Tax Day is upon us

Tax Day is upon us this week. Whether you’re sitting down at the ole desk or kitchen table writing out a check to the federal and state governments or wishing for a decent refund from them, no one gets out of this thing unscathed.

Our time and money are at stake.

Time and money are why this tax deadline day creeps up on us because, let’s face it, we put it off in our minds. Time and money just have a way of manipulating us to put off the inevitable. Who wishes to tackle taxes right after New Year’s Day? It’s tough to get motivated right after the champagne wears off to do something like organizing one’s tax folder. For many of us, it’s impossible to completely get the tax returns ready because we’re waiting on forms like the W-2 for weeks on end.  Maybe by Valentine’s Day? Not after the sugar rush of chocolates, right? Maybe sometime in March it is a bit more palatable to file those tax returns. Most likely, tax preparers know when the rush is on. Methinks it’s about right now, but I could be wrong. Honestly, it’s not exciting.

That’s the challenge here: motivation. What does it take to get motivated with getting the tax files in order so that they may be filed early? Most likely there are a billion self-help books from tax professionals to self-described ‘life organizers’ on that subject, but wait! One should not file too early because the tax gurus say that folks could be audited if the forms arrive at the IRS’ doorstep too early. Indeed, we cannot win!

As we receive our last blast of winter in spring, it’s time to warm up to either getting those tax forms in or filing an extension. An extension to me is like kicking the can down the road. After all, we had four months to get our ‘ducks in a row,’ right? Certainly there are circumstances that force us to kick the can down the road and that’s fine, but if there are no barriers in your way to getting taxes done, really NO EXCUSE! Seriously, it’s easy to understand procrastinating with getting the tax returns in on time.  I cannot imagine continuing the ‘tax drama’ well into summertime, but there are some folks out there who do it and I salute them for dealing with that dilemma. Indeed Tax Day is something that is dreaded and of course, far from glamorous. How can one make the more attractive? It seems like an impossible task.