It is Tax Time

Yesterday, I finally decided to make a real effort to work on my income taxes. It was a cold day, the day after our hopefully last snowfall of the season, so it was a perfect day to stay inside and start on my taxes. I have always worked on my taxes myself, no paid preparer. And I have always done my taxes by hand, not electronically. I do gain a sense of personal satisfaction by completing my taxes by myself, by hand. Sure it may be old school, but I do understand everything I do.

It looks like I may be out of town on business the first week of April, so I would like to get my taxes completed before the end of March. I usually get a refund, but I still seem to wait until the last minute. It is hard to break tradition (actually procrastination).

After I got my first real job many moons ago, I could get away with filing the 1040EZ form. Well, things have changed since then. I have to itemize my deductions now because I am home owner (along with my mortgage company) and I actually invest my money versus spending money or not knowing how to invest money. So, how far did I get with my 2006 taxes? I completed Schedule B and stopped at line 13 on form 1040 and Schedule D. I can only work on my taxes for so long before I need a break. And this post is part of a much needed break.