Recent content by harshness

The motivation to e-file in my state is that if you want expedited refunds, e-filing is the only way to get them. Paper returns seem to require considerably more time to process. This is critically important for those who use their tax refunds as a budgeting tool to pay off holiday bills.

So you have to retype or cut and paste the numbers from your state return to the State website?

Not really. "Resort fees" usually separate amenities (pool, gym, Internet, office facilities, "free" breakfasts) from the price of the room itself. It isn't so much a hidey-hole for raising the advertised price, though I imagine that it does insulate the facility somewhat from the ravages of...

It should be noted that these e-files are for Federal returns only. State returns, where required, demand an additional investment. HR Block offers the same structure but charges 50% more ($37.50 vs $25) for state e-filing. Those who use online services may pay anywhere from $0 to $69 for...

This is a well-traveled trail of adding fees to cover the cost of not upping the plan (or package) price. That the various "cost recovery" fees were allowed in the first place seems an obvious concession to allow the establishment of these slop fees on top of "forever price" service plans...

Sing, Sing, Sing - Benny Goodman [oddly, an instrumental]

An even longer wait is ahead for a flat income tax system in which filing extensive documentation is unnecessary: income x tax rate (12%?) = taxes owed. Quite a few states (Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina...

After the Biden administration declared the "Direct File" program permanent in 2025, the IRS has discontinued it for 2026. This is not to be confused with the "IRS Free File" program used by tax preparation software and websites.

Intuit will fight you tooth and nail at every turn if you don't go online with all of its products. It isn't just TurboTax; it's Quicken, QuickBooks and others. It is Intuit's online way or else. HR Block still supports Windows 10 with its products, and they can import TurboTax data from the...

Kansas City - Little Richard

I also get a 404. T-Mobile's web wizards at least catch the error rather than just mysteriously breaking things as they seem to do at AT&T. I note that such "cost recovery fees" are in no way government-mandated; their existence and pricing are entirely at the carrier's option.

I observe that many stories related to Starfleet Academy involve shenanigans, perhaps the most notable being the Kobayashi Maru incident from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. ST:TNG The First Duty, involved Wesley Crusher and four other elite cadets trying to cover up the execution of a banned...

The Dream is Over - Van (Hagar) Halen

Saturday in the Park - Chicago

Yet another out-of-band update to fix what the Patch Tuesday update broke. It isn't particularly common and is related to an unusual use of Outluck Classic. https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/microsoft-releases-emergency-oob-update-to-fix-outlook-freezes/ Here's one that they are...