Monday, April 14, 2008

Sometimes Doing the Right Thing Sucks

Steve and I finished our taxes tonight, which is really late for us. Steve is always working on it the first week of January - he's not a procrastinator like I am. But this year we were waiting for a form that never arrived.

I did some work in trade this year and to accurately report the income, I need a W-2. Since I didn't get one, we had about six pages of extra forms to fill out (how's that for "Paperwork Reduction"?). You'd think it would be easier to pay the taxes you owe than that. And, since I didn't get a W-2, I'm assuming that the employment taxes haven't been paid, so part of the forms were to report and pay it (a whole $31).

Now, most people would just blow it off, but Steve and I both have our CPA licenses. And, while I don't ever plan to use mine ever again, Steve probably will, which means that we are really careful with our tax return, making sure that everything is accurate and complete (not that we wouldn't anyway, but it just feels more important somehow knowing that future income could ride on it). It's a pain, but ya' know, we both have four years of college, two years of slave labor, and potential future earnings on the line (not to mention the worst professional exam of all the professional exams).

Sometimes ya' gotta do the right thing, and sometimes it sucks.

No comments: