Ah yes, the two constants in the universe. I just finished up our tax return tonight. Thank heavens we did not have to file in two different states like last year. Still, California does have a few quirks in their tax code that require strange computations such as the Use Tax and the California adjustments from the federal tax code. Let me tell you, Illinois taxes were far less complicated.
I like doing taxes, at least at the start. I sometimes think I should have been an accountant because I like budgeting and allocating funds and filling out tax forms. One summer I interned at the local hospital in the accounting department helping them prepare for a 3 year audit and 5 year sales tax audit. I realized something very important that summer; I only like budgeting my money and filing my tax stuff. I would loathe having to figure out someone else's taxes.
There are three phases or emotional/mental states of preparing your taxes. Phase 1 is the excitement of having all the W-2's and 1099's in order ready to crunch the numbers and see what comes out in the end. This phase does not last long. In fact the minute you open the booklets and right in your name and social security number you have entered Phase 2.
Phase 2 is marked by frustration, confusion, anger, and repeated questioning of the competency of tax code framers. Honestly the numbers are added and subtracted and multiply by arbitrary percentages so many times that by the end I have no idea what I'm looking at until the line says, "this is your tax". It would make me feel better to have a note in the instructions saying, "you just multiplied the difference of your gross income and your standardized deductions by 15% because 15% is the favorite number of the current governor's wife of New Mexico." At least I'd know where 15% came from.
The tax preparer enters Phase 3 when the documents are stapled together, whether or not they have been signed. Stapling indicates the arithmetic has been reviewed thrice, the order of forms has been checked thrice, and copies have been made in triplicate. This final phase can be upgraded from fun, at the prospect of not having to undergo such arduously inefficient paper work for another year, to excitement at the prospect of a refund. Conversely, it can also be downgraded to livid grumbling at the post office if a check is included with the paper work.
Enjoy your tax season!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
how funny!
We got our taxes done, we finally don't have to pay the Federal. Thanks to Ben Benn and me not working ;0)
They somehow reminded me of the 7 Stages of Mourninng. How clever. Thankfully Tim is the tax payer in our family. He enjoys it to some degree also. My job is to collect all the forms at the beginning and copy his numbers onto another copy of the forms when he is done so they are readable. Yay... your back!
I loved this post. I just found you on the web and I laughed when I read about the phases of tax preparation. Oh, if only we could simplify the tax code. I propose a revolution. Who's with me?
Post a Comment