As appeared in the Albuquerque Journal Rio Rancho/Westside sections 02/07/09
It is that time of year again and everyone is starting to get a little testy. No, I am not talking about the winter blues. Heck, living in the land of enchantment with its mild winters it’s next to impossible to get the winter blues, well at least at the moment.
I am talking about tax season and there are many reminders floating around to let us know we are in full swing. So get out those number two pencils, erasers, calculators and cheat sheets and get to work.
In my graphic design business most of my projects throughout the year are of a contractual basis with many of my customers. I know it is tax season because my inbox has been filling up with clients’ requests for my federal tax ID number in order to fill out the 1099 forms on me. “Fill out your number-and-fax-it-back,” is all I’ve been hearing. I guess it’s a good thing, it shows I have been productive and that my clients are honest at their end. Except I can’t help but feel like we are all sitting in the back of Mrs. Henderson’s 5th period algebra class passing notes in a last ditch scramble to prepare for the final exam, the dreaded 1040A. Yes, the clock started on January first and pencils are to be put down at midnight on April fifteenth. Give me your answers; I’ll give you mine, hurry. We have to get all the answers right before time is up.
The annual 1040A “test” is an open book format, thank goodness. But be prepared and gather your resource information like that pile of mail marked with “Tax Documentation Enclosed” that has collected on your credenza since the first of the year. Some of us have tutors (accounts) who sit and quiz us to many of the questions the 1040A asks. “What is your name? How many children do you have? How many miles did you drive? I like the easy ones like that; it’s the math that gets me every time. Take one from column A and add to column B, then subtract line thirteen and with six you get egg roll.
Upon finishing, names are signed and pencils are put down and you can pretty much tell what kind of grade you are going to get right then and there. No waiting for Mrs. Henderson to enter it into her grade book with a red pen. Some of us jump for joy if ours is stamped REFUND, while others get out their checkbooks and wipe the tears in defeat.
There are those who don’t study, don’t read the Cliff’s Notes or in some cases don’t even bother to show up for the test yet seemingly get passing grades. These people are known as teacher’s pets or most recently nominations to the presidential Cabinet. Not that I want to get political, but it seems to be a pattern in our nation’s capital lately. First it was Tim Geitner, Secretary of Treasury who supposedly realized he hadn’t taken the 1040A test in awhile. Then came Nancy Killefer who was poised to be the first chief performance officer for the federal government but withdrew because she supposedly failed the domestic help section of the exam. And was Tom Daschle’s tax mess so innocent? I think some people missed the after-school reading groups at the library.
Yes, April 15th has such a notorious reputation. The day your taxes are due. The day President Lincoln was shot. The day the Titanic sank. And….the day I was born.
Quote of the Week: “Let me tell you how it will be. There's one for you, nineteen for me.” – Tax Man by the Beatles
It is that time of year again and everyone is starting to get a little testy. No, I am not talking about the winter blues. Heck, living in the land of enchantment with its mild winters it’s next to impossible to get the winter blues, well at least at the moment.
I am talking about tax season and there are many reminders floating around to let us know we are in full swing. So get out those number two pencils, erasers, calculators and cheat sheets and get to work.
In my graphic design business most of my projects throughout the year are of a contractual basis with many of my customers. I know it is tax season because my inbox has been filling up with clients’ requests for my federal tax ID number in order to fill out the 1099 forms on me. “Fill out your number-and-fax-it-back,” is all I’ve been hearing. I guess it’s a good thing, it shows I have been productive and that my clients are honest at their end. Except I can’t help but feel like we are all sitting in the back of Mrs. Henderson’s 5th period algebra class passing notes in a last ditch scramble to prepare for the final exam, the dreaded 1040A. Yes, the clock started on January first and pencils are to be put down at midnight on April fifteenth. Give me your answers; I’ll give you mine, hurry. We have to get all the answers right before time is up.
The annual 1040A “test” is an open book format, thank goodness. But be prepared and gather your resource information like that pile of mail marked with “Tax Documentation Enclosed” that has collected on your credenza since the first of the year. Some of us have tutors (accounts) who sit and quiz us to many of the questions the 1040A asks. “What is your name? How many children do you have? How many miles did you drive? I like the easy ones like that; it’s the math that gets me every time. Take one from column A and add to column B, then subtract line thirteen and with six you get egg roll.
Upon finishing, names are signed and pencils are put down and you can pretty much tell what kind of grade you are going to get right then and there. No waiting for Mrs. Henderson to enter it into her grade book with a red pen. Some of us jump for joy if ours is stamped REFUND, while others get out their checkbooks and wipe the tears in defeat.
There are those who don’t study, don’t read the Cliff’s Notes or in some cases don’t even bother to show up for the test yet seemingly get passing grades. These people are known as teacher’s pets or most recently nominations to the presidential Cabinet. Not that I want to get political, but it seems to be a pattern in our nation’s capital lately. First it was Tim Geitner, Secretary of Treasury who supposedly realized he hadn’t taken the 1040A test in awhile. Then came Nancy Killefer who was poised to be the first chief performance officer for the federal government but withdrew because she supposedly failed the domestic help section of the exam. And was Tom Daschle’s tax mess so innocent? I think some people missed the after-school reading groups at the library.
Yes, April 15th has such a notorious reputation. The day your taxes are due. The day President Lincoln was shot. The day the Titanic sank. And….the day I was born.
Quote of the Week: “Let me tell you how it will be. There's one for you, nineteen for me.” – Tax Man by the Beatles
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