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Tag: discount

  • Turbo Tax discount and weekend in review

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    Turbo Tax Federal discount

    It’s tax season again. Here is the Turbo Tax Federal discount available to me. In most cases I think it will also work for others 🙂

    Bank of America: 35% off link
    Citicards: 35% off link
    Scottrade: 30% off
    Vanguard (regular customers): 25% off

    Weekend review
    Signed up the 360iDev iPhone conference in Denver (Sept 11-14 this year).

    A few weeks ago I found this article Embed a navigation controller inside a tab bar controller, and it’s very helpful.

    Does Apple just become an ordinary company/store? One sign: using “holiday promotion” tactics A LOT.

    It seems to me most people are counter-clock wired: I mean, most drive ways, tracks are designed that way so that the traffic goes in counter-clock direction. But occasionally people break the rule: I did this couple times, and I remember once another driver got really mad (honked at me). And yesterday morning I saw people do this in Panera Bread parking lot.

    Airplane mode on iPhone: it becomes handy at night (so that I don’t wake up and read the twitter); it saves battery too.

  • $10 off Sports Authority and Dick’s Sporting Goods

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    Google Checkout is doing promotion again. I found this while I Googled “Heelys”. Here are the links for Heelys. I think the $10 off can be applied to other things too. A gift from Google for your V-day.

    Sports Authority, Dick’s Sporting Goods

    By the way, I visited couple Sports Authority stores and Dick’s recently, and some ran out of Heelys. So online may be a good source.  

  • Turbo Tax Online E-filing

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    I have used Turbo Tax  online version for years and here are some of the tips.

    1) Started early. It’s obvious if you are expecting refund. The eariler you file, the earlier you will get the refund. But even if you are expecting paying more, you can start early and mail the check on April 15 (or whatever the deadline is). Starting earlier means fewer surprises; and it allows rooms for adjustment (such as additional contribution to 401K, IRA to avoid the higher tax bracket).

    2) Use the Federal version if you are thrifty. I did use the State filing service couple times. But at one time I was screwed by a mistake and a year later, the state sent a letter saying I need to pay more. This is a mistake I could avoid if I file by paper. In my case the State tax form is fairly straightward. One reason we want to use the Turbo Tax Federal is to let the computer do the add/subtraction, analyze the potential deduction and help planning the future. All these are not as important for the State tax because the tax rate is lower, the tax code is simpler, etc. 

    3) Use the E-filing. After filling the forms in the computer, you will have the options to file by mail or by E-filing. E-filing is better because it saves work for us and the goverment, saves the tree, saves the time to get refund…

    Last but not least, here is a discount I found for Turbo Tax Online.   

    turbo tax picture 

    (Update 06Feb07) Here is an interesting article about “whether do tax by yourself or hire an accountant” (from My Money Blog).