Short Talk 75 (Listen and Read)

Hi Sarah, it's Jessica.

I am sorry to let you know that you will not be receiving the $400 refund you expected.

Instead, my calculations show that you owe $200 in taxes

and an additional penalty of $50 for underpayment of taxes.

The reason for this is that you and your spouse have chosen not to file your taxes jointly this year,

so you may want to reconsider this for the future,

since, as you can see, it's more costly for married couples to file separately.

Anyway, we can discuss this next time we meet.

But as for now, please write out a check for the taxes that you still owe and the penalty,

and mail it together with your tax reforms before the May 15th deadline.

Call me back if you have any other questions.

Thanks!