Perfect timing, considering the fact that my accountant told me last month he was retiring, which meant finding somebody new (and definitely younger so with luck I’ll die before the new one retires), and then, having found him - and he seems great, and young…enough - it also meant sending him last years tax returns, all my 2023 tax forms and quickbooks reports, and then spending the weekend answering four pages of questions from him as to why my old accountant (who has apparently already headed for an island with no cell service) had me do things the way I did them. Still, as Bob Dylan famously pointed out, “When you ain’t got nothin’ you got nothin’ to lose” so I guess I should be grateful I do and I can’t wait to find out how much of my somethin’ will be heading out the door.
It's a good problem to have to need a competent accountant but a problem nonetheless. I'm glad you found a new guy and here's to hoping your tax system doesn't stress him into early retirement!
Doctors, dentists, accountants, gardeners, plumbers, electricians, handymen...I haven't hired anyone my age or older in years just so I don't have to find new ones. Of course, it gets easier to find younger ones as I get older. (And forget Portugal, maybe we should all be moving to the Netherlands. Who knew.)
Ok now I'm really pissed. I had no idea there were other countries with a simple system. And I really needed one more thing to be pissed at this country about. So...thanks?
the bright side is it may finally be getting better! A few states (including CA) have pilot programs where people making under a certain threshold can file for free, state and federal! Fingers crossed that it succeeds because once people get an idea things can be better, it's harder to take it away without us all throwing a fit!
Thanks for another light (sort of) moment! I am the worst! Haven’t filed until October’s final deadline, when the armed IRS agents camp out in your driveway in case you don’t go to the mailbox, in well over a decade. And, while I know your Dad is the writing master, I have to say fiction is fun! I picked my “young accountant” at 38 when he was 28. Fingers crossed that he doesn’t retire! Love to all! Keep these coming!
Thanks Ty! Good luck evading those agents. I hear you can take a 1099, fold it into a paper airplane, and toss it down the street and they'll usually chase after it.
Gathering all the data is the challenge. Getting sophisticated companies (like banks, credit card companies and investment firms) to have what you need on a timely basis, is frustrating. Particularly when your account is pushing you for the info and thinks you're just dragging your feet. Not a particularly humorous post, but...
exactly! and exactly why the process should be streamlined at this point. Everything is digital and should be easy to compile...and yet I still have a drawer full of paper receipts!
Perfect timing, considering the fact that my accountant told me last month he was retiring, which meant finding somebody new (and definitely younger so with luck I’ll die before the new one retires), and then, having found him - and he seems great, and young…enough - it also meant sending him last years tax returns, all my 2023 tax forms and quickbooks reports, and then spending the weekend answering four pages of questions from him as to why my old accountant (who has apparently already headed for an island with no cell service) had me do things the way I did them. Still, as Bob Dylan famously pointed out, “When you ain’t got nothin’ you got nothin’ to lose” so I guess I should be grateful I do and I can’t wait to find out how much of my somethin’ will be heading out the door.
It's a good problem to have to need a competent accountant but a problem nonetheless. I'm glad you found a new guy and here's to hoping your tax system doesn't stress him into early retirement!
Doctors, dentists, accountants, gardeners, plumbers, electricians, handymen...I haven't hired anyone my age or older in years just so I don't have to find new ones. Of course, it gets easier to find younger ones as I get older. (And forget Portugal, maybe we should all be moving to the Netherlands. Who knew.)
Death. Taxes. Tax preparers. What ever happened to income averaging?
I'm sure it's somewhere in there still between line 22b-03-A and box 14C
Ok now I'm really pissed. I had no idea there were other countries with a simple system. And I really needed one more thing to be pissed at this country about. So...thanks?
the bright side is it may finally be getting better! A few states (including CA) have pilot programs where people making under a certain threshold can file for free, state and federal! Fingers crossed that it succeeds because once people get an idea things can be better, it's harder to take it away without us all throwing a fit!
Thanks for another light (sort of) moment! I am the worst! Haven’t filed until October’s final deadline, when the armed IRS agents camp out in your driveway in case you don’t go to the mailbox, in well over a decade. And, while I know your Dad is the writing master, I have to say fiction is fun! I picked my “young accountant” at 38 when he was 28. Fingers crossed that he doesn’t retire! Love to all! Keep these coming!
Thanks Ty! Good luck evading those agents. I hear you can take a 1099, fold it into a paper airplane, and toss it down the street and they'll usually chase after it.
Gathering all the data is the challenge. Getting sophisticated companies (like banks, credit card companies and investment firms) to have what you need on a timely basis, is frustrating. Particularly when your account is pushing you for the info and thinks you're just dragging your feet. Not a particularly humorous post, but...
exactly! and exactly why the process should be streamlined at this point. Everything is digital and should be easy to compile...and yet I still have a drawer full of paper receipts!
Hahaha hell yeah to taxes getting your blood pumping
The more I researched and wrote the madder I got and the faster I started typing. Eventually I had to take a breath and slow down lol
Sorry, dad, for not following you into the family business. But thanks for doing my taxes!