By Joan Whetzel
Yeah, it’s tax time again. I was dreading it, but not as
much as last year. Last year, I had a lot more to contend with – Mark’s estate,
my inheritance, unreimbursed medical bills, the mortgage and mortgage insurance,
etc. - so it was necessary to hire a CPA which was worth every cent.
I think part of my dread had to do with memories of my dad
sitting at the kitchen table, with all the IRS booklets, an adding machine, a
half dozen pencils all sharpened and lined up like a row of soldiers - and a
bottle of aspirin.
I also had memories of my husband pouring over the same tax
forms and books for the first couple of decades of our marriage. When Turbo Tax
came into the picture, it sped up his process, more or less. He was still so disorganized
it took him forever to find all the bits and pieces of information he’d put
away for safe keeping. At any rate, he never let me forget how hard it was to
do the taxes (hinting that I was too stupid to figure it out for myself). Actually,
it wasn’t stupidity that kept me from doing the taxes; I just didn’t want to do
them, plain and simple. Why should I go through all that paperwork when I had someone
else to have all that fun for me?
This year, I had so few things to deal with, that I decided to
forego the CPA do my own taxes, with help from Turbo Tax. Mostly because it is
the next step toward standing up on my own two feet. I had a backup plan in
case I ran into any problems I couldn’t figure out with Turbo Tax. The local
library, in a joint effort with AARP, provides tax assistance for seniors and
low income families, twice a week between February 1st and mid-April.
I could always go talk to them if I needed anything.
As it turns out, I didn’t need the library and the AARP. I
had collected all the necessary receipts and proof of income in one place which
made it quick, easy, and quite painless to finish. I only needed to call the
IRS once to clear up one tiny piece of information. I submitted my taxes on Friday
the 13th and my Tax Return will be direct-deposited into my savings
in short order. I’ve already gotten word from my bank that the deposit is
pending for this Monday, a mere 10 days after filing. I will continue to do my
own taxes from now on, just because I can.
Tax time can be quite a hassle for most people. For some reason, all the computing and filling could bring a lot of stress. Anyway, it’s nice to know that your tax experience is not as dreading as last year. It probably helped that you had all the information you needed, so you could do everything in one go. Anyway, thanks for sharing, Joan. All the best!
ReplyDeleteWanda Hanson @ Tax Tiger
It's true. It's all about getting all the pertinent data in one place, such as your receipts and proof of income, then going from there. In other words, being efficient in keeping records; that is what dealing with taxes entail. Though it certainly would be convenient to have a means of digitizing your records, so it’ll be easier to consolidate and peruse at a later date. Good day!
ReplyDeleteShelby Heffner @ Cash MGR