Tax Freedom Day is the day when the nation as a whole has earned enough money to pay its total tax bill for the year. This year, Tax Freedom Day falls on April 24th. Our Founding Fathers were not big fans of taxes. Heck, we didn’t even have a Federal Income Tax in the United States until 1913 (the 16th Amendment). You’d think that all that extra money would help us pay our bills quicker, but in 1900, Tax Freedom Day fell on January 22nd. What a difference a century of more and more government spending makes!
It could be worse. Tax Freedom Day in Canada this year is June 7th, France is July 16th and Norway is July 29th. I want to be comforted knowing other countries have even higher taxes than us, but I’m not!
So, enough with the depressing tax trivia and on to the annual reminders:
April approaches, so it’s crunch time for income tax filing, and inevitably some of you will not be able to get an appointment with your preparer that works for your schedule. So what can you do?
1. “Drop-Off” – All of our preparers have clients who email/fax/mail/SecureFile their information in to them (about 1/3 of our clients!). We work on your taxes and usually get back to you in about a week with questions or results. Then it’s just a matter of signatures, typically sent the same way, and you’re done.
2. See Another Preparer – We know you’re all very loyal to your preparers, but sometimes scheduling just can’t be worked out. Be assured, all of our preparers are extremely experienced and knowledgeable.
3. File an Extension – If you just can’t get all your tax information together in time, you can ask us to file an extension for you.
The last day to file your income taxes this year is April 18th, but please don’t wait until the last minute!