Monday, April 10, 2023

Taxed. Taxing. Overtaxed.

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:  Maybe the problem is that I will just never learn. Just…never learn.


Every year, for however many years I have done my taxes, which is quite a darn few, I spend the week or two before tax deadline completely in a meltdown. Things that would have been so easy to organize starting in January of the year before , wait,  let me say this–things that I did begin to organize in January of the year before– completely fall apart. Nothing is in chronological order, and even though I have files, carefully  beautifully labeled files, why are things in the wrong file?



It’s all well and good to keep every single receipt about everything, which indeed I have,
but then comes a time when you have to organize those receipts in some semblance of some logical order, and at that point, my brain just goes up in smoke. 


Yes, I have all my credit card statements in a special file, and in some order. Yes, I have all my bank statements in a file, in some order. But what if I have missed one of those little tax documents that they send you that look frighteningly the same as junk mail? Yes, I have a file that those are all supposed to go in, but who knows what’s supposed to be there that isn’t? 


I’m predicting some of you have some sort of fancy dancy online tax prep system, and to you I say, well, trying to think of what I say. I will just say congratulations, you are wise and smart and practical. I think I am all those things from time to time, but somehow, not in April. Thank goodness for my tax preparer--she has saved my life for years. “Here, darling  Sharon,”  I say, “it's all yours.” 



How about you Reds? Are you tax savvy or simply...overtaxed?


RHYS BOWEN: I’m taking advantage of living in Marin County. CA this year as it’s one of the counties impacted by storms and we have been given a tax extension! This is great as I want to finish my first draft while I’m in the mood and can see where I’m going.


I try to be organized. I input all my expenses into a spreadsheet every couple of months so in theory all I have to do is see totals for each category. What takes me longer is the 1099s from various financial institutions. Put this amount on line 21 of form blankety blank etc. I don’t have a tax person at the moment because the hard part is assembling everything and in the past I’ve found that the average tax person has no idea of what being a writer entails.  But next year I will find one. I’ve had enough of making sure everything is entered in the right place!  Too stressful. 


JENN MCKINLAY: Every year. Every year I try to be organized from the start but…no. I’m meeting with my accountant next week. Luckily, I finished my book last night so now I can spend five days up to my hips in paperwork, trying to track my expenses from last year like a dope. 


What’s even more ridiculous is I keep buying these wonderful accounting binders and apps and computer programs, thinking I’ll utilize them and, yet, I never do. I think I am mathematically broken. 



LUCY BURDETTE: I am a disaster. I have one folder called TAXES in my file drawer and something similar in my gmail account. Everything gets stuffed in there. No wonder I dread the moment when John says: “When can you have your part done?” It would be so wonderful as Hank says if I entered every expense onto a spreadsheet the moment they happened. 


Sigh. I did get so far as to label a spreadsheet, but it’s April 2023 and it’s empty.


JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: You guys are making me feel SO MUCH BETTER about myself! Finally, in a group of women who are super organized and always hitting their deadlines, I get my chance to shine!


I toss all my papers into an antique tin basket over the course of the year - BUT, following Celia’s suggestion, I also keep the tax category folders in there as well, and four times a year I go through and stuff loose bills, etc into the proper folder. My online receipts and travel information have their own electronic folder. So at the beginning of the year, I pull the folders - real and virtual - put the info into an Excel doc (I have a template I use every year) and fire it off to my accountant. I had everything, including the physical documents, into her office by March 9th.


Please crown me Julia, Queen of Taxes.


HALLIE EPHRON: I crown thee Julia, Tax Princess!! 

Mine are done. Mailed. Despite my best efforts I owe. Which infuriates me…


HANK: I HATE that. Grr.

HALLIE: I keep ongoing spreadsheets for my work related expenses. And the bills go in a file. When the 1099s come I print them out and save them in another folder. But because a writer’s income is so inconsistent, the hard thing for me is making sure I’m taking enough out for state and federal withholding. The IRS doesn’t like it when you owe much more than you’ve already paid them by the end of the year.


I haven’t done my own taxes for decades. The man who prepares them for me is blessedly thorough and I love him for that. 



DEBORAH CROMBIE: If Julia is the queen of taxes, I am the lowliest of pawns. Can I confess that I have never made an Excel spreadsheet for..anything? And that I’ve filed for an extension every year in (practically) living memory? I do, however, keep all my 1099s and tax-related documents together and when I do get around to doing the taxes I categorize every expense. And I have a terrific tax person. Here’s my burning question–do you all still save PAPER receipts? Because I don’t, unless I pay cash for something business related and that’s only occasionally when I’m traveling. Everything else is trackable through debit and credit card statements.


HANK: Well, great question, Debs. This is the year I realized, wait–I don’t need most paper receipts  And, drumroll, on the road for my recent book tour, I started using the notes app on my phone every time I bought something. (Latte, bagel,diet coke, almonds.)  It adds up, and it was very easy to do!

 Okay,  U.S. Reds and Readers! Have you sent in your taxes? What's your tax mentality? And if you live outside the U,S.,  how does it work in your part of the world?


91 comments:

  1. Taxes would make me crazy, but I am saved because John always does them. When anything shows up in the mail that looks like it's tax-related, I just hand it to him and, lo and behold, the taxes get done . . . .

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    1. Hank Phillippi RyanApril 10, 2023 at 9:49 AM

      That sounds perfect!

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  2. Such a stressful time of year, isn't it? I bow down to you, Julia, and wish I was as organized as you.

    My husband did our taxes for years, but between his brain surgery and my TBI in 2017 (not our best year 😜), we're now in the wonderfully capable hands of Donna, our accountant. ~Lynda

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    1. Hank Phillippi RyanApril 10, 2023 at 9:49 AM

      Oh, so much love to you… That is so difficult, and you are so resilient! Xx

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    2. Definitely not a good year - I'm so sorry to hear... HELP is a wonderful thing.

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  3. My taxes are done. I keep what I need digitally and when it is time to file, I send everything to my financial person.

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    1. Hank Phillippi RyanApril 10, 2023 at 9:50 AM

      You are so organized! But that is no surprise, with all you do…

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  4. I'm in the Hopeless Serf Club. Everything paper goes in the Taxes 2023 (for example) paper folder, and digital things into the Taxes 2023 virtual folder. Not a spreadsheet in sight, and I hate the winter Saturday I have to devote to going through all the (paper) credit card statements and (paper) checkbook registers and my PayPal statements for the year, and more. That said, I got it all sent in to my wonderful tax person at the start of March.

    Ann's sister is a writer. When I started using Ann to do my taxes nearly a decade ago, she told me all the things I can deduct a portion of and figured out my home office situation. She even sends me the four envelopes and pay vouchers I need to send in my estimated payments throughout the year. I hate the software I have to enter all my totals into, and I hate figuring out if this expense goes under Promotion or Business Travel or where. But it's done for this year.

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    1. Hank Phillippi RyanApril 10, 2023 at 9:50 AM

      “Done” is good! And you won’t have to worry about it for another 11 months :-)

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    2. So nice to have help in the family.

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  5. We keep everything in our old file cabinet and when my husband feels like doing the taxes he pulls out the files. That reminds me I want to ask him if we got our refund yet.

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    1. Hank Phillippi RyanApril 10, 2023 at 9:51 AM

      Refund! One of the joys of the universe… And so silly!

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  6. My taxes were done a while ago. I've gotten my refunds back and they went to pay bills so once again, no fun times with that money.

    My tax mentality? I just get the forms in the mail that I need and my friend does the tax filing for me. Relatively inexpensively since I buy her dinner as a thank you.

    But I am definitely overtaxed by state and federal. They keep taking my money and then have the nerve to want more and more despite offering me nothing in return. They think I get up and go to work each day so I can get some kinky thrill of handing my money over to them. Spoiler alert, I don't.

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    1. Hank Phillippi RyanApril 10, 2023 at 9:52 AM

      Remember when you got your first paycheck, and they took the taxes out? How ridiculous that seemed?

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    2. Hank, oh yes I remember. What a gyp I thought that was. This is why I would make a fabulous lottery winner. At least that way when the government takes my money, there'd still be a lot left to pay my bills.

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  7. In Canada, our tax deadline this year is May 1 but I filed my taxes in early March, and got my tax return in one week deposited to my bank account.

    I do my own tax return using free tax software. The digital receipts are taken from my federal government (Canada.ca) tax account & inputted into the software. So I usually finish my tax return in less than an hour.

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    1. Hank Phillippi RyanApril 10, 2023 at 9:53 AM

      Wow. It sounds like that system must be so much simpler than in the United States! Is it?

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    2. HANK: I'm not sure whether the Canadian tax system is easier than in the US if you're self-employed or run a business. I have a simple basic tax return & the autofill tax software seems to download my pension and investment income receipts with no difficulty. I just have to go in and confirm every item before sending it off.

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  8. When I had a law office and a secretary (who, bless her, FILED things-- I cannot, just cannot!) and did double entry bookkeeping, I knew my income, my mileage, etc. at the end of each quarter. And there was a file called "Taxes - 1976" or whatever the year was. Miscellaneous receipts went into there, and at some time during the year, were bundled into different envelopes marked things like "travel" or "courthouse parking" etc. Sometimes there was an envelope marked with the expenses for a specific trip. With everything in order, I could usually pull the taxes together in about 12 hours. When I started using an accountant, I pulled things together the day before the accountant's deadline. If your ducks are all in a row, it's easy. If they're not....

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    1. Hank Phillippi RyanApril 10, 2023 at 9:54 AM

      You are so wise! Yes, it is all about planning in advance, no question about that …

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  9. I am a bookkeepers daughter. This time of year I three times over thank him. Taxes are done. If my housekeeping was like my bookkeeping, Martha Stewart could visit. May the returns be many and the headaches be few.

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    1. Hank Phillippi RyanApril 10, 2023 at 10:25 AM

      Brilliant! Maybe you could do a tax show!

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  10. Part of my practice as a probate paralegal was tax preparation. Done, filed, refund banked!

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    1. Hank Phillippi RyanApril 10, 2023 at 10:25 AM

      Standing ovation!

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    2. A banked refund must be nice. My fed refund wouldn't even give me half a tank of gas. My state refund payed for the latest rip-off bill from the town sewer department.

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  11. There's the practical side of tax prep/filing and then there's the psychology of it. I'm fine on the practical side, but the psychology of it gets me every year: What if I miss something important? What if 'they' come after me for something I didn't even know about? It's all silly, as my taxes are straightforward and I use a wonderfully friendly accountant, but still...Big Brother looms large in my head during tax prep time.

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    1. Hank Phillippi RyanApril 10, 2023 at 10:26 AM

      Oh, I so agree! What if we missed a form? What if somebody finds out? What if it wasn’t our fault?

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  12. I have an expandable file folder for all my paperwork. Everything is labeled mostly in accordance with the IRS categories. Then I keep a running total in an Excel spreadsheet. I hand over everything, but can usually get my taxes on on the basis of the spreadsheet.

    We lost both kids as deductions this year (The Girl graduated and moved out, The Boy makes too much money). That hit hurt.

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    1. Hank Phillippi RyanApril 10, 2023 at 10:27 AM

      And that is the other thing… How does it help one be excited about making more money when it means you have to pay more taxes?

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  13. I keep a plastic zippered file decorated with sharks in the kitchen bookcase. All writing expenses and tax forms go into the "shark file" when I sort the mail. For writing expenses, I use one credit card and paypal, and make a list, broken down by category. Then the tax man takes over.

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    1. Hank Phillippi RyanApril 10, 2023 at 10:28 AM

      The designated credit card system is truly brilliant. Makes so much sense! And I love the shark file.

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    2. I also have a credit card dedicated to professional expenses. Because it's with Capital One, I can have any picture I want on it. So it has my shelfie, a picture of all my books lined up, and I can find it in a snap in my wallet!

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  14. The US tax system is needlessly and unbelievably complicated, especially if you have a business, or rental property, or investments. We have all three, and I've done our taxes for more than 40 years as the family bookkeeper. But... I keep receipts, I file stuff into folders that go into that year's tax box for seven years, and I manage our estimated payments. However, I do not enter numbers by hand on spreadsheets. Bookkeeping software does it for me, automatically, when I download it into the program once a month.

    I used to enter every number into Quicken (or QuickBooks, when we had payroll and deductions, etc.), but for the last 15 years almost every bank and credit card company and investment firm allows you to directly download precise information from their own electronic records. The only thing I have to do is to assign accounts for each expenditure. And in the case of investment records, the company does that--I'd tear my hair if I still had to figure out which tiny bit of income was a capital gain or a dividend or a nontaxable whatsit.

    The point is that it's much easier this way, and more accurate. And does not require endless, worrying deadlines that no one has the capacity to deal with. Do you want me to teach a class? Celia and I could do it together.

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    1. Hank Phillippi RyanApril 10, 2023 at 10:29 AM

      Along with Coralee!

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    2. To add to the complicated system, now the government is screwing over the people who sell on eBay. It used to be you could make 2,000 bucks before you have to report the income from the site. Now it's 600 bucks. It's one thing if someone's main income is from the site, but for people like me who make MAYBE a couple hundred bucks, it becomes complicated beyond measure because now they've added a crapton of paperwork requirements if you go over the amount. And if you email your supposed "representative" to complain all you get back is a form letter reply that basically says, "Go F yourself, peon." I know, I got them from all of them.

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    3. I need to pay more attention to what my bank offers in terms of bookkeeping - Note to self.

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  15. Having worked in accounting most of my life, I’m very disciplined when it comes to tax paperwork.
    Being retired, I can tackle the job as soon as I receive my last official tax receipt.
    I completed my provincial and my federal tax income forms at the beginning of march and already received my small refunds. It’s always more satisfying than having to pay.
    Danielle

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    1. Hank Phillippi RyanApril 10, 2023 at 10:29 AM

      Yay! Although, again — getting a refund means it was money you shouldn’t have had to pay in the first place, which means you loaned it to the government for a year… Interest free.

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  16. Taxes were much more complicated when I was a realtor because realtors are considered independent contractors. When you are self employed, the burden is so much heavier and more complicated than for those who are salaried. I am sure that authors have quite a lot to put together for their tax returns and I empathize.

    Irwin is a task master when it comes to putting everything together. I do keep things in predictable and dedicated places to make it easier. We turned everything over to the accountant in early March and just got it all back on Saturday. Everything done but the shouting!

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    1. Hank Phillippi RyanApril 10, 2023 at 10:30 AM

      Wonderful! It’s clear that it is all about the organization… It’s just the entering stuff from one place to another. That’s annoying.

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  17. I mailed my taxes a week ago. I would love to e-file, but I have a rage about having to pay anyone (that's you tax preparation software companies) to file my taxes and I'm slightly over the file-for-free threshold. I hope that the IRS will actually provide a system for people like me who would like to file on line for free,but who don't want to deal with third-party software. It really can't be that difficult to have a system where we could fill out our forms and click send--but the IRS needs a serious upgrade in their technology. They can't scan in the paper forms I send, but have to enter them by hand. I'll never forget Catherine Rampell's photo of one of the IRS cafeterias filled with piles of folders of tax forms that they hadn't gotten to yet. And Oregon, why is your form 40 eight pages long? The IRS, for all its faults, has a 2 page 1040.

    End of rant. I don't have nearly as much organizing of expenses as an author or other independent worker would have, but I do go through my bank accounts and keep track of my charitable giving and my health care expenses. I have a paper file started for next years' taxes.

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    1. Hear, hear! Paying first for the software, and then also to file is highway robbery! It IS easier, and more accurate, but there ought to be a better way than enriching Intuit, et al.

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    2. The IRS has "Free Fillable Forms" which you can submit electronically. If you are doing paper forms now, it's very easy to switch to the electronic ones.

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    3. Cathy, thank you. I have looked through it and will try it next year. I guess you scan the W-2 and 1099 forms in? It looks like a good option for me. The last time I looked for an e-file option, all I got was a choice of software companies, but that was a couple of years ago. I take back some of my rant.

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    4. Hank Phillippi RyanApril 10, 2023 at 10:31 AM

      This is great! Yay for the jungle red hive mind !

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    5. All of the forms don’t work if you have complex transactions.

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  18. For years our taxes were done by the lawyer. Then he retired. So last year we had to go with someone else. There's really only 2 options that don't involve driving an hour, so we just picked one and went with it. What a mess! It took them forever (and mine are pretty uncomplicated, the old place would do mine for a break) and then I start getting letters from the government that suddenly I owe hundreds more. Turns out somehow they filed to the WRONG STATE! When I tried to get the tax company to fix their mistake they wanted me to sign over powerof attorney to them "so they could look into why I owe so much." Um, big no. Just because I'm on the younger side doesn't mean I don't know what that is and there's no reason they need it. Plus I know why I owe, I'm the one that had to tell them. Finally got it straightened out myself after a lot of back and forth and my last communication with the government being in October. Needless to say, went with option 2 this year (and fully prepared to do my own taxes next year if necessary) but it went much better. They were finished promptly, I already have my federal return, and what I owe for state is in.

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    1. Hank Phillippi RyanApril 10, 2023 at 10:32 AM

      THE WRONG STATE???? Ahhhhhh…

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    2. Ooof! I bet you can hear me shuddering. You just described my secret nightmare: our tax preparer retires, or worse. :(

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    3. Before she retired a few years back, I went to a local woman who did the taxes. She was the freaking best! She did my mom's taxes before that. And we never had a problem. And if there ever had been one, she would be with you right through the whole process. I was so bummed when she retired. Now my friend does it for me and so far so good. Only problem was actually my fault for the year I owed money. When I sent in the forms and the payment, I forgot to sign the form. OOOPS! But that got fixed and all is good.

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    4. Score points for you, Alicia!

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  19. As a volunteer tax preparer with AARP Tax-Aide, I am dreading this week. This is when all the procrastinators show up and we have to turn many of them away because there aren't enough volunteers or hours in the day to help everyone. If anyone is looking for tax help next year, please come in March! You can find us through the irs or aarp web sites. We help all ages and there is no charge.

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    1. Hank Phillippi RyanApril 10, 2023 at 10:37 AM

      You are a saint!

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    2. Thank you Cathy and all AARP tax volunteers! I've used them for years, except in 2020. It's by appointment at our local Senior Center and first-come-first-served on designated Saturdays at our Library. And I always try to go in February or March, as you say, to avoid the rush! Thank you, thank you! Charlene Miller-Wilson

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  20. Geeze...okay! I'll stop procrastinating and get out the tax files (mostly labeled and sort of organized) today.

    There has to be an easier way.

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    1. Hank Phillippi RyanApril 10, 2023 at 10:37 AM

      You are so right! Next year we will start talking about this much sooner, and we will encourage each other. Are you in?

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  21. I am still in the weeds of paperwork. Thursday I meet with my accountant who I love because she never judges me. LOL!

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    1. Hank Phillippi RyanApril 10, 2023 at 10:38 AM

      lol! She’s probably seen worse than you … Good luck !

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    2. Jenn, While my taxes are almost certainly far less involved than yours, the fact that I get mine done earlier in the process means instead of pulling out what's left of my hair on Saturday April 15th, I will instead be attending the Iron Maidens (the world's only All-Female Iron Maiden tribute band) concert. I am definitely benefitting from the trade off. Especially since I have a guest pass! :D

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    3. Very cool, Jay! And a good reward.

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  22. Though my little pile of documents are gathered together, I am taking advantage of the severe storm extensions because I live in Sonoma County and putting off filing until later this year. I need to get myself signed up for Medicare since I will have aged to that magic age in June. Taxes will be taken cars of after that.

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    1. Hank Phillippi RyanApril 10, 2023 at 10:38 AM

      So much to juggle! I hope you are safe ….

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    2. If your company provides health insurance you do not have to sign up for Medicare just because you are 65. My husband is 67, still working and enjoying it. He is not using Medicare.

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    3. Deana here - thanks for the info about Medicare.

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  23. I try to get everything out to our tax preparer before St. Patrick's Day, just to close the nagging "gotta-do" loop in my brain. Sending off my copies to her is like a new start to the year. Except ...

    Starting in lockdown, some 1099s don't get out before the old end-of-January deadline, plus this year we have the wild card of an investment that's going through ... never mind. Tldr: the paperwork isn't here yet. Our preparer knows and filed for an extension.

    That I plan to self-pub this year and thanks to my self-pub courses I took, I know those carefree, git-r-done days are now a pleasant memory. In addition to Sarra Cannon's "Publish & Thrive," I also took--simultaneously--Jim Jackson's Guppy course on self-pub. He taught the course under the assumption we'd be DIYing to save some money. Jim's a "numbers guy," and one of the many skills was showing us--step-by-step--how to fill out the tax forms.

    I feel your pain, Hank. As part of the course, Sarra gave us Google sheets she'd designed as part of the course. I had big plans to fill out for Q1 of my expenses and mileage, but we're in the second week of Q1 and I haven't done it yet. :(

    This does not bode well. :) and :(

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    1. Hank Phillippi RyanApril 10, 2023 at 10:39 AM

      The gotta-do loop! That’s great! We all have that chant in our brain…

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  24. Simple taxes for once. Yay me! I know the IRS is underfunded and working with prehistoric software, but jeez is right! When I was a new lowly graduate teaching assistant with a barely-survival-mode stipend, the IRS audited me. (The auditor seemed incensed that I was given money--she seemed sure that somehow I was cheating the system). But that incident apparently put a red flag next to my name because I've sure had some crazy tax years ever since.

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    1. AUDITORS! DO not get me started...xoxooo Poor thing, Flora! SO terrible.

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  25. Reading comments by JRW, I am reminded of something Agatha Christie said about trying to explain to the tax people in England about her income as a writer. I think it was in her biography that she wrote about her life?

    A tax preparer can be very helpful. It looks like everyone has different ways of doing Income taxes and it seems to work for them.

    One of the things that I learned in my law classes was about Corporation Taxes. I was surprised that Corporations are taxed Twice! First as an individual and second as a business? if I recall right? it has been a while since my law classes.

    A family member gathers all of the paper receipts for each month of the year, organizes them then brings them to the tax preparer.

    Diana

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    1. Oh, that's fascinating--did someone tell her it was a hobby? HA.

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  26. For years after I started writing, I used my parent's accountant. My tax bills were horrendous, and he would condescendingly tell me that I should feel lucky that I was making enough money to have to pay so much. Finally I got smart and got a new accountant (thank you, Gigi Norwood, for recommending Sue!) She was absolutely horrified by all the deductions I hadn't been taking and we revised three years worth of returns which saved at least some of my bacon. Writers need good accountants!

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    1. Hard to find one who understands! Rhys

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    2. SO true, Debs and Rhys. I got the old "it's a hobby" line. I showed them magazine covers and advertisements and awards and BOOKS and contracts. Nope. A hobby. It was miserable.

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    3. I cannot begin to tell you how patronizing this man was. I can't believe I put up with him for as long as I did. Still makes me mad to think about it.

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    4. We believe it, Debs. TOTALLY. ((Asking quietly: do they do this to men?)

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  27. For the more years ago than I can count, I’ve used Quicken to track all my expenses: reconcile all my accounts monthly and create these lovely “Category Reports”, print them off, bundle them up, and send them to my account who puts all the numbers on the correct lines. So grateful for electronic 1099s, electronic taxes filing, and even more grateful for my accountant and financial advisor. Although not a writer, I was self-employed (now retired) for at least half of those years. Julia, you are indeed the Queen! Good wishes to all for meeting deadlines and surviving another tax season. Elisabeth

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    1. Yay, Elisabeth! You are SO organized. It's the entering that gets me! I am in awe of you!

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  28. Looks like my comment from earlier didn't post.

    I keep an expandable file folder and every pocket is labeled with a category. That's where I keep my receipts. But I also maintain a spreadsheet that roughly corresponds to the IRS "categories" for deductions and that's what I use to do my taxes. It works. I got state and federal filed last month. But I still have to do locals (that's the one that irks me because it should be simple - my employer deducts a flat rate - but we always have to pay because The Hubby's employer doesn't withhold at the correct rate).

    We lost both kids as deductions this year. That hurt.

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    1. Can't The Hubby's employer be told to withhold at the correct rate? Or be asked to withhold extra? Seems kind of shiftless on the company to not do withholding taxes correctly, particularly when it screws over their employees at tax time.

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    2. The Hubby's employer is the US Department of Labor. They've been told. They don't give a ^&*%.

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    3. Oh. There's a conversation-stopper for you....

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    4. Wait, the Department of Labor can't get the tax withholding issue resolved correctly? Sure lends itself to having confidence in their competency...not.

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  29. This year for the first time in more than twenty years I have only our own taxes to file. Although come to think of it I haven't heard from our son about his. Collecting the information was always the hard part for me. I think we are permanently standard deduction people now, which makes life easier. No more chasing itemized deductions to find out standard is more. I e-filed our 1040-SR (they invented a form for seniors!) last week. BUT I still have to file a Virginia return, based on my income, the VA resident, leaving off husband's income, the TX resident, and figure it out for part year since I got here in May last year. So that will be interesting and hopefully not too imaginative. Since I used all my organization skills at the office when I worked I had none left when I got home. So my data collection is putting tax stuff in a physical file and everything else into files by date (bills paid) or by subject (house, insurance, etc.). Or into a file labeled To Be Filed. Good luck everyone!

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  30. Tax season doesn't stress me because I just gather put the documents in a folder as they come in and take to the accountant. Our taxes are pretty straightforward. The reason I take them to the accountant still is I don't want to deal with investment and retirement matters. The accountant calls if she needs something I've not included.

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