“Hi honey, how was your day?”
That may be how some spouses greet their other half. In our house it’s: “Hey babe, what’s for dinner?”
Tonight when he asked, I smiled and said, “Tax forms. Hope you’re hungry!” ;)
Jim happened to come home while the soup (which was wonderful BTW!) was simmering, and I was at my desk furiously tapping away at some notes on my laptop. In fact, I was in the midst of gathering the information I needed to file my taxes. Yes, I know it’s still January. I still need a couple small forms, otherwise I’ve already got everything organized and itemized, and ready to file. (I use TurboTax and love that it can save your data and let you come back later and fill in anything you’ve missed or skipped.)
Mr. Procrastination always waits until literally the last minute and files the “EZ” form online. Me, I itemize everything. I have folders FULL of receipts, records, and notes. Jim argues that itemizing doesn’t save us that much, and filing the EZ form is “so much easier” … I beg to differ. I’ve recorded every donation we’ve made to every charity in the last year. I also keep meticulous records of my medical records, prescriptions, doctor visits, and other miscellaneous medical expenses that I can claim. While it’s a bit tedious, I found that I got a couple hundred more through itemizing than I would if I had filed the EZ claim.
Of course Jim would much rather spend that time doing “something productive”. :rolleyes_tb: I swear, sometimes I think I’d get better responses by talking to the wood flooring instead. LOL! ;)
So, what do you think?
Do you itemize? Why or why not? I’m interested! :)
caltechgirl
I totally itemize. But it only makes sense for us because of the huge interest deduction from our mortgage.
caltechgirl´s last blog post: Mission Accomplished
Nicki
Oh yeah, that too. Thanks for stopping by! :D
Kat
Not everyone can take advantage of itemizing; the standard deduction ($10,900 for MFJ/2008) is often more advantageous for them.
One thing you MAY not know is that, if you’re a home owner who doesn’t have quite enough to itemize, you are allowed to deduct up to $1000 (MFJ) of your state/local real estate taxes right along with the regular standard deduction…
Kat´s last blog post: EXACTLY!!!
Nicki
Good to know. Thanks sweetie! :D
Don
I don’t know which is better,,,,,, having so much income that you have to file a tax return, or living on so little income, as I do, that no filing is required.
Miranda
Itemize!
It helps that I’m in school and we have to pay everything out of pocket.
It also helps that I only worked part time, and had no health insurance, so my medical stuff adds up pretty quickly.
Basically, filing as independent, making no money, and going to school helps to get a pretty good tax return, but I don’t suggest it, unless you really, really, really, REALLY want to go to school. :wallbash_tb: