An Annual American Obligation

Yep, Income Tax Returns are due on April 15 in the U.S. Never one to wait to the very last minute as a rule, I like to have mine done by about this time of year. I have not done my own taxes since the day of the 1040A which was a half sheet of paper.

I had a good friend look at my records, and he handed them back and said he wasn't able to do them with confidence. It's not a good idea for the person doing your tax work to be without sufficient confidence, so I looked further and found that there were several options for trained volunteers who do taxes for people in this area.

I made an appointment for this morning and arrived at the scheduled time. The person at the reception desk asked for my Social Security Card.  I didn't have it with me.  I had forgotten that this was one occasion where the real live card was required.  I had to drive back home to retrieve it from it's place with my important documents. I then returned to the tax preparation site. Then I was allowed to fill out the screening form.

After a short wait it was my turn with the man with the computer.  He filled in the form on his Turbo Tax program, being very meticulous, I thought.  Then he handed me a sheaf of papers from my records and said he needed copies.  I walked over to a local shopping center where there was a Pack and Send store and the lady there made my copies for me.  She had a grey cat in the shop, so I was not without entertainment while she did the job. Returning to the Tax Preparers I was ready for the final check through by a different volunteer. I authorized the amount I owed to be taken from my bank account and the job was completed. Whew! done for another year; three hours start to finish.

On the drive home I saw a colony of vultures sitting on several streetlight fixtures. On the side of the street there were more, dividing up a roadkill opossum. Sorry, no photo.