Maryland Tax Forms - why so complicated?

[Ttott]

Yes, it's Tax Day and of course this brings to mind something I've wondered for a while now: Is it just me, or are Maryland's state tax forms way more complicated than they need to be? I've lived in two other states during my adult life and filed taxes in both of them. Neither one was as headache-inducing as Maryland when it came to filling out the form. Okay, so the first one I left decades ago and things MIGHT be more complicated there now, but the other I left just a decade ago and I really don't remember having to do anywhere near as much "look up, this, decipher that, wish you had a law degree so you would understand this other part" as I see here in Maryland.

I'm a pretty intelligent person, college-educated and with good reading comprehension, so if I have trouble with the instructions and such, I can't even imagine how some people manage them.

Is it just me or does anyone else get frustrated when doing their Maryland taxes?

[lenora]

You are not alone. When I was self-employed, I completed my Federal form, drove it to the local State Office and let them complete my Maryland form. It worked like a charm. Since retirement, I've hired a local tax preparer to complete both.
https://www.marylandtaxes.gov/locations.php

ETA: I have a law degree.

[NJ2MDdude]

Try Maryland i-File.

[bufflove]

Filing through the state website directly is pretty clunky and not particularly clear - at least it was in the past. The last several years I've used Cash App (fka Credit Karma Tax) and that's been quite straightforward. The state filing section literally takes 3 minutes to handle since the vast majority of info it needs is pulled directly from the federal filing section, minus a couple pages of very specific questions about Olympic medal winnings, 529 contribution amounts, etc.

[NJ2MDdude]

Originally Posted by bufflove

Filing through the state website directly is pretty clunky and not particularly clear - at least it was in the past. The last several years I've used Cash App (fka Credit Karma Tax) and that's been quite straightforward. The state filing section literally takes 3 minutes to handle since the vast majority of info it needs is pulled directly from the federal filing section, minus a couple pages of very specific questions about Olympic medal winnings, 529 contribution amounts, etc.

The disadvantages of MD i-File is the inability to import tax data (e.g., W-2, Form 1099, SSA-1099, etc.) from financial institutions and use that data to auto populate the MD Form 502 and the relevant worksheets (e.g. pension exclusion and two income substraction, etc.). That said, I still use MD i-file instead of TurboTax, which I use for preparing and filing my federal return, because it's free. The hangups don't bother me, since I once was a tax accountant.

[Quick Enough]

Originally Posted by Ttott

Yes, it's Tax Day and of course this brings to mind something I've wondered for a while now: Is it just me, or are Maryland's state tax forms way more complicated than they need to be? I've lived in two other states during my adult life and filed taxes in both of them. Neither one was as headache-inducing as Maryland when it came to filling out the form. Okay, so the first one I left decades ago and things MIGHT be more complicated there now, but the other I left just a decade ago and I really don't remember having to do anywhere near as much "look up, this, decipher that, wish you had a law degree so you would understand this other part" as I see here in Maryland.

I'm a pretty intelligent person, college-educated and with good reading comprehension, so if I have trouble with the instructions and such, I can't even imagine how some people manage them.

Is it just me or does anyone else get frustrated when doing their Maryland taxes?

It's written by dems.


What do you expect?

[bufflove]

Originally Posted by NJ2MDdude

The disadvantages of MD i-File is the inability to import tax data (e.g., W-2, Form 1099, SSA-1099, etc.) from financial institutions and use that data to auto populate the MD Form 502 and the relevant worksheets (e.g. pension exclusion and two income substraction, etc.). That said, I still use MD i-file instead of TurboTax, which I use for preparing and filing my federal return, because it's free. The hangups don't bother me, since I once was a tax accountant.

Yeah, I used to use i-file to save state filing fees, but Cash App/Credit Karma is free for both federal and state. It was so much simpler I actually still manually entered everything into i-file the first year just to double-check simplicity =/= inaccurate.

[macroy]

I just use the tax software (be it TurboTax, H&R Block, etc.) to prepare my stuff. The state software is usually also free (or, comes with the product), just not the filing.

Once prepared, I just use i-file to file it by manually carrying over the numbers from the forms created by my tax app. For me - it's like a 5-10min exercise.

Of course - if you have a business or need to file in more than one state, then it's certainly going to be more complicated. At that point, I would just hire an accountant.

[RetireinPA]

Originally Posted by Ttott

Yes, it's Tax Day and of course this brings to mind something I've wondered for a while now: Is it just me, or are Maryland's state tax forms way more complicated than they need to be? I've lived in two other states during my adult life and filed taxes in both of them. Neither one was as headache-inducing as Maryland when it came to filling out the form. Okay, so the first one I left decades ago and things MIGHT be more complicated there now, but the other I left just a decade ago and I really don't remember having to do anywhere near as much "look up, this, decipher that, wish you had a law degree so you would understand this other part" as I see here in Maryland.

I'm a pretty intelligent person, college-educated and with good reading comprehension, so if I have trouble with the instructions and such, I can't even imagine how some people manage them.

Is it just me or does anyone else get frustrated when doing their Maryland taxes?

shortest best answer? to get innocent people to pay more than they should, and do it without suspicion.

[Quick Enough]

Originally Posted by Ttott

Yes, it's Tax Day and of course this brings to mind something I've wondered for a while now: Is it just me, or are Maryland's state tax forms way more complicated than they need to be? I've lived in two other states during my adult life and filed taxes in both of them. Neither one was as headache-inducing as Maryland when it came to filling out the form. Okay, so the first one I left decades ago and things MIGHT be more complicated there now, but the other I left just a decade ago and I really don't remember having to do anywhere near as much "look up, this, decipher that, wish you had a law degree so you would understand this other part" as I see here in Maryland.

I'm a pretty intelligent person, college-educated and with good reading comprehension, so if I have trouble with the instructions and such, I can't even imagine how some people manage them.

Is it just me or does anyone else get frustrated when doing their Maryland taxes?

Why so complicated?


Dems run the state.