A Taxing and Relaxing Weekend
Feb. 25th, 2023 04:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerThis is my weekend to do taxes. I planned the date over a month ago, looking at when I'd have a weekend free at home, when the tax forms I need from banks would all be in, and not going too late into the season. As I've noted before, I'm not one of those last-minute, 11pm on April 15th tax filers.
One of my banks almost forced me to wait another few weeks. The IRS requires banks to send 1099 forms, the ones that detail dividends, interest, and capital gains, by Feb 15. Ameritrade met that deadline with a few weeks to spare. Fidelity warned me that I might not get my forms until March. (The IRS allows banks an extension to March 15 if they file for it.) Late last night I checked my account again to see if maybe, just maybe, the form was ready. It was! The timestamp told me it had just been posted online an hour earlier. So I'm all set now to finish my taxes this weekend. Yay?
But before I tax it's time to relax. I began the day with a soak in the hot tub.
The weather was beautiful this morning. The forecast had called for cold (for us) temperatures, clouds all day, and intermittent showers. It's part of the freak snowy weather in the Bay Area since yesterday and for the next few days. But this morning was clear. It was still cold out, but at least it was clear. Great time for the hot tub!
After a soak I showered and dressed, then met Hawk for lunch and grocery shopping. She'd gone to do some shopping for her side business in the morning; that's why I was alone out at the hot tub. After lunch and shopping we cleaned up in the kitchen a bit and sat down to play a game. Then it was time to get started on those dreaded taxes.
I joke about taxes being dreaded. The act of filing the forms is more of a 😒 (meh) than 😱 (fear) for me. I've done them enough years that I know what to expect. There's still the fact that I'm paying a huge amount of tax. That's kind of 🤯. But I don't object to paying taxes. Sure, it would be nice not to have to pay taxes, or to pay way less tax on my income than I owe. But I'm an adult. As an adult I know I have to pay for things; I don't get them for free just because I want.
I've now completed the first pass through my tax forms, and there's some good news. It looks like I'll get refunds on both federal and state taxes, a net of about $1,500 more than I estimated! I'll see if that good news holds up as I get everything sorted.
One of my banks almost forced me to wait another few weeks. The IRS requires banks to send 1099 forms, the ones that detail dividends, interest, and capital gains, by Feb 15. Ameritrade met that deadline with a few weeks to spare. Fidelity warned me that I might not get my forms until March. (The IRS allows banks an extension to March 15 if they file for it.) Late last night I checked my account again to see if maybe, just maybe, the form was ready. It was! The timestamp told me it had just been posted online an hour earlier. So I'm all set now to finish my taxes this weekend. Yay?
But before I tax it's time to relax. I began the day with a soak in the hot tub.
The weather was beautiful this morning. The forecast had called for cold (for us) temperatures, clouds all day, and intermittent showers. It's part of the freak snowy weather in the Bay Area since yesterday and for the next few days. But this morning was clear. It was still cold out, but at least it was clear. Great time for the hot tub!
After a soak I showered and dressed, then met Hawk for lunch and grocery shopping. She'd gone to do some shopping for her side business in the morning; that's why I was alone out at the hot tub. After lunch and shopping we cleaned up in the kitchen a bit and sat down to play a game. Then it was time to get started on those dreaded taxes.
I joke about taxes being dreaded. The act of filing the forms is more of a 😒 (meh) than 😱 (fear) for me. I've done them enough years that I know what to expect. There's still the fact that I'm paying a huge amount of tax. That's kind of 🤯. But I don't object to paying taxes. Sure, it would be nice not to have to pay taxes, or to pay way less tax on my income than I owe. But I'm an adult. As an adult I know I have to pay for things; I don't get them for free just because I want.
I've now completed the first pass through my tax forms, and there's some good news. It looks like I'll get refunds on both federal and state taxes, a net of about $1,500 more than I estimated! I'll see if that good news holds up as I get everything sorted.
