Paper, Paper, And More Paper

I just got done doing our taxes a couple of days ago and got them all sent off to the IRS via e-file. What a wonderful invention, that e-file. And doing them online, too. It still took me a couple of hours, what with having to enter all the information and answer the endless questions that make no sense to me, but it is done. I'm happy to report that we are getting a refund again this year, but I can see an alarming trend that shows a smaller and smaller refund each year. As the rules change and the kids get older, we qualify for less credits every year.

As much as I love the advancement in technology, though, I still like to go old school and print out the documents for safe keeping in my filing cabinet as well as saving a copy on my computer for easy retrieval in the future. Last year, I forgot to save a copy on the PC and for some reason, didn't print a hard copy, either. Wouldn't you know it, I needed it for something later in the year, and had a heck of a time getting the information I needed. I was in a panic for a few days until I finally managed to get my hands on my return and got the information I needed. Once again, technology came to the rescue, and using document imaging software, I was able to recover what I thought was lost forever due to my own stupidity.

The whole tax thing gets me in a tizzy every year, though. Even with the ease of doing it online and e-filing, I always wonder if I've missed something, done something wrong, or made some mistake somewhere that is going to cost us big time. Even after the government approves it and notifies me that our refund is on its way, I still worry. It is the government, after all. You know how it works. If you owe them, you'd better sell your children and hock your belongings, whatever it takes to pay them yesterday. Fail to do so, and you'll end up in a secret prison reserved for tax evaders while they threaten your family and make you eat bread and water until it's paid, after which they will deny everything.

Oh my! I think I've been watching too many episodes of Heroes lately........

Anyway, the moral of the story: Do and pay your taxes!