JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Happy Valentines Day to all who
celebrate, but I’m not here to talk about that. If you want to read our
thoughts on the holiday (and see examples of the delightful cartoons Hallie’s
dear Jerry gave her every year) just follow the links. No, I’m here to talk
about something that outlasts infatuation, obsession, love and even death -
yes, I’m here to talk about taxes. (And if you’re thinking, surely, not death,
than you haven’t ever handled an estate.)
Why taxes on the day devoted to romantic love? Because February 15th isn’t just the day for snatching up half-priced Russell Stover chocolate boxes. It’s also the date by which you should have your tax information in to your accountant if you want a guarantee they’ll be able to file your 1040 by April 15th. (By the way, many years Maine and Massachusetts file on April 17th or 18th, because we observe Patriots Day on the third Monday of the month. And what’s more patriotic that waiting til the last minute to file your taxes? Thanks, Paul Revere!)
I’ve become a little obsessive about this, because for YEARS I
didn’t get my act together soon enough and had to file an extension.
Embarrassingly, there were a few times when I didn’t make it in time for the
extension! I know, it makes me groan and shake my head as well. Happily, I’ve
been living into my goals to become more organized, and this is the third year
I’ve gotten all my materials to my long-suffering accountant before February
15th!
How about you, Reds? Are you ahead of the curve when it comes to taxes, or are you begging your accountant to somehow fit you in on April 14th?
HALLIE EPHRON: Heavens no! But this is a timely reminder to get on the stick. It takes me about a half a day to pull everything together. And the magnificent fellow who files my taxes has been doing it for quite a few years. So it’s not a big deal… but it hangs over me. I’m much happier when it’s done.
DEBORAH CROMBIE: I applaud your industry, Julia! My accountant
pretty much automatically files an extension for me, and I do my taxes in
August, as my corporate return is due September 15th. Maybe one day I will
emulate you!
JENN McKINLAY: I am either way ahead of the curve or way behind. This year looks to be behind…ah well. I did see a hilarious meme of someone turning in their tax forms to the IRS completely blacked out as in redacted. LOL. This year, I would like an accounting from the government telling me exactly where my money is going…ahem.
RHYS BOWEN: one thing I am meticulous about is taxes. I
have a spread sheet going all year so it’s only a question of the sum of each
column plus the various investments, properties etc. I have spoken with various
tax attorneys about ways to pay less or whether incorporating works but nobody
has come up with brilliant ways to prevent me from buying a new stealth bomber
every year! I also feel if the federal programs are being curtailed I’d like to
know where my money is going !
LUCY BURDETTE: I wish I was more like you, Rhys. Right now I just have a big folder with everything crammed into it. John has been nagging me to get my part done, but we’ve had so much company (and more to come) that it’s hard to tackle. It’s never as bad as I think it will be…
HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Yeah, I am relentlessly careful and on
time about this, and every year I end up stomping around the house saying “what
is this FOR?? What is this FOR??” and “WHY IS THIS SO MUCH!!” and “I bet
fill-in-the-blank person doesn't pay this much. AHHHHHHH SO UNFAIR!” I am
happy to pitch in to pay for infrastructure and schools and school lunch and
breakfast and medicine and education and a whole bunch of other stuff, sure, I
am eager to help, but I cannot help but think about where this particular money
is going. We ought to be able to earmark it. Yeah, mine all goes to
LIBRARIES and school lunches, okay? Check.
Okay, back to the question. Yes, I’ll have my stuff in on time to our lovely person who will add it all up.
JULIA: How about you, Dear Readers? Are you Johnny-on-the-spot with your spreadsheets, or do you start thinking about your 1040 at noon on April 15? And Canadian readers: when are your taxes due to the CRA?
Those tax papers are all gathered together and ready to go . . . .
ReplyDeleteGood for you, Joan!
DeleteMy husband, the tax CPA, told me ours is almost done. This is a new approach. Up until about fifteen years ago, we were always extended (à la the cobbler’s children go barefoot). I think he got tired of us having to wait so he starts working on ours in early February. I know he’s been mumbling a lot this week about distractions (there are always distractions — and lots of mumbling) or ours would probably already be done. — Pat S
ReplyDeleteYou know, Pat, if anyone has a good excuse for doing their taxes late, it's a CPA!
DeleteI can be lured into going through all my expenses for the year with chocolate as a reward.
ReplyDeleteIt occurs to me we could do this on Valentine's Day, when I am going to eat chocolate anyhow.
Not very romantic? Oh, well, worth a try this year.
Becky, I suspect many of us here are at an age where we find fiscal responsibility VERY sexy...
DeleteThis year, some of our information can only be accessed on line, the company changed it's website, my husband can't sign in, wait time on the phone is 40 minutes. Send me the paper documents! Grr-r.
ReplyDeleteWe usually get ours in with time to spare. When I was self-employed, working as a realtor, it took days to figure out all the numbers. I feel terribly for small businesses, they carry the brunt of it and tax rates are very high. Too bad someone in DC isn't going to bat for them instead of billionaires.
Judy, that's how I got in trouble with the IRS in the early '10s. I had always done our income tax myself, and I was good at it. It never occurred to me that being self-employed was going to make everything infinitely more complicated. I must say, the agents who work there aren't fire-breathing ogres; they just want to work out a way for you to pay what you owe. It does chafe me whenever I hear a news story about how many small businesses get audited, versus extremely rich tax-avoiders who can afford to outspend the IRS on lawyers.
DeleteI'm like Lucy - the folder stuffed full of stuff is sitting on the shelf behind me taunting me. I will devote next Saturday to the task of adding everything up, hunting down online w9s, and reporting it all to my tax person. I wish I kept a running spreadsheet, but I don't.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, I shudder to think about where some of my taxes will end up.
I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who gets annoyed at the online forms. It's true I'm just going to scan everything and upload it to my accountant's site, but I like to have all my documents and forms, in paper, assembled in one place!
DeleteFor Rhys and Jenn wondering where the money is going with all the programs being curtailed, I could give plenty of wiseass answers but since they'd all be politically pointed answers, I'll have to restrain myself. Especially inevitably there'd be some other JRW responder here who would complain about said answers.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I wish the IRS had a sense of humor because sending in the redacted tax forms would be the ultimate in HILARIOUS FU's.
No, I am not ready to have my taxes done. I would guess that my taxes are way easier than everyone here that is a writer. My form is pretty easy. Here's my W2s and forms telling you I had health coverage. No I didn't gain anything by having stocks or bonds and no I didn't donate to any charities other than the Keep a Roof over Jay's Head Foundation.
So file the form and tell me how I still have to pay money despite making a boatload less money than I did last year.
I'll be doing that as soon as I can afford to pay for the privilege of having the federal and state governments steal my money and offering me nothing in return for it. (Is that too blunt?)
You're just saying what we're all thinking, Jay!
DeleteI turned my taxes in last week.
ReplyDeleteDru Ann! You are a MONSTER! I hereby declare you Queen of Tax Prep at JRW!
DeleteJulia, I am puzzled by accountants needing tax info by February 15. Especially as 1099 forms and reports for charitable giving have a deadline in late January. This gives individuals 2 or 3 weeks to put together their data. I don’t understand why an accountant with the latest software and employees to run it would need all individuals’ information 2 months in advance of the filing deadline to complete the forms for filing and calculate taxes. Had trouble sleeping last night so I may be missing something….Elisabeth
ReplyDeleteElisabeth, tax accountants get slammed this time of year, with a huge portion of their entire year's worth of work happening between January and April 15th. The earlier you get the data to them, the higher up in the queue you get to be. Anyone turning in their numbers the last week of April could be told they'll have to pay something, file an extension, then wait their turn with the rest of the procrastinators for the rest. I worked in the world of insurance, investment, and retirement accounts for a decade.
DeleteKaren's answer is spot on, Elisabeth, and yes, it is a pain when the last forms don't arrive until February 5th! I'll add that in many cases, like mine, tax preparers themselves are small businesses, with one or two accountants and a CPA, plus an assistant/secretary. But even large firms run out of capacity at the volume of business they get in three-month period.
DeleteYes, I am aware that this is an accountant’s busy season. But I still question the need for a February 15 deadline. But then I may have far simpler taxes to be filed. Not sure why this bothers me so much…and, my accountant is also a small business, in a small town. Elisabeth
DeleteGood luck to everyone. And heck, yeah: the government SHOULD be accountable to us, the People. Why are they not? We are not alone in this anger, and I have a deep suspicion that collection this year will be dismally low, since the IRS has been virtually gutted.
ReplyDeleteOur taxes have been automated, in the collection of data, for decades. I update everything monthly by clicking a button on Quicken that pulls in every credit card, bank, and investment activity, check everything to make sure it's correct, classify every income and outgo, and check against the bank, credit card, and investment reports. At the end of each year I spit out a report, check to make sure every transaction is categorized (the bank-Quicken connection sometimes goes a bit haywire), and then just plug in the numbers in TurboTax. Our investment company interacts with TT, so I no longer even have to hand enter every buy-sell or dividend amount like in the old days. It's all automatic, fast, and accurate.
Because we have both been self-employed our entire marriage, and we have rental property, sometimes we have had employees or subs, so we have somewhat complicated returns. Also, like most authors, we have never known for sure how much we would make (sometimes, if anything) each year. Estimated income taxes have always been tricky, since you have to pay at least 90% of what you will owe for the year, in advance. That's a fun juggling act. To take advantage of the one chance I have to adjust the January amount, I usually spend the time between Christmas and New Year's doing all the above, in case we need to deposit more. By mid-February we also have all the 1099s for our bank and investment accounts, and I can do the taxes any time from now on. With all my preparation it shouldn't take more than an hour or two. Fingers crossed.
Karen, I am DEEPLY impressed with your organization and attention to detail.
DeleteWhen I was working with an IRS auditor, she suggested in the future, I send in 20% of each payment from my publisher or agent as I get them, and include the quarterly form with my check. It's worked very well, BUT I also have a salaried side gig teaching at the local college, and I have a significant extra amount going to the feds and the state of Maine with each paycheck.
Honestly, it is really easy, once you set it up. Quicken gives you the categories, and you just use the ones you need--they are straight from the tax return ones. Then you link all your accounts, and automatically every transaction populates each account. Quicken memorizes recurring transactions, like book downloads, utility payments, etc, so once you have paid one it repeats the next time, so it gets easier over time. Investment accounts automatically show dividends, interest, LT and ST capital gains, etc. It's gotten very sophisticated since Quicken 1.0 in 1984--a DOS program, when I first started using it, and everything had to be entered by hand! (There are other programs, I am just not as familiar with them, and Quicken was the first, started by one of my insurance clients, actually.)
DeleteMany years ago I took a night class in accounting at University of Cincinnati. The guy teaching the class had been the accountant for the owner of a kind of famous store, now long gone. But he said when he took over Mr. Swallen had shoeboxes of receipts that had to be compiled every year, all at once. This was for a huge store that sold everything from clothing to hardware to tires to electronics. A nightmare scenario!
Julia, advice from an IRS agent is always valuable.
Having lived in Minnesota for 40 years, I will not comment here about where the tax money is going or has gone.
ReplyDeleteMy husband does our taxes using TurboTax. Just need the 1099’ and what have you. Easy peasy. Done move on.
Our hearts are with you, Brenda!
DeleteI'm sorry to have been AWOL yesterday; I wound up staying with baby Paulie until noon, ran some errands while bringing Victoria's dogs back to my place, took a nap (I'm NOT used to waking up at 5am!!) and then discovered my heating fuel was all out! (See, that discussion about the cold on Tuesday really was relevant.) Got it sorted, thankfully, so I'm not going to turn into a Juliacicle - or worse, have to sleep in the kitchen. Just carrying around a fussy baby for a few hours has wrecked me - my lower back is on fire and it feels like someone beat on my biceps with a lead pipe. CLEARLY there's a reason we're designed to have babies when we're young.
ReplyDeleteI've had that thought many times in the last two years, Julia, about having babies before we're forty. Wait until Paulie sits on the floor, points to the spot next to him, and says, "Sit, Grammy!" I tell Ida Rose I'm an old lady, and I don't sit on the floor. Period. She now loves saying "Old lady!"
DeleteAw, Edith, that is so dear.
DeleteJulia, I recommend the Lidocaine pain patches from Salonpas. You can keep one on for 12 hours, and it is a blinking godsend. Every drug store, plus Target, Walmart and Costco sells them. They aren't free, but they are worth every penny.
That's an excellent suggestion, Karen, and I'll pick a couple up after i return the dogs this afternoon. Right now, I'm typing while standing at my kitchen counter - that helps!
DeleteYes to Salonpas!
DeleteCanadian here: Tax deadline is April 30th. I'm a hybrid prepper -- some receipts stuffed into a folder, some neatly itemized in a beautiful spreadsheet. The process of pulling it all together hangs over me (like it does Hallie) and I can never understand why I am not more organized. Karen from Ohio is my new hero; wow - what a system you have! Good luck, everyone.
ReplyDeleteoops: Karen IN Ohio...
DeleteI know, right? We need to have Karen teach us a tax prep workshop!
DeletePresident's Day weekend is my weekend to assemble everything. I keep a zippered plastic file printed with sharks on the kitchen counter for incoming statements. From the mailbox to the shark file, with no detours.
ReplyDeleteI love the shark document, Margaret! Mine all get tossed into an antique tin picnic basket. It looks horrific to the well-organized, but it works for me, and it only takes me a few hours to sort everything in the basket into a series of folders when the time comes.
DeleteOur tax documents have been delivered to the tax preparer, thanks mostly to hubby's efforts. (We're largely a divide-and-conquer marriage, and taxes have always been squarely in his basket.)
ReplyDeleteWe have had an interesting few years with tax preparation. When our longtime preparer did our 2023 taxes, she announced she was retiring and we should find someone new for 2024. Hubby got a recommendation from a friend and we went to that guy for 2024. He did our taxes, but shortly thereafter he died! So we are once again using a brand new (to us) tax preparer to do our 2025 taxes. We will be saying prayers for this guy's continued health and well being!
Susan, my CPA is about my age, and I'm also praying for his good health, and that he wants to keep working! The three people you never want to outlive: your doctor, your accountant, and your hairdresser.
DeleteYou are so right -- and I've already had to replace the doctor and accountant. I'm hoping my hairdresser lives and continues to work forever!
DeleteI’m a very organized person in general so I spend a couple of hours filling out the paperwork our accountant sends. Usually this happens before we leave for our February stay in Key West but this year so many of the 1099s and K1s are not arriving until late February that I decided to wait until we get back home in early March. If we have to file an extension so be it. That’s something we’ve never done…
ReplyDeleteEmily, I had two forms that didn't arrive until the first week of February, which I can understand for the one that was sent through the USPS, but the digital one that was emailed to me? Yeah, no.
DeleteHaving another sort of deadline is super-motivating to getting those returns in. When I had kids in college and had to do the FAFSA each year, I was extremely fast with my turn-around! You want to be at the top of the line for that federal grant money...
I need to get started.I think taxes should be way easier. The government already has a lot of information, why is the onus on us? I've been doing my taxes the old fashioned way because the idea of having to pay a private company to file taxes annoys me. Free Fillable Forms only work if you don't itemize deductions. However, I always seem to make some sort of error, so this year I am going to contact a friend of my sister's who is a tax preparer. Perhaps she can help me learn what I'm doing wrong (mostly on the state form). Here's another pet peeve: the state of Oregon form is 8 pages! I have to pay extra postage to send my taxes to the state.
ReplyDeleteGillian, I think that same thing every year! We were audited some 30 years ago--because my return showed a different amount than the information the government ALREADY HAD. What?? If they knew that, why not just adjust it? (They ended up forgiving the tax difference. My husband was SO impressed.)
DeleteAgreed, Gillian - I'm guessing 40-50% of filers are salaried and take the standard deduction. Those folks should just get a bill! Although that makes me wonder if there's a psychological component in coming up with the amount you owe yourself - maybe more compliance?
DeleteI heartily agree that taxes should be simpler. The tax preparer who died last year had filed our taxes already, but had filed an extension for our son's and hadn't done those yet. (Our son had earnings in the US in the first quarter of 2024 and had been living and earning in Japan ever since, making his return very confusing.) After several frustrating misstarts and several preparers telling us they didn't do international work, I finally made my best attempt to do his taxes myself and we submitted that effort. A few weeks ago he got every bit of what he had paid refunded, saying there was an error in his taxes. So much for my ability to figure out tax forms! At least he wasn't in any trouble, as he had overpaid rather than underpaid.
DeleteAgreed, other countries think the way we do it is pretty weird. But the tax prep lobby must be strong.
DeleteFunny the conversation is about taxes this morning as I began mine yesterday.
ReplyDeleteIn Quebec we have a provincial form and a federal one to complete and taxes are due on April the 30.
Employers and institutions have until the February 28 to hand in the papers necessary to do the taxes and we have to be sure to have everything before doing them.
In some provinces of Canada, people have only one form to complete combining provincial and federal taxes.
Having worked in accounting all my life, I completed mine for more than fifty years now.
Should I add that I did it on time each year for myself and for others ( family and friends).
Danielle, I actually find pulling my info together and getting it on a spreadsheet to be strangely soothing! I actually enjoyed doing our taxes before I became self-employed and things got complicated.
DeleteI have a laughably low income and it turns out that my only asset is my winning smile. Yet, every year I assiduously do my taxes and have found, for at least the past ten years, I have made so little that no taxes are due and that I do not have to file -- and that's without even itemizing deductions. My expenses are few. My wants are few. My health is good. And I have friends and family and books. What more do I need?
ReplyDeleteJerry, that sounds like a well balanced, well-lived life! And I suspect many of us would love to arrive at the end of of the process to discover we owe nothing.
DeleteI don't use a spreadsheet, just an old fashioned account book for income and expenditures. I total them up while watching the Rose Parade every Jan 1 and make my tax apt. for early Feb. We signed off on automatic filing yesterday. I'll send a check for what I owe in April, one of my forms of protest, but we will get a bit back from the state in a week or two. Don't hate me for being organized. My father drummed record keeping into me at an early age.
ReplyDeleteI only admire the well-organized, Kathy Lynn - I've learned from my attempts to join their ranks that planning ahead makes everything SO much easier and less stressful.
DeleteAnd yes, if I owe the IRS, that check is getting postmarked on April 15th and not a moment sooner!
Please don't hate me. I filed on the 31st and my refund showed up in my bank account on the 5th. I'm that odd person that doesn't like to get a big refund every year. I figure it is my money and I don't want the guvmint using any more than necessary. I'd rather even have to pay a small amount. I do feel for you folks, however, who have to struggle with the reams of paperwork you must organize and keep to prove your honesty.
ReplyDeleteAt least keeping the records for the recommended seven years has become easier, Judi. I scan the originals before tossing them, and then just hang on to the digital file. That's a huge improvement over the days when past years' receipts, etc. took up an entire filing drawer!
DeleteOh Julia, feel better soon! We started having someone do our taxes after we bought our house. She’s also now our financial advisor and she and her colleagues are a godsend! We get an email with all they need and when, we pull the stuff together and send in, questions, answers and voilà! But ai find this all painful anyway, and the thought of where some of my taxes are going these days is painful. I want them to go to help the people of the country -infrastructure, true health CARE, not for profit insurance, education, libraries, libraries, small and local businesses….
ReplyDeleteI hope, for those of you who like and can eat chocolate you have some today. I ❤️ you all.
Thank you, Suzette! I already have my marked-down chocolate shopping planned for tomorrow. Nothing helps aches and pains like a dark chocolate sea salt caramel...
DeleteI hear you about our taxes going to politicians - I am preaching to the choir here, but remind everyone you know to VOTE!
DeleteTaxes and money matters make my brain hurt. Ask me anything about science, nature, health-things even the icky, livestock, farming, books, classical music, food – any of those. I can give you a verbose encyclopedia of usually useless information. Taxes – just makes my brain hurt. Have no interest, don’t care, usually ignore (I do pay my bills), and really number 2 – don’t care. Don’t bother to tell me about it – still don’t care. My sister obsessed about every cent – really, if she bought me groceries and the bill would be 19.78 and I would give her a twenty. She would make change! My brother is also an accountant. Booorrrrrinnnnngggg!
ReplyDeleteAs for us – we live on the edge of poverty, so all we really have to do is fill in our name and address (so we are on the electoral polls), sign it, and send it in. No extensive calculations, receipt finding, anything required. I would like to know why you can’t claim 11 cats as dependents when really they are our biggest expense, but then I am not the politician who developed the form. I think our date is Apr 30. We usually file early – just so we don’t forget.
Happy Valentines Day to all. I will be out to a Valentine's Day Tea!
Simple is the way to keep it, Margo. And yes, if I could deduct my PETS' medical bills instead of my own, I'd be looking at a nice refund! Some smart cookie needs to run for office on that platform...
DeleteBecause all this makes my brain still hurt, in Canada, I know that somehow magically all T4’s (what tells how much money you earned) are filed in some magical online site. When you fill out the tax form, it will automatically fill in the required blanks – amount, tax taken off, and whatever else they need to know. Why they still need you to go through the rigamarole to fill out and file I don’t know? Maybe that is why I am not the billionaire with the loopholes.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I love all that magic, Margo, finding all my slips already sitting with the CRA. And then I download them (more magic) to the tax program I buy every year (worth every penny of $15). But they don't know about my medical expenses and donations and other bits and pieces, so I have to assist the magic with some abracadabra.
DeleteThank you to all of the commenters sharing your stories about filing taxes. Filing taxes is adulting. When I was a kid watching my parents file taxes every year, it looked like something all adults do.
ReplyDeleteLast year we got audited from the State of CT. It was a "hold your breath" six months because we really are sticklers about doing the right thing--we always err on the side of the government for fear that if you get audited, they ALWAYS find something for you to pay. Guess what? Connecticut found nothing amiss. No we are not Florida residents living in CT. No we did not claim dinners out with the kids as business expenses. And yes, we paid our fair (more than fair if you ask me) share! I wish I could get my bulging files of expenses and income for my business onto a spreadsheet on a regular basis, but next week, I'll be doing what I always do--adding everything up and turning it over to the accountant! I used to feel stressed over it all. Now that I'm reading "Let Them" I've decided to Let Them!!!!
ReplyDeleteOne easy thing that really works for me is an accordion file. I get a massive one, and put little tabs on each section, like income, tax forms, Mastercard, Amex, health, travel, postage etc. Then when I get receipts I just put them in the accordion file and it is already sorted. At the end of doing my taxes, I put everything back in those slots, put a date label on the outside, tie a string around it and store it in the basement. It’s just as easy as throwing everything in a bag at the outlet, and 1000 times easier to organize For the great accounting.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the old joke? "I have a love-hate relationship with the IRS. I love to hate the IRS."
ReplyDeleteFor most of my adult life, I was strictly a W-2 girl, and for most of my adult life I filed hard copy 1040s/Schedule As in pencil on 14 April. My annual rebellion against The Man!
All my tax data, for self, for business, for a trust, and a 4th set for a family member, are too the accountant, but he’s probably going to file extensions. He assures his clients it’s free and easy, but he needs time to review the data, meet with each client, and then do the taxes…as if this isn’t true of all businesses. The real problem is that he has taken on too many clients. He may have fewer clients next year.
ReplyDeleteWe've been audited TWICE by the IRS. And the fortunate thing was they said we were all good, sorry to have inconvenienced you - and you didn't claim a few things you could have so we'll give you $$ for that plus give you interest on the monies you didn't claim but should have. Both times.
ReplyDeleteI remember when I was around 23-25 years old I worked as a sect'y and earned minimum wage. I filed my own standard deduction taxes and always got back A LOT of money. I say a lot because to me a $100 refund (or thereabouts) allowed me to buy a used black and white tv, or one year a bike.
ReplyDeleteLow income but few expenses in those days.
The comment about the IRS audit reminded me of going with my parents to the IRS office. They were audited and the IRS agent asked them why regarding my ballet lessons and ice skating lessons. They explained that I needed these lessons for medical reasons since my sudden hearing loss (meningitis) affected my balance. My doctor recommended these lessons to help me with my balance. The IRS ended up owing my parents some money.
ReplyDeleteAh! Maybe I can have my doc prescribed yoga classes of a gym membership for the arthritis in my finger!!!
DeleteHappy Valentine’s Day
ReplyDeleteI see an extension in my future :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for the gentle reminder to get my act together. I thought there was plenty of time during our time back here, but I forgot that I would spend 2 weeks watching the Olympics. Luckily ours aren’t too complicated, but I still have PTSD from the year we didn’t turn over a W-9, the accountant didn’t catch it, and we spent years trying to straighten things out.
ReplyDelete