[taxabletalk] Russ: Bozo Tax Tip #5: The $0.42 Solution

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Posted by Russ:
Bozo Tax Tip #5: The $0.42 Solution
http://www.taxabletalk.com/posts/1239073791.shtml


   With Tax Day fast approaching it's time to look into the Bozo method
   of courting disaster. And it doesn't, on the surface, seem to be a
   Bozo method. After all, this organization has the motto, Neither rain
   nor snow nor gloom of night can stay these messengers about their
   duty.
   Well, that's not really the Postal Service's motto. [1]It's just the
   inscription on the General Post Office in New York (at 8th Avenue and
   33rd Street).
   So assume you have a lengthy, difficult return. You've paid a
   professional good money to get it done. You go to the Post Office, put
   proper postage on it, dump it in the slot (before April 15th), and
   you've just committed a Bozo act.
   If you use the Postal Service to mail your tax returns, spend the
   extra money for certified mail. For $2.70 you can purchase certified
   mail. Yes, you will have to stand in a line (or you can use the
   automated machines in many post offices), but you now have a receipt
   that verifies that you have mailed your return.
   About three years ago a client saved $2.42 (I think that was the cost
   of a certified mail piece then) and sent his return in with a $0.37
   stamp. It never made it. He ended up paying nearly $1000...but he did
   save $2.42.
   Don't be a Bozo. Efile (and you don't have to worry at all about the
   Post Office), or spend the $2.70! And you can go all out and get a
   return receipt, too (though you can now track certified mail online).
   There's a reason every client letter notes, "using certified mail."
   A warning for those who save the money and do not use return receipt
   service. The postal service only keeps the computerized (online)
   records up for two years. So you must print that record of delivery
   off the postal service's website. Or you can spend an additional $2.20
   for a return receipt postcard or $1.00 for an electronic return
   receipt. Paper counts, so make sure you get a receipt of some sort.

References

   1. http://www.infoplease.com/askeds/post-office-motto.html