World Sojourner : 3760

So in review:

• This year was a hell-of-a-lot easier than in the past
• We didn’t owe money – barely
• Turbo Tax only screwed up one area thanks to its mistakes from last year
• We’re done, we’re done

It’s ‘Do Our Taxes’ day in the Martine household so Mrs. M has fled headed out for the day.  I never had any issues with doing US taxes until I moved to Europe, err, the UK.  My investments were (and still are) meager; nothing but just plugging numbers into Turbo Tax Online and getting the result. 

But, in the UK it became a challenge – Foreign Earned Income – oh what a wily beast you are and oh how the US Gov does little to provide decent information on the subject.

So, for four years I would spend one or two or seven miserable days trying to figure out the right exchange rate, the right interest for bank accounts.  This normally came with cussing, yelling and many hand on the forehead – feels like Finance 101 – moments, which always came before the beer. Or Wine. Or some type of alcohol.

I’d submit my taxes and then wonder what white collar jail would be like thanks not to trying to evade taxes, but not knowing exactly what I should do to ensure I paid the right amount of taxes.

Did moving back to the US help the process? 

Not last year, oh no, thanks to me maxing out Turbo Tax’s understanding of revenue it actually got worse.  Combine $40K in foreign earned income and then add some US income and you’ll get a negative revenue.  Oddly enough the feds rejected the filing and I found the nice people at Dixon Hughes to unscrew everything.

Why not have people do it all the time?  It’s farking taxes for goodness sake.  My grandmother has filled hers out for years, so damn if I’m not going to do it.  (Yes, this may imply more about her intelligence and mine but that’s another post)

But, this year it should be different.  A full year in the US with all types of W-2s.  Bush was President last year so I should be able to have a refund (probably the last tax time that can be said), next year I expect to just write out my savings to the feds and get my food, things, and travel card so I can go make Yugos somewhere.

But, let’s not jump ahead. 

Another year, another quality day with tax software.  Who knows what will happen?  I know this, however:  There’s plenty of beer, wine and some odd Japanese pear alcohol in our fridge just in case things get hairy.