I used my Omas Arco loaded with Waterman Havana Brown ink this year to fill out my income tax form. Talk about bleed through! It was such a mess when I finished that there was no way of telling whether I owed the government or had money coming back. Good luck to the IRS drone who tries to decipher my figures. For all those billions of revenue collected, you would think Uncle Sam could spring for some better paper. I've had it up to here and will not bother with any of this next year unless the IRS uses Clairefontaine paper for the 1040 form. My complaint has been registered in writing to the nearest field office and I'm awaiting a reply - or a visit! Power to the (pen) people!

You can download the forms from the IRS site and print them on the paper you choose. I try not to do anything that will draw attention to mine.

Best of luck for the audit!

You think your taxes are high now, can you imagine if the federal govt shifted back to that 25% cotton watermarked stuff? It had the year writ large as part of the watermark and if it was older than 2 years you were supposed to destroy it. What a waste.

I'm glad they are trying to push to a more paperless system and when they have to print something they buy flimsy newsprint. You're only going to use the 2008 tax booklet for one year. Also, think of how many your local library or town hall is recycling now. Better that it be recycled newsprint than watermarked stationery.

Or even use TurboTax (or other tax software) and print the form with data on your own paper. However, I would guess that noodler's Black might work on the IRS paper, with a fine nib. It works pretty well on newsprint.

Seriously, that is just about the best advise I've seen in a long time.

By the way, it is a very bad idea to file manual if there is anyway you can avoid it. Those transcibers make errors and you have to put up with the CP2000 notice and dealing with the tax technician to clear up their input error. Always EFile, even if you have to pay extra for it.

Good for you. Hopefully, they will leave me alone while they are auditing you. JD

I hope you kept the receipts for your... uh... "office supplies." Especially the celluloid ones.

Doug

One word: e-file. Save the pens for the fun stuff.

It has been a long time since I have been able to hear about the IRS and LAUGH at the same time.

Thanks folks,
(The economic stimulus checks are in the mail!)

Yes, save the pens for the fun stuff, I agree!

I have done my taxes paperless online through Turbo Tax for two years now. Unfortunately the Turbo Tax goons were late with my return this year even though I did it in early February as soon as I got my W2s in the mail and I did not get my return until three weeks later through direct deposit.

My understanding is that if you filed your taxes online and got your return through direct deposit the stimulus check will go through the same way, is that correct?

I did my state taxes with my FP, using Private Reserve American Blue. I printed mine out on HP laser jet paper so it wasn't too bad

I also signed the very large check to the IRS with it too...

O.K. - maybe it's because these posts are like e-mail and the inflection is often hard to pick up, but my original post was intended to be funny and to inject a little levity into tax time. I wouldn't really use a fountain pen on that flimsy IRS paper out of the annual tax booklet! I do, however, put a ballpoint pen to that very paper and have been filing that way for over forty years now. That is after my wife has done a "pencil" copy. Then I do the final in ink as we check every line on every schedule, re-checking the math as we go. No problems yet and never an audit. We got our refund (deposited electronically into our checking account) last week, and the $1200 stimulus check hit the account today. By the way, two of my friends used the Turbo Tax route this year and somehow the program left out their capital gains in the final calculation, even after they dutifully entered them all. No thanks! My way assures that I control everything that is entered, leaving nothing to chance. By the way, that "stimulus" check is beginning to stimulate my pen purchase hormones!