I am a single mother in Florida and, it seems, that single parents are the prime targets for tax preparers!. so, I've decided to save a buck (in this case, 500 of them) and do it myself.

My question is simply this: WHEN do I have to file a state return?

Thanks, eve

April 15th, same as IRS taxes.

$500 to prepare a single income tax return in Florida? Wow!

State tax return for what? Florida has no income tax... are you referring to another type of state tax return?

State tax return for what? Florida has no income tax ... are you referring to another type of state tax return?


That was my understanding, too, but Florida does have a web site addressing the ins and outs of Florida Tax Returns, a site which states that the date is April 15th. Welcome to the Florida Department of Revenue web site (http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/)

In some instances returns must be filed. OP refers to past returns and I am assuming (which can be a mistake) that she falls into a category which must report income and pay taxes.

$500 for an individual tax return fee?

The ONLY way you pay that much is if you allow the tax preparer to scam you with the Refund Anticipation Loan (RAL), which is a rip-off by any other name.

Avoid the RAL and you should pay no more than $150, and then only if you own a home and sold some stocks.

If you do not own a home on which you are paying a mortgage, email me at [email protected] and I guarantee that my fee will be MUCH less than $100.