Last year, I wanted to finally make the leap into adulthood by doing my own taxes. Well, for some reason it ended up being easier for my parents to take care of them, but this year I was DETERMINED to figure it out. Add in a problem with a data breach, and that really add the fuel to the fire to get them done.
So, on one night after a loooong day of teaching, practicing, and class, I decided to start my taxes (note: I do not recommend this. Start when you're not already exhausted!). I gathered all my receipts and all my forms that employers sent me in the mail, and I got started on TurboTax. Inputting all the forms wasn't hard work, and half of them auto-filled somehow anyway. Ok, this wasn't so bad.
Then, I got to the complicated stuff. Deductions. Expenses. Assets. Health insurance. Where do I list my car? My violin? Why did I not keep better track of my income through private students and gigs??
AHHHH. I promptly gave up after realizing this was going to take a good chunk of time.
Night #2: with a glass--nay, bottle--of wine, I was on my way to getting these damn things done. As I listed all my deductions into TurboTax, suddenly it told me I owed $800 in self-employment tax and I was now getting no refund. On the verge of tears and resigning myself to the fact that I may indeed need to find a cardboard box to live in for next year (or just live at Butler...), I frantically texted my dad before giving up a second time and cursing the day I said I wanted to grow up to be an actual adult.
Fast forward to last Saturday. Ok, this was it. Marisa and I had set aside a chunk of time where I could finish my taxes and she would catch up on other work, and then we would reward ourselves with donuts and Gossip Girl. Replacing all of purchases into my expenses (1099 income, where it ACTUALLY belonged) rather than deductions (W-2 income) helped me get a refund that was much more like what I was expecting. After some quick debriefing with my dad and letting TurboTax do most of the work, I sent them off through the internet to be filed. And, they were accepted! Now I'm just waiting on my return. I guess that wasn't so bad after all!
6.5 down. 23.5 to go!
