It's That Time Again.... Time For Taxes!

Well, it's that time of year again.... no, not the holidays... not summertime when the livin' is easy.... it's tax time!

Has any one word ever provoked such trepidation and dread as the word taxes?!?!

I remember growing up, tax time was very tense in our house.  Shoe boxes overflowing with recipts came out of hiding, the calculator earned a permanent spot on the kitchen table, and not a few sharpened pencils got whittled down to stubs.  Hours, if not days were spent at the kitchen table with papers being shuffled, and curses being mumbled.

I used to think, "I'm just going to stay out of the way."  Don't ask for a glass of milk, and don't ask "what's for dinner tonight?"!

But now that I'm an adult, and the word "taxes" has regularly become a part of my vocabulary, I have to say that I honestly don't dread it as much as my parents' generation did.  It seems to be a lot easier to file these days with the advent of computers, and especially the internet.

For quite a few years, my husband and I had our taxes done by someone because we were so afraid of making mistakes, and (gasp!).... getting audited!  But after paying a lot of good money to someone who just has to punch in the numbers on the computer, we decided to try to file our taxes ourselves.

It was a success!  We've been using TurboTax for years, and let me tell you.... it is as easy as they say it is!  It takes you through your tax forms in a step-by-step tutorial, and allows you to ask questions along the way.  And, if you don't have time to finish it in one sitting, all you have to do is save your work, and go back to it whenever you have time to.  Of course, not all of us are able to file in a timely fashion.  We all know the infamous April 15th is right around the corner, but if for some reason you require filing a tax extension, TurboTax can help you with that too.  They have special forms that allow you to extend your filing until October 2011!

I do think it's best to file on schedule, but it is nice to know that if you do need an extension, TurboTax can walk you through it and help you get it done. 
Tax time does not have to be the nail-biting, caffeine-consuming, headache-inducing problem that everyone fears.  If you keep good records, and can follow instructions, filing taxes can be as easy as pie.
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How do you feel about filing your taxes?  Do you file on time, or do you usually require an extension?
How do you feel about tackling the job of filing your taxes yourself?