Minor things that bother you

[CoreySamson]

Not ideal, but it's an improvement over the issues my dorm bathroom had the last school year, such as the "poop bandit."

This seems to be a weirdly common issue on college campuses. I remember when I was in college, there was an incident involving a mystery "dryer shitter" a couple years before I was a student.

Dear Buddha, that's worse than what we had! Our mystery culprit took a crap in my floor's urinal and in the shower of another floor.

[bugo]

When I went to college at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, I lived in the dumpiest dorm on campus, State Hall. The communal bathrooms had stalls, but this one guy refused to close the doors. We called him Take A Shit Guy. What a rude asshole. I finally got out of that dorm and into one that had private rooms with a semi-private bath, so I didn't have to worry about Take A Shit Guy ever again.

[vdeane]

Well, this is annoying.  NYS issued "inflation refund checks" to everyone last year.  I thought the whole thing was a dumb gimmick and that the money could be better used elsewhere, and that opinion has only been reinforced now that tax season is underway.  They're taxable federally but not state, and there isn't an obvious place on any tax forms to put them (nowhere on the 1040 they seem to apply, and no NYS subtraction on the IT-201).  Googling the issue, and it seems like no tax software has any idea what to do with these things either.  To make matters worse, I do all my tax paperwork electronically, so I didn't remember the check or see the thing sitting in the papers on my desk for other reasons, and I've already filed!  Looking at the tax tables, this is a difference in the amount I owe by $33 federally, but with all the complications and that I already filed, I have no idea what to do.

It's as if NYS just assumes that everyone uses paid tax preparers - a dangerous assumption given that I have a strong ideological opposition to the idea of having to pay someone to file my taxes.

Also, NYS allegedly issues 1099-G forms, but I never got one, only the IT-796-AAT attached to the check.

The solution to this that my dorm mates have found is to turn the dryer 90 degrees so the door is out of the way in the bathroom and shove the bathroom trash can in front of the door to keep it closed.

Wouldn't it be easier to just put a laundry basket in front of the dryer so that the clothes drop into the basket rather than on the floor?

It would be easier, but the dryer is located in a narrowish hallway with a ton of foot traffic, so the basket would probably get kicked away or stepped on/over. The point is moot now, though, because they just fixed the dryer door and the vent.

Wow, they don't even give you a dedicated laundry room?  That sucks!

[gonealookin]

Well, this is annoying.  NYS issued "inflation refund checks" to everyone last year.  I thought the whole thing was a dumb gimmick and that the money could be better used elsewhere, and that opinion has only been reinforced now that tax season is underway.  They're taxable federally but not state, and there isn't an obvious place on any tax forms to put them (nowhere on the 1040 they seem to apply, and no NYS subtraction on the IT-201).  Googling the issue, and it seems like no tax software has any idea what to do with these things either.  To make matters worse, I do all my tax paperwork electronically, so I didn't remember the check or see the thing sitting in the papers on my desk for other reasons, and I've already filed!  Looking at the tax tables, this is a difference in the amount I owe by $33 federally, but with all the complications and that I already filed, I have no idea what to do.

A check of a forum I read whose participants are financially savvy (Bogleheads.org) says the NYS "inflation refund" is a refund of state taxes paid and therefore is only reportable if you itemize deductions on your federal return.  IRS guidance on state tax refunds is here:  https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-issues-guidance-on-state-tax-payments

Most taxpayers receiving state tax refunds do not have to include the state tax refund in income for federal tax purposes. As a general rule, taxpayers who choose the standard deduction on their federal income tax returns do not owe federal income tax on state tax refunds.

The vast majority of taxpayers claim the standard deduction. For instance, in tax year 2021, 90% of individuals claimed the standard deduction instead of itemizing their deductions.

Taxpayers who itemize their deductions on their federal income tax returns and receive a state tax refund must include the refund in income only if they deducted the state tax paid.

[vdeane]

Well, this is annoying.  NYS issued "inflation refund checks" to everyone last year.  I thought the whole thing was a dumb gimmick and that the money could be better used elsewhere, and that opinion has only been reinforced now that tax season is underway.  They're taxable federally but not state, and there isn't an obvious place on any tax forms to put them (nowhere on the 1040 they seem to apply, and no NYS subtraction on the IT-201).  Googling the issue, and it seems like no tax software has any idea what to do with these things either.  To make matters worse, I do all my tax paperwork electronically, so I didn't remember the check or see the thing sitting in the papers on my desk for other reasons, and I've already filed!  Looking at the tax tables, this is a difference in the amount I owe by $33 federally, but with all the complications and that I already filed, I have no idea what to do.

A check of a forum I read whose participants are financially savvy (Bogleheads.org) says the NYS "inflation refund" is a refund of state taxes paid and therefore is only reportable if you itemize deductions on your federal return.  IRS guidance on state tax refunds is here:  https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-issues-guidance-on-state-tax-payments

Most taxpayers receiving state tax refunds do not have to include the state tax refund in income for federal tax purposes. As a general rule, taxpayers who choose the standard deduction on their federal income tax returns do not owe federal income tax on state tax refunds.

The vast majority of taxpayers claim the standard deduction. For instance, in tax year 2021, 90% of individuals claimed the standard deduction instead of itemizing their deductions.

Taxpayers who itemize their deductions on their federal income tax returns and receive a state tax refund must include the refund in income only if they deducted the state tax paid.

I've heard that such is a misconception because it's not actually a refund on income tax.  The state considers it to be a refund on sales tax, but it's based on income from 2023 income tax returns rather than sales tax, which makes it not considered to be a non-taxable refund federally.

[gonealookin]

I've heard that such is a misconception because it's not actually a refund on income tax.  The state considers it to be a refund on sales tax, but it's based on income from 2023 income tax returns rather than sales tax, which makes it not considered to be a non-taxable refund federally.

Further reading suggests that you are probably right on this although the issue is not totally clear (meaning the software or e-file company you used probably didn't ask you specifically whether you received a 1099-G for the "Inflation Refund" from New York State).

If it's reportable, the amount of the refund goes on Form 1040, Schedule 1, Line 1, and if you have nothing else to report on Schedule 1 that same amount would transfer directly to Form 1040, Line 8.

Not many people have filed yet and run into the problem, but it should be clarified in the next month or so.  When that happens, either:

1.  Be proactive:  File an amended return to add the 1099-G amount on Schedule 1.

2.  Be passive:  Wait for the IRS to notice that you forgot to report some income, and they'll send you a bill for the $33.  You're not going to Tax Prison or be called in for an audit for failing to report a relatively tiny amount of income.

[vdeane]

meaning the software or e-file company you used probably didn't ask you specifically whether you received a 1099-G for the "Inflation Refund" from New York State

Considering that I don't pay for tax software and the like, yeah, nothing asked.  I just use the "Free File Fillable Forms", which is just an online 1040 that can do basic arithmetic.  I have to look up stuff like my total tax myself.

If it's reportable, the amount of the refund goes on Form 1040, Schedule 1, Line 1, and if you have nothing else to report on Schedule 1 that same amount would transfer directly to Form 1040, Line 8.

That explains why I never saw it.  I don't believe I've ever had to file a Schedule 1 before.

1.  Be proactive:  File an amended return to add the 1099-G amount on Schedule 1.

It doesn't look like Free File Fillable Forms has an easy way to file an amended return.  Or if they do, it's not obvious where.  Too bad He Who Must Not Be Named killed Direct File.  F*** the tax prep lobby!

[elsmere241]

When I move the antenna downstairs for my wife and me to watch the Super Bowl, and it takes forever to get the antenna in the right place to pick it up.  (I just picked it up with a couple of minutes left in the third quarter.)

[kkt]

meaning the software or e-file company you used probably didn't ask you specifically whether you received a 1099-G for the "Inflation Refund" from New York State

Considering that I don't pay for tax software and the like, yeah, nothing asked.  I just use the "Free File Fillable Forms", which is just an online 1040 that can do basic arithmetic.  I have to look up stuff like my total tax myself.

If it's reportable, the amount of the refund goes on Form 1040, Schedule 1, Line 1, and if you have nothing else to report on Schedule 1 that same amount would transfer directly to Form 1040, Line 8.

That explains why I never saw it.  I don't believe I've ever had to file a Schedule 1 before.

1.  Be proactive:  File an amended return to add the 1099-G amount on Schedule 1.

It doesn't look like Free File Fillable Forms has an easy way to file an amended return.  Or if they do, it's not obvious where.  Too bad He Who Must Not Be Named killed Direct File.  F*** the tax prep lobby!

He did?  I didn't know that.  I'll add it to the list of reasons to dislike him.

[gonealookin]

1.  Be proactive:  File an amended return to add the 1099-G amount on Schedule 1.

It doesn't look like Free File Fillable Forms has an easy way to file an amended return.  Or if they do, it's not obvious where.  Too bad He Who Must Not Be Named killed Direct File.  F*** the tax prep lobby!

You may have to do the amended return on paper.  It's pretty easy; here are the 1040-X and the instructions.  All you're doing is adding the amount from the 1099-G on Line 1, recalculate your tax on Line 6, get down to Line 20 to show how much you need to pay, and explain it in Part II.  Attach the Form 1040, Schedule 1 you didn't file the first time, with Line 1 filled in.

But before you do any of that, I'd wait until you get your refund (assuming you're getting one), because if the IRS has already caught the omission, they might just go ahead and reduce the amount by the $33, in which case you can consider the matter fully resolved with no need to file the 1040-X.

I do a rough draft of my own federal return ahead of time, but when it's time to file I use FreeTaxUSA and go through the "interview" process to catch anything I might have missed.  E-filing a federal return through them is free for everyone; we don't have state income tax, but those who do can either pay the $15.99 to file with their state or just fill out a state return separately.

[Rothman]

I certainly didn't get a 1099-G for mine.  Oh wait, we get to download them from the stupid website...

[formulanone]

When I move the antenna downstairs for my wife and me to watch the Super Bowl, and it takes forever to get the antenna in the right place to pick it up.  (I just picked it up with a couple of minutes left in the third quarter.)

I live in a place now where the over-the-air TV reception is great, but the cell service is poor.

Had the opposite problem before I moved; would literally have to connect a 50-foot coaxial cable to the antenna and drape it over a chair at the other end of the house to watch some networks. I'd watch the Indy 500 every year on ABC and put out a few brightly-colored obstacles to warn people they might trip over a cord, but if everyone was watching the same room and not moving, reception was usually okay.

Our home only has one road cone, I should buy a few more on principle. On the other hand, I got to use one of my otherwise useless cables which will be bequeathed to my children if it ever needs to be used again.

[kphoger]

When I went to college at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, I lived in the dumpiest dorm on campus, State Hall. The communal bathrooms had stalls, but this one guy refused to close the doors. We called him Take A Shit Guy. What a rude asshole. I finally got out of that dorm and into one that had private rooms with a semi-private bath, so I didn't have to worry about Take A Shit Guy ever again.

What if I told you, my junior high school bathroom didn't have doors on the stalls.  And one of the bathrooms in my high school didn't even have dividers between the stools at all.

[1995hoo]

When I went to college at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, I lived in the dumpiest dorm on campus, State Hall. The communal bathrooms had stalls, but this one guy refused to close the doors. We called him Take A Shit Guy. What a rude asshole. I finally got out of that dorm and into one that had private rooms with a semi-private bath, so I didn't have to worry about Take A Shit Guy ever again.

What if I told you, my junior high school bathroom didn't have doors on the stalls.  And one of the bathrooms in my high school didn't even have dividers between the stools at all.

My high school didn't have doors on them either. There were dividers, but they were about shoulder-high. I always wondered whether they expected you to have a conversation with the guy sitting next to you. And the TP rolls were chained to the walls, presumably to stop people from vandalizing. But the TP was also almost always sopping wet (I never investigated closely enough to find out what the wet was from, of course). Luckily, I knew where there was a secret handicapped-accessible locker room that almost nobody else knew about, so on the rare occasion I had to take a crap at school, I went there. It locked, it was clean, and the TP was normal. I told my younger brother about it when he started at the same school and swore him to secrecy about its existence.

This discussion is now making me remember the awkward time in fifth grade when the school principal asked the teachers to ask the students why a lot of kids seemed not to want to use the restroom at school. Evidently some of the teachers had noticed kids acting fidgety trying to hold it. Our teacher was female, as was the norm, so it made for a slightly uncomfortable moment when this one kid Paul said, "Well, this may not be an issue for the girls, but it can be unpleasant because some guys...well, they miss." (Half the class then burst out laughing and half the class went "ewwwww.")

[vdeane]

1.  Be proactive:  File an amended return to add the 1099-G amount on Schedule 1.

It doesn't look like Free File Fillable Forms has an easy way to file an amended return.  Or if they do, it's not obvious where.  Too bad He Who Must Not Be Named killed Direct File.  F*** the tax prep lobby!

You may have to do the amended return on paper.  It's pretty easy; here are the 1040-X and the instructions.  All you're doing is adding the amount from the 1099-G on Line 1, recalculate your tax on Line 6, get down to Line 20 to show how much you need to pay, and explain it in Part II.  Attach the Form 1040, Schedule 1 you didn't file the first time, with Line 1 filled in.

But before you do any of that, I'd wait until you get your refund (assuming you're getting one), because if the IRS has already caught the omission, they might just go ahead and reduce the amount by the $33, in which case you can consider the matter fully resolved with no need to file the 1040-X.

I do a rough draft of my own federal return ahead of time, but when it's time to file I use FreeTaxUSA and go through the "interview" process to catch anything I might have missed.  E-filing a federal return through them is free for everyone; we don't have state income tax, but those who do can either pay the $15.99 to file with their state or just fill out a state return separately.

No refund for me this year; my bank account interest pushed me into owing since I got a high interest savings account back in June/July (which is a better reason to owe than the state screwing up my withholding like happened in 2024).  They already withdrew that amount without the extra $33.

I certainly didn't get a 1099-G for mine.  Oh wait, we get to download them from the stupid website...

Website?  Are they expecting us to fill that out ourselves?  I wonder if that's what the link was that I was using to get out of the site that tries to push tax software on everyone and into the real site with the actual forms I need.

When I went to college at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, I lived in the dumpiest dorm on campus, State Hall. The communal bathrooms had stalls, but this one guy refused to close the doors. We called him Take A Shit Guy. What a rude asshole. I finally got out of that dorm and into one that had private rooms with a semi-private bath, so I didn't have to worry about Take A Shit Guy ever again.

What if I told you, my junior high school bathroom didn't have doors on the stalls.  And one of the bathrooms in my high school didn't even have dividers between the stools at all.

My high school didn't have doors on them either. There were dividers, but they were about shoulder-high. I always wondered whether they expected you to have a conversation with the guy sitting next to you. And the TP rolls were chained to the walls, presumably to stop people from vandalizing. But the TP was also almost always sopping wet (I never investigated closely enough to find out what the wet was from, of course). Luckily, I knew where there was a secret handicapped-accessible locker room that almost nobody else knew about, so on the rare occasion I had to take a crap at school, I went there. It locked, it was clean, and the TP was normal. I told my younger brother about it when he started at the same school and swore him to secrecy about its existence.

This discussion is now making me remember the awkward time in fifth grade when the school principal asked the teachers to ask the students why a lot of kids seemed not to want to use the restroom at school. Evidently some of the teachers had noticed kids acting fidgety trying to hold it. Our teacher was female, as was the norm, so it made for a slightly uncomfortable moment when this one kid Paul said, "Well, this may not be an issue for the girls, but it can be unpleasant because some guys...well, they miss." (Half the class then burst out laughing and half the class went "ewwwww.")

Is this a "before my time" sort of thing or a "different part of the country" sort of thing?  I find such things inconceivable, but if that's common elsewhere (or was in the past), that would certainly explain some of the discourse around transgender rights and school bathrooms.

[Rothman]

@vdeane: From the Tax and Finance site...maybe?  I'll be looking more into it this weekend.

[kphoger]

Is this a "before my time" sort of thing or a "different part of the country" sort of thing?  I find such things inconceivable, but if that's common elsewhere (or was in the past), that would certainly explain some of the discourse around transgender rights and school bathrooms.

You know as well as I do that many urinals don't have dividers between them, and pretty much none have doors.  And tell me I'm not the only one who used a communal shower room adjoining the high school locker room.

[Rothman]

When I went to college at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, I lived in the dumpiest dorm on campus, State Hall. The communal bathrooms had stalls, but this one guy refused to close the doors. We called him Take A Shit Guy. What a rude asshole. I finally got out of that dorm and into one that had private rooms with a semi-private bath, so I didn't have to worry about Take A Shit Guy ever again.

What if I told you, my junior high school bathroom didn't have doors on the stalls.  And one of the bathrooms in my high school didn't even have dividers between the stools at all.

What a terrible place to grow up.

[1995hoo]

When I went to college at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, I lived in the dumpiest dorm on campus, State Hall. The communal bathrooms had stalls, but this one guy refused to close the doors. We called him Take A Shit Guy. What a rude asshole. I finally got out of that dorm and into one that had private rooms with a semi-private bath, so I didn't have to worry about Take A Shit Guy ever again.

What if I told you, my junior high school bathroom didn't have doors on the stalls.  And one of the bathrooms in my high school didn't even have dividers between the stools at all.

My high school didn't have doors on them either. There were dividers, but they were about shoulder-high. I always wondered whether they expected you to have a conversation with the guy sitting next to you. And the TP rolls were chained to the walls, presumably to stop people from vandalizing. But the TP was also almost always sopping wet (I never investigated closely enough to find out what the wet was from, of course). Luckily, I knew where there was a secret handicapped-accessible locker room that almost nobody else knew about, so on the rare occasion I had to take a crap at school, I went there. It locked, it was clean, and the TP was normal. I told my younger brother about it when he started at the same school and swore him to secrecy about its existence.

This discussion is now making me remember the awkward time in fifth grade when the school principal asked the teachers to ask the students why a lot of kids seemed not to want to use the restroom at school. Evidently some of the teachers had noticed kids acting fidgety trying to hold it. Our teacher was female, as was the norm, so it made for a slightly uncomfortable moment when this one kid Paul said, "Well, this may not be an issue for the girls, but it can be unpleasant because some guys...well, they miss." (Half the class then burst out laughing and half the class went "ewwwww.")

Is this a "before my time" sort of thing or a "different part of the country" sort of thing?  I find such things inconceivable, but if that's common elsewhere (or was in the past), that would certainly explain some of the discourse around transgender rights and school bathrooms.

As I only attended the one high school in Fairfax, Virginia, and have never lived in a different part of the country, I have no idea on the "different part of the country" thing, and as I have no kids, I don't know what the high-school restrooms look like now, so I have no idea on the "before your time" thing. My high school was heavily renovated sometime within the last 15 years or so and I would hope they would have put in more civilized restroom facilities, at least around the shitters anyway (as kphoger rightly notes, not having dividers for urinals is hardly either unusual or objectionable to most people).

As I think back, I seem to recall the prevailing thought was that the reason there were no full enclosures for the shitters was that they were removed to make it harder for people to hide in the restrooms to smoke. I never believed that explanation because they looked like they'd been built that way from the beginning, and my high school opened in 1964. I doubted anything was ever "removed." (I believe my junior high and elementary schools dated from around the same general time frame, maybe later 1960s, and they both had full enclosures. I assume kids of that age are presumed not to smoke at school.)

BTW, I have no idea whether the girls' restrooms were the same way, though I tend to assume not because we almost certainly would have heard them complain about it. I remember on a school trip to Boulder, Colorado, in August 1988 we stayed in one of the dorms there for the full week and the girls were complaining that their restroom had a "gang shower" configuration instead of individually curtained-off showers. They were extremely displeased about that. So that's why I assume that they would have complained if the high school's restrooms had been the same way.

[wxfree]

Is this a "before my time" sort of thing or a "different part of the country" sort of thing?  I find such things inconceivable, but if that's common elsewhere (or was in the past), that would certainly explain some of the discourse around transgender rights and school bathrooms.

I haven't seen such things in schools, but up until about 20 years ago a lot of Texas highway rest areas didn't have doors.  I wondered why, thinking it must be some ridiculous cost-cutting effort.  I found it was due to fears that the homosexuals might take advantage of any privacy to commit crimes against nature in public places.  It was like finding out you live in one of those 1950s films.

[kphoger]

I found it was due to fears that the homosexuals might take advantage of any privacy to commit crimes against nature in public places.  It was like finding out you live in one of those 1950s films.

Or that one mostly-edited-out scene in Dumb and Dumber.

[gonealookin]

No refund for me this year; my bank account interest pushed me into owing since I got a high interest savings account back in June/July (which is a better reason to owe than the state screwing up my withholding like happened in 2024).  They already withdrew that amount without the extra $33.

I certainly didn't get a 1099-G for mine.  Oh wait, we get to download them from the stupid website...

Website?  Are they expecting us to fill that out ourselves?  I wonder if that's what the link was that I was using to get out of the site that tries to push tax software on everyone and into the real site with the actual forms I need.

It looks like you would go here to download the 1099-G:  https://www8.tax.ny.gov/PIGI/pigiHome.  You'll need your NY state tax return from one of the last 5 years to access your form.

You should get a 1099-G that looks like this (Line 3 is 2023, because theoretically the refund was for 2023 sales taxes).

[hbelkins]

Drivers who don't turn their headlights on when it's raining, and cops who don't enforce that law.

That's not a law in every state.

[Scott5114]

Which form do you use for uncertain government payouts?

[hotdogPi]

Which form do you use for uncertain government payouts?

Form D20