I have not filed my return by April 15 since 1995. That was the year I filed in late January so I could get my refund and I made a BIG mistake and ended up owing. Had I filed an extension I would have been unaware that I wasn’t getting a refund until sometime later. So I vowed never to file again.
Now I know many of my readers are tax professionals – as am I – and I know there are penalties and all that stuff. I would never encourage a client to incur late payment penalties and interest, but personally, I’d rather be blissfully unaware of the normally depressing answer as long as possible.
I have started inputting all the numbers into my software. Of course I have piles of papers, 1099s and receipts, and 14 file folders with a mismatched bunch of paperwork. Sorting through it now. Oh, wait, here’s the lab slip I got in January – better get to the lab or I’ll be on the bad patient list. Oh, and here’s that picture I took when my granddaughter was born – cute – back in the folder. Yikes, I had better pay my property tax. It’s due today. But I can’t find that receipt for my clothing donation. Did I do it this year or last? Ugh! And now I can’t find the folder with the bank statements.
The final decision: How much in use tax do I owe on my California return. I look at the table: impossible. It’s certainly not that much. So I start going through credit card bills. This is boring and really doesn’t tell me what I need to know. So I pick the number I feel is accurate. With Amazon charging sales tax on almost everything, I don’t think it’s a lot. It can’t be. I type the number into my software and think of it as my personal contribution to California’s budget deficit.
Now I’m just putting the finishing touches on my tax return. I could file it this Tuesday but I won’t. It’s not cool to file on time. And I want to be cool at all costs. I’m just waiting for the April 15 party with my tax friends who will now be able to come out and play with me again.
