Last April, we finished our income taxes at the last moment and I didn't have the time or energy (I thought) to do Dad's as well. So I quickly filled out the form for an extension and mailed it in.
Since then, from time to time, I think "I need to do Dad's taxes," and it seems to be a daunting chore. It also seems that every time I think about it, and don't do it, the work seems to grow even larger in my mind.
This afternoon I pulled out the file of forms, started up turbo tax, and began to work through it. It helped to think "I don't have to finish it, I just need to get a start - then it will be easier to finish later."
Once I began, I realized how little work it would actually be. I hit a couple of bumps, but went back into the files and found the information I needed. In a couple of hours, I had it done. One of these times I'll actually learn the lesson - procrastination just adds stress and wastes time. I probably spent a couple of hours over the past 5 months just thinking about it and then procrastinating again.
I still have some state tax issues to resolve - more of a mess than it needed to be because I didn't take care of things when they first appeared. This has to do with Dad moving from Kansas to Oklahoma, and then using my address in Maryland for mail. As a result, there's been income reported and state tax withheld for all three states by various parties. I need to just deal with it!
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