Death and That Other Thing...Well, Really Just That Other Thing

Can I let you in on a little secret? I hate doing our taxes.

I'm not sure why I hate it so much.

With Justin's position and three kids, it's not like we owe anything this April 15th. Actually we usually get a refund, especially since we have had babies in the last part of the year and we weren't getting their deductions from the taxes withheld from our checks.

I'm organized and keep all of our papers in one place. I even switched from paper to e-filing, so it's just a little time at the computer, not all the time to get the forms and make copies like I used to do.

Maybe it's all those years of filling out IEP (Individualized Education Plan) forms that gives me the hee-bee gee-bees. I was always terrified I'd make an error on those and it's the same with the tax forms.

Well, I put the taxes to bed for the year. Here's to another year until I have to fill out the dreaded forms again!

Taxes

I’m typically not a procrastinator, but for some reason I drug my feet on filing our taxes this year. It isn't that we owe, we're getting a nice refund, but we don’t get to do anything fun with it. It’s just going to float us over the summer while Justin’s off contract. I guess the lack of thrill, two munchkins taking my energy, and another one making me feel rather ill in the evenings, when I actually have time to do it haven’t helped too much. I did finally get them done—not just today either—I'm not that bad of a procrastinator. My quick estimate of our refund back in January was pretty much right on the nose.

I’ve always done our taxes on paper and never paid a preparer. This year, with all the difficulties I had getting motivated I used a computer program and e-filed. It was nice not to have to check my math repeatedly and take the papers to be photocopied before I mailed them off. The price tag is a bit steep, but with our refund, I figure it was worth it. Besides, next year we have another deduction!

Happy tax day. Should we throw a tea party with teddy bears? Maybe in Boston?