Hooray! It's Tax Time!

So, I did my taxes this year. In years past, I usually averaged 4 tax documents to consider. This year, I had 9, Including this one:



Apparently, the W in W2 stands for Worthless. A company I didn't even work for in 2006 inexplicably sent me a direct deposit paycheck for $1.62 about half a year after they fired me. At the time, it was more important because my bank's checking account waves the $7 account fee if I have a direct deposit payment during the month. On the other hand, when I e-filed last week, it took me 15 minutes to fill out all of the fields online. I don't think I will be audited, but there's no need to risk it. Last year, I had a form 1099-R for the $0.17 interest I was paid by my bank for having a mostly empty savings account.

In most years, You would have had to file your taxes (or at least an extension) by the 15th. Luckily, for all you wait-til-the-last-minute types, your last minute is a couple of days later. This year, the 15th fell on a Sunday, and as you know, the government doesn't operate on Sundays because of "Separation of Church and State."

Luckily for you slackers, the overworked politicians in Washington DC have deemed April 16th to be Emancipation Day. City leaders realized they go for too long without a break between President's day and Memorial Day, so they voted for an additional day off. None of the following were qualified to be an official holiday during this span: Easter, Law Day, Arbor Day, Mother's Day, National Maritime Day, Earth Day, Loyalty Day, Jefferson's Birthday, Mardi Gras, St. Patrick's Day, May Day, World Water Day, April Fools Day, Administrative Professionals Day, Armed Forces Day, Cinco De Mayo, Seward's Day, Maryland Day, Truman Day, Andrew Jackson Day, Evacuation Day, Armed Forces Day, Pi Day, so they had to invent another one. Unintentionally, you are emancipated from calculating your taxes for one more day.

(Side note: April 16th this year is also Patriot's Day in Massachusetts. This day commemorates the fact that the Red Sox get a morning baseball game.)

1991