I did my taxes today and survived.
Doing one's taxes is one of those things that people like to bitch about but in reality it's not that hard. I had W2 income, business income, a shitload of business deductions, interest income, investment gains, losses, dividend income, mortgage deduction, I sold a house, bought 2 cars, sold 2 cars, registered all 4 cars, donated to charities, moved cross country, lived in a state with income tax, lived in a state without income tax, my wife had a Roth IRA, I had a SEP and a 401(k).
So not exactly your EZ 1040 tax return.
Yet all that and it took me about 4 hours to get it more or less complete thanks to the wonders of TurboTax. So I really don't get why people complain that taxes are soooooo hard. Yeah some of the wording is a little confusing but it isn't rocket science.
And this leads to the campaign for prez. Lots of talk on simplifying taxes. That's all fine and good, but let's not get too bogged down on simple at the expense of lower taxes. Hell, I'll spend 4 or 8 or 15 hours doing my taxes if it means the gubermint gets to steal less of my money. Loopholes and obscure deductions are fine by me. When the politic ans talk about simplifying taxes, they really mean taking away deductions from me. Thanks but not thanks.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
TAX TIME
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2 comments:
I feel like being a jerk today - if your wife qualifies for a Roth IRA, you do not make that much $$, and therefore, you do not have a complicated tax return. It starts to get complicated once you exceed the $150K AGI threshold, of course, depending on individual circumstances.
If you have a level of income that exceeds this as well as other forms of income and losses (pass-through and/or passive activities) that is when things begin to get complicated.
I am surprised that you have already received all of your 1099's, 1098's, W-2, and other forms. I am still waiting for my own stuff to come in/be available on-line. Oh well man, I don't mean to be a jerk, just pissed about all of the crap going on in the world.
I do dig your blog.
Adjusted Gross Income for a Roth is $156K I believe. My goal will be to exceed that next year so I don't qualify, heh, heh. Good to know my readers are in such a high income demographic. I feel honored.
Just you wait until Hillary takes over, $56,000 will be the new limit then.
I got my W2 quickly which was surprising to me too. I haven't received by 1099 but I can do the math and figure out which numbers will go where.
The world sucks, I know. But the Patriots won, so I'm cheery today.
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