Game On!

For me, there are only 2 seasons; Tax Season and the Off-Season. Such is life. For the first 3 and a half months of each calendar year, accountants work like House Elves (thinly veiled Harry Potter reference meaning that we work very, very hard). We keep the entire legitimate economy of Colombia afloat because of the vast amounts of coffee we drink during this quarter. We spend time waiting on hold for IRS agents. I will conceal my true thoughts about the Internal Revenue Service because there may be children reading along. Tax Season is tough on accountants because we spend more time with our co-workers than with our families. Truth be told, the audit side of the accounting world has their busy season at about the same time but it is generally a few weeks longer and can be more grueling because of the travel. My hat's off to you guys (Losers). Anyway, we make our money by deciphering unreadable tax code, inputing income and expense figures into the Rubik's cube-like forms, and searching and researching the multitude of ways to keep folks from having to pay any more cash to the bloated government while still keeping them safe from audit. I've got a few observations from my few years that I'd like to share:
1. There is no such thing as "tax breaks for the rich." Poor folks don't pay taxes. All of those deductions and credits everyone else takes advantage of are quickly phased out for rich folks. Don't believe me? Ok. To whom do you make the check out when you pay income tax? Rich dudes know because they've probably done it in the last 3 months. Any politician handing you this tripe is lying to you.

2. Effective and organized record-keeping can save a taxpayer an incalculable amount of heartache. If you get audited and you aren't breaking the law, then the IRS has no weapon against you if you can produce your records. If you get audited, they don't have to prove that you were cheating, you have to prove that you weren't.

3. Alternative Minimum Tax. There has been alot of talk in the last few weeks about the AMT. If you are trying to understand it, good luck. The AMT is the epitome of injustice. Most folks won't get caught by it. If you make over 75k and have any kind of itemized deductions, you should talk with your tax guy or girl just to make sure. If your company compensates you in stock options, talk with your tax guy or girl.

4. If you are a minister, there are some pretty advantageous tax aspects for you.

5. Unless you are a business owner or have some type of complex tax anomaly, the interview based tax software that you can buy at Wal-Mart is good enough. H&R Block's Tax Cut is good and TurboTax works just fine. Officially, I say that you shouldn't do your own taxes. Unofficially, the consumer software you can buy for $30-$40 is a good investment.

6. The refund anticipation loan is a rip off. H&R Block innovated the "Rapid Refund" several years ago and it has become a trap for those who expect a refund in April (especially lower income individuals). Do me a favor: E-file your taxes and save the 40% they charge you. Electronic filing is quick; even quicker if you have it directly deposited into your account.

If you've got questions, I'm here and I don't mind telling people what I think.