No matter how prepared you think you are for tax season, it's always much, much worse than you think.
Every year since Aaron and I have been together, I've filled out forms, via Turbo Tax, for both his taxes and mine. After we got married, I figured it would be a lot easier, since I could keep better control of his art receipts, we'd be married filing jointly, living in the same house, etc.
Ha.
Every year since we've been married, something happens to make the whole affair the most bumfuzzling, complicated conglomeration of confusedness you've ever seen.
First we bought a house. This year, we had a baby. I was sick for the majority of 2007 and wasn't able to keep a good hold on organizing everything. I quit my job at the end of the year, and Aaron made more money than usual through his art business. We took two business trips. Does anyone know how you write off a Canon camera used 98% for business, 1% for personal use, and 1% for just sitting there collecting dust? How about a printer whose black ink cartridge only works when it feels like it? Are there tax breaks for printer orneriness?
But the real problem is where and how we have our computer, printer, and tax paperwork set up. Our computer is, not at our desk, like any normal household would have, but next to our television in the living room. The cable company set it up like this because for some reason, it needed to be next to the tv so they wouldn't have to splice any cables. (At least, that's how we think we remember it.) To access it, you sit in a ladder-back chair. There is no space for spread-out paperwork, so several more ladder-back chairs are required for folders, receipts, and invoices, all of which are located back at the desk in the other room. Because you're not sitting at said desk, your knees jut out to one side. Within three and a half minutes, your back is aching like you've just cut a cord of wood.
"I can't work like this!" I announced to Aaron when he came home for lunch today. "This is just impossible! I don't care what it costs, we're calling the cable company and demanding, DEMANDING, that they splice another hookup in our office so I can put everything on our desk! I'm a very neat, organized person, and this type of working environment is stifling to me, simply stifling! It's got to go!"
He slowly backed out of the room. I think he's mixing the first of many Tax Season Gin and Tonics in the kitchen right now.
Next year, I've resolved, it won't be this hard. Next year, I'll keep better track of receipts, we won't move, won't have any more babies, and the computer will be on the desk. It's going to be a breeze!
