preparer ...

Ok – calm down and relax. You are scaring yourself. I work for H&R Block. I’m here to help. A 1099 is a form to report income of various types. Like a 1099INT tells you interest income you made. A 1099DIV is used to report dividends on stocks you made. You will need Schedule B to report these.

A 1099MISC is used to report income you made working for someone who didn’t take out taxes (that’s reported on the W2). If you get one of those, you have to file Schedule C. You can write off most expenses because you are considered self employed.

Now, before you get more upset, go online and use the Tax Cut program on our website. It’s inexpensive and if you have problems, you can click to request live help from a tax preparer and someone from the closest office will contact you within 24 hours. Once you talk to them, you can either complete it yourself or print it and ask them to look it over. We do this for free.

The good thing with the program is that you answer the questions and it will do the math and populate the forms you need. You eliminate the guess work. Also, if you go through the website below, you may be able to efile for free depending on your income. (If it won’t take you there directly, go to http://www.irs.gov and click on free efile at the top of the page. Then follow the links to the list and select H&R Block. It will take you to this website where you can file for free if your adjusted gross income is under $52,000.)

Or, why not call the nearest H&R Block office and ask to speak with a tax preparer. They will be happy to answer any questions you have.

With your slightly more complicated return (Schedule B for interest and the 401k and Roth) you’re probably looking at around $100 – $150 for a storefront tax prep firm to do yours.

It’s not too complex to do yourself by hand, just pick up a 1040 package at the Post Office or you can download everything you need from the IRS website — forms, instructions, etc.

The fastest and probaby cheapest way would be to get one of the commercial tax prep packages like Tax Cut or Turbo Tax. It will walk you through the process step-by-step. You can also file electronically with either of those for about $30 for both your federal and state returns. Filing electronically will get you a much faster refund especially if you have it sent directly to your bank account. With direct deposit, you could have your refund in 2 weeks or even less. I got my federal refund in 5 days last year and my state in 8 days.

H&R Block 2002 Income Tax Guide, Preparing America's Taxes for Over 45 Years

Popular Science

Popular Mechanics

H & R Block just plain smart tax planning advisor : a year-round approach to lowering your taxes this year, next year, and beyond

Getting Started in Tax Consulting