Taxes: My Number One Anxiety-Causing Topic

I admit it. I am useless when it comes to the taxation system in this country, and the subject of taxes is something that causes my anxiety responses to go off the charts every single time I think about it all. I wake up at 3am in a cold sweat at times, worrying about getting those taxes done and correct and all that stuff. It is one of the biggest stress-inducing activities of my year...every year.

Now, I act as the treasurer for a not-for-profit organization here in the states and that has increased my anxiety rather than decreasing it. I didn't want to be the treasurer for this not-for-profit organization, but I kinda fell into it because of where I lived. My role has been the source of great joy over the past eleven years and also the aforementioned stress. This year, my accountant retired, so I now have a new tax preparer.

I met with her this last week to complete my personal taxes, and I will never go back to doing my own ever again!

I found things that I could itemize that I have never been able to itemize before. It was a wonderful thing and well worth the money that it cost. The increased amount of my refund covered the preparation costs and the state taxes that I ALWAYS have to pay with enough left over for a meal from a fancy restaurant! I consider that a win.

Sure, I didn't get lots of money back, but I got enough to break even. That's a win when viewed from the perspective of the past few years.

I have (almost) always done my own taxes in years past. The best thing that ever happened to this process (for me) was when tax companies started offering software to help you file things. I loved it and found the software very helpful. Then, my software became an online thing. That was even better! Now, though, my income levels and jobs and income sources are a bit more complicated, so it is past time to get some help!

My biggest situation is a chunk of income that comes to me without withholding. It is a contract position and it increases my bottom line pretty significantly, especially when combined with a church job where withholding also doesn't happen for some strange reason. These two jobs mean that I always have to give more in taxes than my regular salaried job can cover. I haven't figured out how to manage that better. I usually don't even think about it until this time of year. Anyway, because I get these incomes without federal or state taxes coming out of them, I get less from a tax refund than I would if I didn't hold those two jobs. That's okay with me because both of these jobs are things that I love and still want to do even though they complicate my taxes.

My tax preparer helped me to find ways to offset some of the taxes that I had to pay.

Here's my advice.

Talk to a person who really knows about taxes. Let them help you identify things that you can claim and itemize and all that. It is wonderful to sit back and let someone else fill out the paperwork. All I did was watch and sign things at the end. The cost was well worth the lack of stress. I will be going back to this person for my taxes next year! 

Off to an online meeting now and then some video production and then I am really needing to go shopping somewhere. Time to find my masks and get going!

 

Thanks for reading.