Time to Pay the Piper 

I did my taxes last night... what a way to spend a Sunday evening right? It never takes me that long as my taxes aren't that complicated. I even still do them on paper, with a pen and calculator. I know... it must be shocking that a software engineer doesn't use... well... software to do it. Apparently I'm not the only one... as Ann Althouse mentioned that she too still does it by hand. Somehow for me, still doing it by hand makes me more conscious of the act. That and I hate to pay for software that can do a task that I can easily do myself.

My friend Be also told me she still does it by hand... on the 14th no less so that she can make her copies on the 15th and get ice cream at the post office at midnight. My dad used to religiously do his taxes at the last minute... and get them to the airport post office by midnight on the 15th. Of course by taxes... I really mean an extension. I have no idea whether they gave him ice cream though. Sure seems like a good idea... that is until you get audited like he did.

So how did I fair? About the same as I always do... I almost broke even. I ended up sending a little money to the Fed... only to get a refund back from the state which makes up for it plus a little more. I like breaking even on the 15th. Must be the engineer part of me... means I got my withholding right. Happens almost every year... I pay one government just to get almost the same amount back from a different government.

My Mom's Cousin Dick on the other hand loves owing on the 15th. In fact, he calculates his withholdings so that he'll owe as close to the maximum he can owe without paying a penalty. Why on Earth would you want to owe you ask? Well... that way he can keep as much of his money in the bank earning interest until the last possible minute before he has to give it to Uncle Sam. I can actually understand that... as long as you're smart enough to keep that money somewhere so you can eventually pay your tax bill. Most people I know enjoy getting a fat refund back so they can spend it... as if it were somehow a gift. I never understood why you'd want to give the government an interest free loan.