April 15th
April 15th is, in the United States, the day Federal Income tax is due from all citizens.
Federal income tax began in 1913, when the 16th amendment to the US Constitution was ratified by Congress and two thirds of the states. It all seems so simple. But of course, it is not. This is the opening paragraph of the veeerrry lengthy Infallible Wikipedia article:
“The United States federal government and most state governments impose an income tax. They are determined by applying a tax rate, which may increase as income increases, to taxable income, which is the total income less allowable deductions. Income is broadly defined. Individuals and corporations are directly taxable, and estates and trusts may be taxable on undistributed income. Partnerships are not taxed (with some exceptions in the case of federal income taxation), but their partners are taxed on their shares of partnership income. Residents and citizens are taxed on worldwide income, while nonresidents are taxed only on income within the jurisdiction. Several types of credits reduce tax, and some types of credits may exceed tax before credits. Most business expenses are deductible. Individuals may deduct certain personal expenses, including home mortgage interest, state taxes, contributions to charity, and some other items. Some deductions are subject to limits, and an Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) applies at the federal and some state levels.”
Got that? Me either. In fact, my eyes glazed over just reading that and I decided that the spotted towhee I spotted in the rockery across the road is much more interesting.
But, as Ben Franklin once famously wrote, the only things certain in life are “death and taxes.”
So, dear readers, if your thing is dissecting the tax code and taking a deep dive into the history of marginal tax rates, or whether or not a progressive tax is even constitutional, knock yourselves out.
I, fortunately, am married to someone who has a four-year degree in accounting. He understands numbers. He understands how finance and taxes work. And for the first couple years we were married, I was an April 15th tax accountant widow.
For those who don’t know what that is, I shall enlighten you. For most Certified Public Accountants (CPA’s) the year is broken up into two parts. There’s tax season and then everything else.
For everything else that means handling mostly business-y type things – quarterly taxes and financial statements. More things that make my eyes glaze over and rollback in my head.
When it’s these types of things, the CPA can expect to get into the office at a reasonable 8 to 9 a.m. and leave at a reasonable 5 to 6 p.m. You know, normal-ish business hours.
But then January happens. When the new year arrives, so do all the various documents from employers which the US Government requires be sent out. These trigger tax season. W-2’s and 1099’s must be sent to employees and independent contractors no later than January 31st. Every year. No exceptions.
On February 1st, if you are married to a practicing CPA, kiss your social life goodbye because weekends become non-existent. Holidays such as Valentine’s Day and President’s Day? Well, you might get them off but plan to snuggle up with your blanket and favorite Hallmark movie or go skiing by yourself because your CPA spouse will be working.
This goes on, of course, until midnight on April 15th since that’s the moment ALL taxes (and extensions if your taxes aren’t yet done) must be postmarked or electronically submitted to the IRS.
But sort of like getting over a bad cold or the flu, recovering from tax season takes some time. By early May, your CPA spouse is probably back to semi-normal hours. Thank goodness the IRS set the taxes due date in April. That way – at least in the northern part of the U.S. – you are not missing out on nice weather.
When I mentioned to the hubby that I would be featuring the Income Tax for today’s Tuesday Newsday he immediately told me about his ‘liberation’ day.
It was fairly early in our marriage, and I never knew about this experience for him until last week. Since graduating from college in 1978, he had worked as a CPA for two different firms in greater Seattle. He worked at Christensen, Schafer, and Husmo (C, S & H), in Burien for a couple of years but made a change to Don Sparling and Co. to gain much needed auditing experience. Everything was great at Sparling until the owner’s nasty divorce derailed the business. The hubby lost his job but, in the spring of 1981, was rehired by C, S & H as they had recently gotten a new client who needed an auditor: Nintendo of America. Experience the husband had recently gained.
In the late spring of 1982 – after being their CPA for a year – Nintendo hired the hubby as their first Controller and he left the world of being a tax accountant.
On April 15, 1983 – a Friday – the high temperature in Seattle was 65 degrees and sunny with a bit of breeze. The perfect sort of day to do a little yard work. Since he was home from work while it was still daylight, he was outside doing yard work (I was probably inside making dinner) when he stopped for a moment and remembered that it was Tax Day. And that he was not going to be burning the midnight oil and felt an incredible sense of relief.
For the rest of his career, he has put his CPA training and math brain to good use whether as a company controller, a consultant, or – currently – with his volunteer work.
As for me, my eyes still glaze over when taxes, marginal rates, and exemptions start being discussed. I do my best to hide it but with little success. It’s probably best for me – and everyone else – that I stick to writing and leave the accounting to the professionals.
For the record, I did send this to the hubby for a bit of fact checking and he liked what I wrote but reminded me – and all of you – of the following: “Very entertaining! If you file for an automatic extension, you have an additional six months to file your return, but you still have to pay your estimated taxes by April 15th.”
So be sure to send the IRS your money TODAY by midnight and I hope everyone has a very happy tax day!
One link with links to the links to the links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_tax_in_the_United_States
barbaradevore.com 