Tax Man

My accountant called this morning to say my taxes are ready. I probably should have asked him if we were going to have to pay or if we were getting money back, but I didn't. As a result, I was a little apprehensive on the drive over.
There was a time that doing our tax returns was a painful activity. I didn't keep good records so when it came time to pay the piper, I danced around our house like a slam dancer having a really back psychedelic flashback.
I routinely filed for an extension even when I was getting money back which allowed the government to use my cash for free.
Then one year, I made a New Year's resolution to start keeping good records. I starting tracking my business expenses on a spreadsheet and I set up a filing cabinet with tabs for all tax related expenses.
These days when it comes tax-time, I simply pull my files out, sort through my receipts, do a summary page of all related data and give it to my accountant along with my W2's and 1099's and I'm good to go.
But this year is a little different in that I no longer have a job. In the past, had I owed money, I could have taken it out of savings and replaced the funds later. That's not as easy when you don't have a job.
So, when I arrived to pick up the returns, I took a peak inside and we're getting refunds from both the feds and the state - WOO HOO!
I think we'll celebrate tonight after yoga class.