Although the deadline was extended to May 17 I managed to get my 2020 income taxes done on the usual schedule. I submitted my federal return electronically late on April 13 and mailed my New Jersey return the next day. I mailed the New Jersey return because I am too cheap and stubborn to pay the fee (about $20) to submit it electronically. I used TurboTax Deluxe again as I have every year since 2010 (for tax year 2009). I have complained about the program in prior years but I didn't have any big issues this year. One minor problem was some directions which weren't correct for seniors (the tax laws are a little different when you pass age 65) but this wasn't too hard to figure out and I certainly have no desire to return to doing my returns by hand.
My federal refund didn't show up in my bank account until May 5 which seems a bit longer than normal. For some reason it was for $5.95 more than computed on the return I submitted. To date I have not received any explanation (perhaps they don't bother sending a letter for such a small amount). It is possible I copied some number from a 1099 form incorrectly and this was automatically corrected but I don't really know. This is bugging me a little but probably not enough to pursue the issue. I haven't heard anything from New Jersey which has sometimes been quicker. However it's probably not the right time to be expecting record speed.
