'Tis The Season

Season’s Greetings! Tax season that is. Yep, it’s THAT time of year again!

I know it isn’t April 15th yet (actually the deadline will be April 18th this year) but I never liked waiting until the last minute to do things so, this past weekend I did my taxes. It was, as they say, taxing.

Not that it’s difficult; it’s just involved. And it takes quite a few LONG hours to sort through all of the receipts and other papers of the previous year.

Used to be, I could have my taxes done and mailed in about an hour—and that was before computers, when I had to actually fill out the papers by hand. But then, I didn’t make a lot of money back then, and didn’t have any deductions either. Filing taxes was more of a formality in those days.

Things are a bit different now; my taxes are far more complicated and time consuming, with emphasis on the time consuming! And to think I used to LIKE doing taxes! But again, that was back when I made no money and thus didn’t have to pay any taxes.

And that is the whole problem with taxes—paying them. The fact that I spend hours figuring, just so I can discover exactly how much I owe is annoying. It would help if I had some dependants again. But if I remember correctly, that involved raising kids, and I think that portion of my life is now dormant. At least I hope so!

Sometimes I think it would be easier to just opt out of the tax system. Not pay anything. Of course, doing so would no doubt automatically enroll me in another governmental system—or two; the court system and then the prison system.

Since I like living in my own house, being able to move freely about the country, and making my own decisions regarding, well, just about everything, I choose to go through the hassle of filing a return. That doesn’t mean I have to like it though! Thankfully, the dreaded chore is now behind me. I’m done! At least for another year—or so. As I said at the beginning, I don’t like waiting until the last minute to do things even things I don’t like. 

Bruce A. Borders is the author of more than a dozen books, including: Inside Room 913, Over My Dead Body, The Journey, Miscarriage Of Justice, and The Wynn Garrett Series. Available in ebook and paperback on iTunes, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Smashwords.  Amazon Profile - www.amazon.com/Bruce-A.-Borders/e/B006SOLWQS. Bruce A. Borders is a proud member of Rave Reviews Book Club.

 Dead Broke

(Lana Denea Mystery Series #1)

Now available on Amazon

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Tax Time

Is a candy bar tax deductible? Perhaps. Depends on why it was purchased and what was done with it. For me, I’m pretty sure I wasn’t wining and dining anyone. That just doesn’t sound like me. Fairly convinced I didn’t give it away as charity either. Pretty sure I ate it. So, I’m thinking it’s probably not deductible.

But other items on the receipt are. Maybe. I’m never sure until I go through the items one by one, deciphering the store’s shorthand and non-standard abbreviations to determine what the product is. Once everything has been identified, it’s usually not too difficult to decide what’s tax deductible and what is not.

As I’m sure you guessed, I’ve been busy doing taxes. Sorting through a year’s worth of receipts and statements. For hours. Adding numbers. And then re-adding the same numbers. Hoping to come up with the same total at least twice. Of course, it doesn’t help when I discover I’ve included something I shouldn’t have. Or, placed it in the wrong category. Or, worse, take a break for a few minutes and find two more receipts.

Actually, now that we have computers to do our adding and virtually everything else these days, it’s far easier to tackle jobs like this. I guess you could say taxes are less taxing than they once were. The computer can take care of all the math; the adding, the subtracting, the re-figuring, etc. And, accurately too!

Unfortunately, that accuracy is totally dependant on what is entered. And when a human is entering the numbers, there’s always room for error. Especially, when that human is me. (Yes, despite the assertions of some, I assure you, I am quite human).

So, I spend a lot of time double checking; comparing what is on the screen with the paper on my desk. And then, I spend even more time correcting things. But, I figure it’s worth it. I’ve heard the IRS doesn’t have much of a sense of humor about inaccuracies in tax returns. Mistakes are not viewed as an acceptable excuse for a failure to pay the correct amount of tax due.

All in all, the project hasn’t been too time consuming. What’s a few hours of my time? Or days? I’ll just consider it my patriotic contribution. That doesn’t make the idea of paying my taxes any easier but it does make it slightly less frustrating.

Thankfully, I’m almost done. Probably would’ve been finished by now but I had to take a few minutes to write this blog post! So, I gave up for the night. There’s always tomorrow. Right now, it seems I’m hungry. Apparently, I worked up an appetite. Think I’ll remedy that with a candy bar!

Bruce A. Borders is the author of more than a dozen books, including: Inside Room 913, Over My Dead Body, The Journey, Miscarriage Of Justice, and The Wynn Garrett Series. Available in ebook and paperback on iTunes, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Diesel Books, and Smashwords, or at www.bruceabordersbooks.weebly.com. Amazon Profile - http://www.amazon.com/Bruce-A.-Borders/e/B006SOLWQS. Bruce A. Borders also serves as the Vice-President of Rave Reviews Book Club.

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