# For want of a dollar... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 3, 2010, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-want-of-a-dollar/527593 "2010-02-03T22:29:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-want-of-a-dollar/527593/1 "2010-02-03T22:29:12Z")
So I did my taxes. Federal was good, got some bank coming in. Checked my state. 1 dollar. I owe **one freaking dollar**. They only accept checks mailed with a printed tax form. This is a pain in the ass I don’t have any checks. I live in the 21st century where checks are stupid, Mr. computer sends numbers around for me. On the rare occasion I need to send a check to a Luddite I go to my Credit Union online and have them send it from my account. But because I need the stupid Tax form in the envelope I can’t do that. Now I have to order checks. You can’t order check, you must buy a box of 250. That is 249 more checks than I will use in the next 10 years. $15.99 for checks, that take two weeks. I also have no envelopes. I don’t need them, because once again Mr. Computer handles all of my correspondence. I am also unemployed at the moment and can’t snag one from the office. I cannot borrow one from my neighbor because I don’t how to say envelope in…well what ever language it is they speak. So 3.99 for a box of envelopes. And what else does a man with no envelopes not possess. That is correct, I have no stamps. So the total cost of **ONE FREAKIN DOLLAR** is One dollar+15.99+3.99+42 cents + a drive to the store, +a drive to the post office and standing in line to buy stamp+two weeks of the mental annoyance of knowing I don’t actually have my taxes done yet. P.S. I did try the form both ways, the round to the dollar way and the keep carrying the cents angle. My option are owing $1 or 1.23. ---
**Author:** ![Rafe\_Hollister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/fbc32d/32.png) [@Rafe\_Hollister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rafe_Hollister)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-want-of-a-dollar/527593/2 "2010-02-03T22:43:42Z")
Call the state’s Dept. of Revenue and explain that to them. There is a chance you’ll get ahold of someone with a brain. It’s worth a shot. Other option: Cashier’s Check or Money Order. Other option: Don’t pay it. Let the interest build for a year and pay it next year. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-want-of-a-dollar/527593/3 "2010-02-03T23:12:50Z")
Send a cashiers check that costs less than $1. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-want-of-a-dollar/527593/4 "2010-02-03T23:19:33Z")
It’s not available as an online bill-pay option on your banking site? I can pay all kinds of taxes through mine… ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-want-of-a-dollar/527593/5 "2010-02-03T23:39:23Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > Send a cashiers check that costs less than $1. This. They will accept a cashiers check. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-want-of-a-dollar/527593/6 "2010-02-03T23:50:20Z")
You should be able to get a cashier’s check for less than the cost of buying a box of personal checks. But didn’t you get a free pad of checks when you opened the account? I’ve always gotten at least 25 of them. And how can you function without having checks at all? Do your painters, plumbers, electricians, handymen, and so forth all take credit cards? Or do you pay them in cash? Places like the local landfill take local checks, but not credit cards. Same when we make donations to small local nonprofits (few of them take credit cards). We like to have a record of the transaction, so we don’t want to use cash for it. We don’t use a lot of checks these days, but it’s a rare month that we don’t at least use _some_. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-want-of-a-dollar/527593/7 "2010-02-03T23:53:42Z")
Write your grandma and use another envelope, for pity’s sake. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-want-of-a-dollar/527593/8 "2010-02-03T23:55:32Z")
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:6, topic:527593”] But didn’t you get a free pad of checks when you opened the account? I’ve always gotten at least 25 of them. And how can you function without having checks at all? Do your painters, plumbers, electricians, handymen, and so forth all take credit cards? Or do you pay them in cash? Places like the local landfill take local checks, but not credit cards. [/QUOTE] I don’t know any handymen that take checks. They’d get bounces too often. Established companies take credit cards. Free lancers take cash. And for the rest. Cashiers checks and Money orders have fees. And my state doesn’t take online transfers, and my Credit union doesn’t have a set up for tax payments. ---
**Author:** ![sevenwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@sevenwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sevenwood)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-want-of-a-dollar/527593/9 "2010-02-03T23:58:45Z")
If I were in your situation, I’d simply give a friend who has a checking account a dollar (or buy him/her a beer), have him/her write a check to the state with your name and social security number in the comments section, and mail that in with your tax form. (In my state I also have to write “PA Form 1040” or whatever the form number is in the comments section - that comments section gets pretty full.) When I was taking care of my mother’s finances for her I quickly found out that nobody cares who wrote the check as long as it’s good. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Lurker\_Above](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@The\_Lurker\_Above](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Lurker_Above)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-want-of-a-dollar/527593/10 "2010-02-04T02:28:06Z")
> [@sevenwood](#): > > If I were in your situation, I’d simply give a friend who has a checking account a dollar (or buy him/her a beer), have him/her write a check to the state with your name and social security number in the comments section, and mail that in with your tax form. (In my state I also have to write “PA Form 1040” or whatever the form number is in the comments section - that comments section gets pretty full.) > > When I was taking care of my mother’s finances for her I quickly found out that nobody cares who wrote the check as long as it’s good. Would it be gloating to say that in Canada that payments of \<$2 on tax returns aren’t required to be paid? ---
**Author:** ![There\_is\_no\_God](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de053/32.png) [@There\_is\_no\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/There_is_no_God)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-want-of-a-dollar/527593/11 "2010-02-04T02:40:53Z")
> [@The\_Lurker\_Above](#): > > Would it be gloating to say that in Canada that payments of \<$2 on tax returns aren’t required to be paid? Yes. ---
**Author:** ![Electronic\_Chaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Electronic\_Chaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electronic_Chaos)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-want-of-a-dollar/527593/12 "2010-02-04T02:55:47Z")
I think the post office still sells envelopes, with the postage on them pre-paid. The post office also does money orders, so if you can pay taxes that way, that saves you time and the money of getting an order of checks. Plus, maybe you can share a laugh with the clerk over it. That’s what I ended up doing last time I had to pay a traffic ticket, at least. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-want-of-a-dollar/527593/13 "2010-02-04T05:28:56Z")
Won’t your bank print up a couple of counter checks for you? ---
**Author:** ![nicole1912](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9de0a6/32.png) [@nicole1912](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nicole1912)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-want-of-a-dollar/527593/14 "2010-02-04T13:03:53Z")
I’d get someone else to write a cheque for you - that’s what I do, on the rare occasion I encounter someone (usually a government agency, or academic institution) that requires a cheque. As long as they get paid, do they care whether it comes from your own bank account or someone else’s? I wouldn’t have thought so. ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-want-of-a-dollar/527593/15 "2010-02-04T16:36:13Z")
If you have a computer you can print your own check. ---
**Author:** ![LurkerInNJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@LurkerInNJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkerInNJ)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-want-of-a-dollar/527593/16 "2010-02-04T16:42:23Z")
Can’t you buy a .89 cent money order somewhere instead of ordering a box of checks? ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-want-of-a-dollar/527593/17 "2010-02-04T17:35:42Z")
I’m with the OP. Why, just last month I had to cross the street. However, it is illegal to jaywalk and the closest crosswalks are half a block away. This being the 21st century, who the hell walks anymore? Not me, bub. So I had to build a pedestrian bridge that included a moving walkway. Well, I actually had to contract it out, so I also had to pay the contractor mark ups. $1.2 million. Just to cross the street. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-want-of-a-dollar/527593/18 "2010-02-04T17:40:19Z")
Also, you should be able to get an envelope with your tax form from the post office. Or my corner store sells envelopes one at a time for a dime. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-want-of-a-dollar/527593/19 "2010-02-04T17:48:03Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > I don’t know any handymen that take checks. They’d get bounces too often. I live in a small town. If you stiff a handyman, you’d never get work done on your place again. > [@sevenwood](#): > > If I were in your situation, I’d simply give a friend who has a checking account a dollar (or buy him/her a beer), have him/her write a check to the state with your name and social security number in the comments section, and mail that in with your tax form. Best idea in the thread. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-want-of-a-dollar/527593/20 "2010-02-04T18:49:00Z")
> [@The\_Lurker\_Above](#): > > Would it be gloating to say that in Canada that payments of \<$2 on tax returns aren’t required to be paid? I’d have to double-check but I thought my state was like that - if payment or refund is less than five dollars, or thereabouts, they just forget about it. Not that I would know… it seems like I have to pay the state several hundred dollars every year. :mad: [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-want-of-a-dollar/527593.md?page=2)