New to taxes. Confused and lost about what to do, so I need guidance.

Submitted by Bigshit67 t3_11adzu1 in Connecticut

So I’ve been living in CT for the past 2 decades (I’m 22, lived in Danbury since 21 then moved to newtown last spring after turning 22) and haven’t really ever filed my own taxes before until this year. Yeah I know, bewildering since I’m an adult and should’ve been doing them by myself, make fun of me all you want, I’m expecting it. Before my father used to do them for all of us in the family, since this sort of thing was more what he did professionally. But at the end of last year he ended up passing away from cancer, and it never occurred to me to ask him about what I need to do for my own taxes since I was just so focused on thinking about my times with him and making him happy before he went.

I know I need to file my W2 and the 1099, along with the 5498 for a account I have as well, and I have all of those right now. But what else do I need to file??? I hear from my coworker I need to file a car tax and property tax, yet I haven’t received either in the mail whatsoever, so I don’t know what’s going on with that, nor what these forms are called either. I registered my car for newtown last year before October, along with changing my USPS address to here as well, so there shouldn’t be any reason why I’m not getting them, unless there’s something else I’m missing?

Is there other tax forms I’m supposed to be expecting? Or someone I can contact to get everything I need to properly file for this year?

My car isn’t leased by the way, I purchased it in full from a dealer back in 2020, and i only live in an apartment, so I’m not sure if that changes anything. I’ve asked pretty much everyone I know, and either they know as much as I do, or nothing all since they have their parents do it all for them. Searching online hasn’t been any help either because of just how vague all the answers are, or I get different answers depending on where I look. I’m new to this whole thing, and I’m worried about doing something wrong or forgetting something.

Thanks in advance

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SheepHurrDerr t1_j9rifd8 wrote

Your W2, 1099, and 5498 are all part of your income tax, which you would file federally and with the state. You can use a tax software to help with this, I like FreeTaxUSA but there’s many options.

For the car, your car tax and property tax are the same thing since Connecticut considers motor vehicles subject to local property taxes. You can just pay these online (you can search for yourself in Newtown’s database here )

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Bigshit67 OP t1_j9rj945 wrote

Says no record is found when I search my name, did they just not file it into the database?? Or is there an issue that I’d need to resolve in person? Also, since I just rent an apartment, would I still pay property tax?

Edit: I looked up my name on the Danbury site too to see if maybe there was a mistake and I’m somehow still recognized as a Danbury resident, shows all the previous taxes paid, but says nothing is due on my end. Weird 😕

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merryone2K t1_j9rk1qe wrote

Also a FreeTaxUsa user, and it walks you through just like TurboTax does. When searching for your name on the Newtown Property Tax list, make sure to do it several ways...when I looked for my son's payment, I tried first as suggested using last name and first initial - nothing there. Tried using last name and first name, nothing came up. Tried using all caps and BINGO! there it was. FWIW, it's worthwhile getting that motor vehicle tax receipt, because it caused him to get a $314 refund from the state instead of just $14.

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Bigshit67 OP t1_j9rqvjc wrote

Yeah I put my name in all caps (it was what the example name was shown, so I did it that way) and it didn’t really show anything for newtown. I’ll try using lowercase to see if that’s any different, doubtful but worth a try lol. Where would I get the motor vehicle tax receipt? Is that something on the site? Or do I get that by other means?

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SheepHurrDerr t1_j9rkc99 wrote

You could check Danbury’s tax database and see if you have any outstanding bills there, sometimes the dmv isn’t good about timely notifying towns about registration changes. If that is the case you could just give the tax collector a quick call and they will help you get the tax bill straightened out (this might be a good idea either way, they are generally pretty helpful).

And yes unfortunately everyone that owns a car has to pay the car tax, even if they are renting, since in this case the car itself is the property that they are taxing.

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SMB-1988 t1_j9ri4cr wrote

Get TurboTax. It’s wonderful and walks you through step by step. Car tax is paid separately through the town. You should get a letter in the mail. You can go to the town clerk office in town hall to discuss if you haven’t got a letter for car tax.

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Bigshit67 OP t1_j9rio6n wrote

Thank you :) didn’t know that turbo tax will guide me through these things, that’ll make it all a lot easier. Besides that car tax, is there anything else I should receive in the mail from the town? Or the state?

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shibby69420 t1_j9rmb6c wrote

TurboTax or one of the competitors is the best way to go. It’s a guided walkthrough, it’s going to ask you a bunch of questions about your situation and the tax documentation that you’ve received to date.

It’s going to populate your tax forms, tell you what you owe or what your refund will be, and file for you.

Couldn’t be easier.

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[deleted] t1_j9sk4k5 wrote

[deleted]

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Bigshit67 OP t1_j9t40g9 wrote

Thank you! This answers a lot of my questions and others :) I was under the impression that the car taxes were done together with the federal/state taxes, good knowing now that that’s not the case, otherwise I would’ve been much more confused later on lmao. I believe I changed my car registration, along with my license and other DMV stuff, to newtown around august 2022 the earliest, so I feel like it should be in their system, but mistakes can happen I guess lol. Went on their website and nothing under my name was under, so I’ll give them a call for sure about it if it doesn’t show by the end of this week.

So since the car taxes are known under my radar, I’m assuming I’ll be getting other taxes in the mail too right? What else should I be expecting besides that one? Would I be receiving one for gas? Or other things at all? Or would the tax collector know all these things and I should just ask them?

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tookerken t1_j9s1e3i wrote

I suggest finding a local accountant and just paying the $80-$150 to have them absorb all the liability.

They will tell you exactly what you need and have the best access to it all.

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SCMegatron t1_j9t17ox wrote

"absorb all of the liability"

Not at all true. The IRS may penalize your tax preparer (if they're a CPA). The taxes that are owed will be paid by you. You could go to tax court. The benefit is that you have someone that knows how to interpret and handle communication from the IRS.

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tookerken t1_j9twex6 wrote

By liability I mean if any mistakes are made they absorb that liability of mistakes.

They will 100% be responsible if they screw up your tax returns, and that costs you money.

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DeskFan203 t1_j9the4r wrote

Yeah no they do not absorb the liability. I use an accountant and when I sign off on my 1040s for them to be filed, I also sign off that I do not hold them accountable (ha) for any errors and have reviewed the documents.

My late grandmother was responsible for the firm doing this. The IRS billed her for something the accountant screwed up on, she went after the accountant and made him pay for the issue lol. That was an expensive learning lesson for the firm and after that, they adopted this policy. She was a force to be reckoned with...😅

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tookerken t1_j9twla1 wrote

By liability I mean if any mistakes are made they absorb that liability of mistakes.

They will 100% be responsible if they screw up your tax returns, and that costs you money.

Add proven by the fact she was able to sue. You don't have to sign your rights away. And I would suggest that if any one of them does ask you to sign away their mistakes as a rate you go find another accounting.

My accountant here and the one that I've had previously they've always guaranteed their work.

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shihchiun t1_j9usvzh wrote

CT allows deductions for property taxes paid during the tax year. It won’t be a tax form you get from your town; look at your bank statements or other records (if you keep them).

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DeskFan203 t1_j9thlnb wrote

If you have a low income (forget the threshold) you may qualify for help with VITA. It's a volunteer tax service for seniors and lower incomes.

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iwanttobehappy2022 t1_j9rfoq2 wrote

Car tax is paid to the town. You better pay it. It’s probably several grand now. Go to the town hall and pay the tax.

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Bigshit67 OP t1_j9ricea wrote

Didn’t realize it was supposed to be paid to the town, wish someone told me this stuff before I moved out of Danbury. But how would it be several grand?? I thought the tax was only determined by the value of your car and where it’s registered? Genuine question. I’ve only been here less than a year so I didn’t think anything could rack up that much.

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SheepHurrDerr t1_j9rinuz wrote

If it’s only been one year, as long as you don’t have a luxury car it will most likely only be a few hundred $

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iwanttobehappy2022 t1_j9rldwb wrote

Not true it’s been three years. He hasn’t paid taxes on his automobile in three years. Late fees on late fees. On late fees. Taxes are high in his area. I’d imagine 600 for the first year 500 the second and 460 the third. Most likely can’t register his vehicle either.

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Bigshit67 OP t1_j9rm3x3 wrote

When did I ever say I haven’t paid taxes in 3 years?? The car tax was paid in Danbury last year (2022) by my father, Danbury site also confirms this, then I moved to newtown a month or two later. Also, I know I can register my vehicle still since I just renewed registration last week without issue.

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Bdigital70 t1_j9rs782 wrote

You won’t need a receipt for the car taxes, any of the tax software will just have you enter the amount paid. You should be able to see that on the Danbury website.

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iwanttobehappy2022 t1_j9rtzhc wrote

Reread your post

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Bigshit67 OP t1_j9rv1if wrote

I did, and in no way did it say or imply I haven’t paid taxes in 3 years. I said I’m 22, and moved to newtown after that 22nd birthday (which is in late March) before that I was in Danbury and the taxes were always handled and paid for by my father, the Danbury tax site literally proves this, I’m looking at it right now and it shows all of them were paid, nothing due for either town.

I’d suggest you reread it, because it seems like you’re the only one here that doesn’t understand whatsoever

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iwanttobehappy2022 t1_j9s5lie wrote

Young lady what grade are you? You bought the car in 2020. You pay tax the following year for each year of ownership. You’ll be billed for 2023 in June. You owe three years of taxes. It’s time for you to be responsible and apologize as well as thank me for correcting your disgusting mistakes. Ewww

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Bigshit67 OP t1_j9sd5w4 wrote

Lol what? Now we’re talking about school? Take your meds dude 🤣

And like I said, for the second time already, I already paid those previous years since buying the car, i only need to pay this years. I’m not sure what you’re not understanding about that, it’s really simple.

Also, I’m not apologizing to you for shit lol, consider yourself blocked, dickhead

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merryone2K t1_j9rkx7t wrote

Check and see if you're up-to-date with your car taxes; if you were registered in Danbury until last October Danbury would have taxed you. If you changed your address in October 2022, Newtown would not have sent out a bill yet. Anyhoo, check here: https://portal.ct.gov/dmv/vehicle-services/compliance-issues?language=en_US

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Bigshit67 OP t1_j9rrz07 wrote

Checked the Danbury site and it does indeed show my previous taxes for my car (along with the old one I had prior to my current one). Looks like they were all paid as expected though, filtering it all out also says nothing is due, so I guess that can be scratched off the list of possibilities 😄

And I changed my address, and registration for newtown on July-august I believe, license was changed November for newtown as well pretty sure. Was there anything else I was supposed to change as far as address? When should I expect the bill to be sent out?

And thank you for the link! I’ll check that out as well when I get the chance :)

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merryone2K t1_j9t7g7w wrote

You need to either write down the amount and date paid for your mv tax or download a pdf of the bill; that gives you a credit in the state tax scenario. It was an extra $300 in my son's pocket so worth the effort. The town generally mails out property tax bills in June so you're good. Best of luck; adulting sucks but what sucks worse is having to pay fines for finding out the hard way.

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