This is the day Americans give the first third of their annual income to the government to waste as it sees fit. Or, this year, to misquote Garrison Keillor, I hope you put extra stamps on your tax envelopes - your money had to go a long way to Iraq.
I actually set a record for the 21st Century - I finished ten whole hours before the midnight deadline. In a way, I miss the 11:30 pm block party at the main Post Office, but, OTOH, I really am getting to old for that stuff.
The good thing about tax day, I suppose, is that it at least temporarily cures WhOA.
Oh. Gosh, I forgot about the party.
I have a cold.
I felt so crappy today, I only brought one whistle to work today.
Anyone care to guess which one?
Hint. It was a cheapy.
I still have 3 1/2 hours to get mine to the post office. I probably should get started on them sometime soon. After, I read the board and practice my whistle
I always do mine in the first week of February (yeah, I know, boo and hiss) but what makes me laugh is that I pretend, for about a week, that I will be one of those A/R types that will keep REALLY great records from Now On! Sheesh. As Bugs would say, “what a maroon!”
I love seeing April 15th come – it means I get a ‘life’ again. I work as a income tax preparer and a bookkeeper to support my WhOA. What I really need to do is figure out how to make the whistles a deduction.
Same here. We get TurboTax, do our taxes in early February, e-file them, and usually bank the refund by mid-March.
I walked into our little local post office today, and the postmistress had put out cheese and crackers to entertain all the last minute filers. She let me have some, even though I’d completely forgotten it was April 15 and had just come to buy some stamps!
I’ve used TurboTax for years - couldn’t do without it. It really does make things much easier, even if I seldom actually install it before April 10 (April 13 this year). Had me tearing my hair this year, though. Not the software - it worked fine - but trying to download the updates on April 15 with my modem blowing out constantly damne near drove me bonkers and may have contributed to my little cardiac scare and emergency room trip. Nothing too serious was found, mostly just a very fast and erratic heartbeat that I’m fairly sure was stress-specific.
I never get a Federal refund - I plan it that way. My aunt was an IRS agent for years and taught me that it’s really stupid to let the gov keep and use excess money interest-free all year only to magnanimously give you your own money back. Better instead to balance your withholding or estimated payments so that you owe THEM a couple of hundred bucks on April 15. Needless to say, I then hold onto that last bit as long as possible.
We’d be in big trouble without Turbotax. We usually buy it early March, promise ourselves that we’ll do it early this time, then install it April 15th. Somehow my husband manages to get it all together and joins the “party” at the post office close to midnight. We always seem to owe (my husband also doesn’t believe in letting Uncle Sam use our money through the year), so there’s no rush in sending it in, I guess.
I used TurboTax for years until the fiasco with the copy protection software last year. I’ve used HR Block (TaxCut) for 2 years now, and it’s not as pretty but works just as fine.
I had to do 2 state taxes this time, tho much easier than a couple years ago when I made money in CA as an independent contractor while being a student in NJ with residency in IL.
I can’t wait to start a job and establish residency in the state where I work, and make all my money in that state. That and have a bank where I live, and have an address that I don’t have to change every 6 mos.
Did you know you can get an extension? You don’t even need a reason. I’ve gotten an extension for three years running. I always provide an excuse, even though they don’t ask for one.
This year’s?:
“Bitten by lllama. Receiving experimental treatments in South America. Swelling a problem.”
You can get an extension to file. The catch is that if you owe money you have to pay it by the 15th or pay interest and penalty for late payment, even though you had an extension to file. That one just never made sense to me…
Remember, too, that the April 15 deadline only applies if you OWE taxes. If you’re getting money back, they really don’t care when or if you file. It follows, then, that you only need to file an extension if you are goiing to owe taxes, and then, as has already been pointed out you still have to give them the money by April 15.
I filed and paid excessively(read any $$$) again this year so the Pizza man down the street can claim $20,000 in income this year and get an earned income tax credit (read welfare check). I’ve heard straight from his mouth that he generates over $100, 000/year in cash receipts but elects not to claim it (read illegal). It makes me wonder what percentage of the population actually pays on what they earn. He does make great pizza though so I guess that makes it all OK.
Brian Mac
Whistles as a deduction…easy. Just play in a fairly established band for a few years that generates enough income for the IRS to care then establish the band as a company, fill out a self employment tax form. All mileage to events, resource material (CD’s, music etc.), instruments, equipment etc. becomes a deduction. Granted this just lets you at most break even but it does help.
:roll:
It makes me wonder what percentage of the population actually pays on what they earn. He does make great pizza though so I guess that makes it all OK.