For a change.
It’s April 15th, the Ides of April, that infamous day when our taxes are due.
Year after year, my accountants have applied for an extension—partly due to their own hectic schedules during this period and partly due to my not always getting the information to them quickly enough.
But this year, I was organized. I was prompt. I busily worked on keeping all those little receipts properly stored and labeled throughout the year so that the usual last minute scramble was neither last minute nor a scramble.
I am helped, of course, by the fact that I am semi-retired so that my corporate taxes are far simpler and by the fact that Florida has no state taxes. This doesn’t let me off the hook entirely, because my business is incorporated in NY and we have rental property there. So, we still have state forms to file.
Ergo, I haven’t felt like I could dispense with the services of the accountant altogether. This may be an area where I am spending money unnecessarily.
On the other hand, I have anxiety attacks when confronted with TurboTax or the like.
I realize I am paying an accountant to transfer numbers from my Quicken reports to the appropriate lines on the tax forms. Thus far, however, I justify that expense to myself by the knowledge that she knows which numbers and which lines and that, if she is wrong, she will go talk to the IRS and leave me out of it as much as possible.
Am I overpaying? Probably.
Is it worth it? I think so.
Anyway, the miracle is that it’s April 15th, and my tax forms have already been completed and filed, and I am done!
Done!
The only thing certain is death and taxes, but neither of the G-men* are coming after me today.
* G-men = Government Man and/or the Grim Reaper
