Tax Time

Ron doing one of his least favorite chores - taxes

If it's January 15th, it's time to start my taxes.  


Oh how I hate this job.  I always do my own taxes.  I use Turbo Tax.  That seems to be the easiest program.  I've never used a professional tax preparer.  Never made much sense to me because the hardest part of doing taxes is assembling all the material and you would have to do that for the tax preparer anyway.  So here I am, my self-appointed starting point for preparing my taxes.


I don't have all of my information yet but I have to put the Turbo Tax software on my computer.  This year I'm using my iMac computer so this caused me some nervousness.  At my age, anything new and different causes me nervousness.  I like everything to be receptive and calm.  Now I understand all those old people I used to work with when I first started out in my banking job as a young, whipper snapper supervisor.  I thought they were such old fuddy duddies.  Well, here I am, and old fuddy duddy.  What comes around, goes around (as they say).  What they also say is poetic justice.  Yeah, I was one of those smart assed guys who made fun of old people and their ways.


Well, I needn't of worried.  The tax software loaded up in a jiffy.  No problems-a-meto.  


Now to assemble my information.  Isn't this exciting?  This is my blog folks.  I write about my everyday life.  Sometimes exciting, sometimes not so much so.  This is one of those "not so much so" days but I'm going to subject you to it anyway.  Please feel free to leave the premises now if you don't want to go to sleep.  


So I gathered all my income which was only from my part-time job at the hotel.  My income was down again this year.  I didn't work January and February last year.  Hotel business was down and the owner of the hotel cut expenses by laying me and the other part-time old guy off.  The economy sucked last year and it still sucks.  I'm giving 20% and 30% discounts on hotel rooms and we still can't get guests in the building.  But I'm working this year.  


I didn't get my Social Security income form yet.  The income on that will be the same.  This is the second year in a row we rich Social Security recipients didn't receive a cost of living increase.  Funny thing that, my cost of living this year really went up, especially my AARP supplemental insurance with United ("we're always looking out for the customer") Health Care.  Sure, sure.  My premiums with those crooks folks went up a hefty 10% this past year.  Lovely.  I feel like I'm holding onto the edge of a cliff with my fingers and the insurance company is stomping on those digits.  Once Obama and his new buddies, the Republicans start nibbling away at reducing Social Security benefits this year under the guise of "We must all make sacrifices" (except the top tax bracket folks of course), I expect my Social Security payments to shrink even further.  "Change you can believe in."   Uh huh.  I didn't expect it to be this kind of change.  But I digress.  Back got the exciting narrative of assembling my information to get my taxes ready.  See why I hate this time of year?  All my dormant anger is stirred up over our patently unfair tax system.  But again, I disgressed.  


I gathered up all my dental bills.  I had major work done this year.  Over $3,000 or which I was only reimbursed $1,000 from my dental insurance.  Hey, it's better than nothing.  


I also get to deduct my AARP supplemental insurance premiums, something which I forgot to do last year so I had to file an amended return to get some of that money back.


Well, after about four hours of recording all this information one my green pad and then transferring it to my computer, I'm ready to leave it for now.  As always happens when I do my taxes, I'm mad.  


I'll let what I've done so far season while I await the rest of my tax information.  I'm supposed to have all of it by law at the end of this month but there is always a piece of information that comes floating in the middle of February.  This year it is my E*Trade tax statement.  What's up with that?  


I'm going to have a little lunch now and then take a well deserved nap.  


Maybe my mad will be gone when I wake up.