4 ms·

> I refuse to believe there are adults out there where things like using a pen to write and mailing a letter are alien concepts that need to be learned. Well,

> I refuse to believe there are adults out there where things like using a pen to write and mailing a letter are alien concepts that need to be learned. Well, believe it. I'm in my 40s and haven't written a letter since I was a kid. Why would I ever have to? Ask someone who was born in 2003 if they've ever written and mailed a letter. 99% are going to say no.

programjames 2y ago
As someone born in 2003, I did this just last week when filing my tax returns.
- Suppafly 2y ago
  >As someone born in 2003, I did this just last week when filing my tax returns. Why didn't you efile like a normal person? The only time you need to do it the hard way is if you are under 16 and filing for the first time.
  - tart-lemonade 2y ago
    I had to file by mail because I moved to a new state and got 2 W-2s for the same job, of which the W-2 for the former state left the federal fields (1-13) blank. This weird W-2 apparently makes me ineligible for e-file. Edit: In hindsight, I could have just waited until the start of 2025 to update my address in the HR system and gotten a single, normal W-2, but then I would be both violating the remote work rules (by not adding my new work location) and (probably) committing tax fraud.
  - adastra22 2y ago
    There is a lot of stuff that can make you ineligible for efiling.anything exceptional and not handled by the standard form requires efiling. They only just recently dropped the requirement for 83(b) elections to be sent in with your tax return, and until then I had to send in a paper return every time I did that.
- pbhjpbhj 2y ago
  You file tax returns by post? What country? Do they charge you extra to submit by post? That's crazy to me - tax returns for our micro-business and personal tax has been online since at least 2005.
  - yyhhsj0521 2y ago
    I had to file my tax by postal mail in the US. Granted there is the option to file online, but that only works for ~80% of the people when things are completely within the intended domain. I have just one extra item outside of standard salary slips and some investment income, so I had to file physically.
    - ndiddy 2y ago
      For federal returns, there's a site called Free File Fillable Forms, which has digitized versions of all the tax forms. Unlike the normal IRS Free File program, there's no restriction on income. If you're comfortable filing paper tax returns, this is the exact same process except the returns are digital and sent over the internet. For state returns, the process depends on your state but everywhere I've lived has a free site that you can use to file your state return.
      - dpifke 2y ago
        From https://www.irs.gov/e-file-providers/free-file-fillable-forms-program-limitations-and-available-forms https://www.irs.gov/e-file-providers/free-file-fillable-form...: Attaching statements — This program does not allow you to attach any documents to your return, except those available through the program. If you need to attach any such documents, you will have to print and mail in the return. Especially with business returns, it's common to have to attach statements to certain forms, for example if you choose the de minimis election for equipment repairs that would otherwise have to be capitalized, or when the § 174 changes went into effect and everyone had to start amortizing software development expenses over multiple years. You can't do that on Free File Fillable Forms.
  - coldpie 2y ago
- bongodongobob 2y ago
  Most people do it digitally or have an accountant do it, this isn't the norm.
tart-lemonade 2y ago
Do you not send thank you cards for birthday and holiday gifts?
- singingboyo 2y ago
  Physical thank you cards are pretty dead. I don't even keep track of mailing addresses for a number of my friends (and a couple siblings, come to think of it) - how would I send them a physical card? Even older relatives - we sent a physical gift a bit ago, but the response/thanks was by text. It just doesn't make sense to send a letter, have it take a week, never know whether it got lost, etc.
  - layer8 2y ago
    In Europe where I live sending birthday letters and the like to relatives is still a standard practice, at least in my social environment.
- bongodongobob 2y ago
  No. In person, text, or phone call.
- Macha 2y ago
  The only people I know of that do this are over 60.
SoftTalker 2y ago
I just sent in my taxes by USPS mail a couple of weeks ago. Long after online payments were available, I would pay my monthly bills by writing checks and sending them in the mail, as that process actually took me less time than logging in to five or six different websites and navigating through their online payment flows.
- bongodongobob 2y ago
  That's very uncommon. All my bills are set to autopay on my credit card. Who manually pays bills? You don't need to click the buttons every month.
  - SpaceNoodled 2y ago
    I click them manually every month. It's kind of a holdover from when I needed to time things in order to keep my checking account in the black, but I kept the process as it helps me keep track of my bills and catch any errors or discrepancies, which does happen. It certainly takes less time than writing a check and stuffing an envelope, though, what with saved credentials and smartphones; I can do this in a matter of moments while lying in bed every other Friday morning.
  - SoftTalker 2y ago
    Payment to a credit card often involves extra fees. And I don't want to give them autopay access to my checking account.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
SpaceNoodled 2y ago
There's a difference between writing a letter longhand, and simply knowing how to use a pen.
mrloop 2y ago
I had to inform numerous companies of my mums death last year. A lot of them had either phone support with very long wait times or a postal address, no email. It took me less time to write a letter and post it than to wait on hold

programjames 2y ago

As someone born in 2003, I did this just last week when filing my tax returns.

Suppafly 2y ago
>As someone born in 2003, I did this just last week when filing my tax returns. Why didn't you efile like a normal person? The only time you need to do it the hard way is if you are under 16 and filing for the first time.
- tart-lemonade 2y ago
  I had to file by mail because I moved to a new state and got 2 W-2s for the same job, of which the W-2 for the former state left the federal fields (1-13) blank. This weird W-2 apparently makes me ineligible for e-file. Edit: In hindsight, I could have just waited until the start of 2025 to update my address in the HR system and gotten a single, normal W-2, but then I would be both violating the remote work rules (by not adding my new work location) and (probably) committing tax fraud.
- adastra22 2y ago
  There is a lot of stuff that can make you ineligible for efiling.anything exceptional and not handled by the standard form requires efiling. They only just recently dropped the requirement for 83(b) elections to be sent in with your tax return, and until then I had to send in a paper return every time I did that.
pbhjpbhj 2y ago
You file tax returns by post? What country? Do they charge you extra to submit by post? That's crazy to me - tax returns for our micro-business and personal tax has been online since at least 2005.
- yyhhsj0521 2y ago
  I had to file my tax by postal mail in the US. Granted there is the option to file online, but that only works for ~80% of the people when things are completely within the intended domain. I have just one extra item outside of standard salary slips and some investment income, so I had to file physically.
  - ndiddy 2y ago
    For federal returns, there's a site called Free File Fillable Forms, which has digitized versions of all the tax forms. Unlike the normal IRS Free File program, there's no restriction on income. If you're comfortable filing paper tax returns, this is the exact same process except the returns are digital and sent over the internet. For state returns, the process depends on your state but everywhere I've lived has a free site that you can use to file your state return.
    - dpifke 2y ago
      From https://www.irs.gov/e-file-providers/free-file-fillable-forms-program-limitations-and-available-forms https://www.irs.gov/e-file-providers/free-file-fillable-form...: Attaching statements — This program does not allow you to attach any documents to your return, except those available through the program. If you need to attach any such documents, you will have to print and mail in the return. Especially with business returns, it's common to have to attach statements to certain forms, for example if you choose the de minimis election for equipment repairs that would otherwise have to be capitalized, or when the § 174 changes went into effect and everyone had to start amortizing software development expenses over multiple years. You can't do that on Free File Fillable Forms.
- coldpie 2y ago
bongodongobob 2y ago
Most people do it digitally or have an accountant do it, this isn't the norm.

tart-lemonade 2y ago

Do you not send thank you cards for birthday and holiday gifts?

singingboyo 2y ago
Physical thank you cards are pretty dead. I don't even keep track of mailing addresses for a number of my friends (and a couple siblings, come to think of it) - how would I send them a physical card? Even older relatives - we sent a physical gift a bit ago, but the response/thanks was by text. It just doesn't make sense to send a letter, have it take a week, never know whether it got lost, etc.
- layer8 2y ago
  In Europe where I live sending birthday letters and the like to relatives is still a standard practice, at least in my social environment.
bongodongobob 2y ago
No. In person, text, or phone call.
Macha 2y ago
The only people I know of that do this are over 60.

SoftTalker 2y ago

I just sent in my taxes by USPS mail a couple of weeks ago. Long after online payments were available, I would pay my monthly bills by writing checks and sending them in the mail, as that process actually took me less time than logging in to five or six different websites and navigating through their online payment flows.

bongodongobob 2y ago
That's very uncommon. All my bills are set to autopay on my credit card. Who manually pays bills? You don't need to click the buttons every month.
- SpaceNoodled 2y ago
  I click them manually every month. It's kind of a holdover from when I needed to time things in order to keep my checking account in the black, but I kept the process as it helps me keep track of my bills and catch any errors or discrepancies, which does happen. It certainly takes less time than writing a check and stuffing an envelope, though, what with saved credentials and smartphones; I can do this in a matter of moments while lying in bed every other Friday morning.
- SoftTalker 2y ago
  Payment to a credit card often involves extra fees. And I don't want to give them autopay access to my checking account.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

SpaceNoodled 2y ago

There's a difference between writing a letter longhand, and simply knowing how to use a pen.

mrloop 2y ago

I had to inform numerous companies of my mums death last year. A lot of them had either phone support with very long wait times or a postal address, no email. It took me less time to write a letter and post it than to wait on hold