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socks and cat

wrapping up taxes

I must be one of the few people in the country actually excited about paying my taxes. I just gave my December records to my bookkeeper so we can get the annual report to my accountant so that I can file by January 15th (to avoid having to file the last quarter by just paying the balance of what I owe for the year). I have diligently put 25% of everything the company made this year into a savings account to pay my taxes (and paying quarterly out of that savings account). And given the huge number of deductions I have this year (including a laptop and 3 business trips) I feel pretty certain that some of that money in the savings account will be left over for me after I pay my taxes. Maybe not as much as I expect, since the sales tax I charge also has to come out of that account. But I have my hopes up that there will be enough in there for a trip. God knows I work insanely hard and I so deserve a vacation.

Also after my bookkeeper finishes my books this week, she'll let me know what my income was for the year. I really have no clue what it was and I can't wait to find out!

Posted on Jan. 2nd, 2008 at 02:45 pm | | Leave a comment | 10 comments | | Flag

Comments


i_feel_sick

exciting!! wow, you are so financially organized!! I wish I had that drive and could be that hard on myself and just set it aside and not touch it! wow. I hope there is plenty left over for you to take a well deserved trip hun!!
Posted on Jan. 2nd, 2008 10:57 pm (UTC) | | Thread | Reply

cagekitten

You call it financially organized. Others have called me financially paranoid. I remember from my college years what it felt like to be broke and the fear of ever going there again makes me uber responsible with saving now. Even Meushi has her own savings account so I can pull from it to pay her vet bills.
Posted on Jan. 2nd, 2008 11:38 pm (UTC) | | Parent | Thread | Reply

i_feel_sick

wow. I call that SMART!! I need to take a lesson from you for sure!! I am starting to stash cash. I know if it goes into a savings right now, it will get spent. So I am storing cash and pretending it's not there. That way I can forget how much it is, and be surprised when I pull out a couple grand!

Though I do have goals too I am taking care of, my main concern this year, is saving something aside for once in my life!
Posted on Jan. 2nd, 2008 11:41 pm (UTC) | | Parent | Thread | Reply

cagekitten

Me too! I mean Meushi's account is really an envelope I keep in a drawer. Depending on how business is that week, I'll stash anywhere from $10 to $50 in there per week. I don't count it, I just ignore it and let it add up. Then I grab about $300 of it to take to the vet with me on each vet visit so I can pay cash. It may not earn interest, but it's so easy to make a deposit and not think about it until I need it.
Posted on Jan. 3rd, 2008 12:30 am (UTC) | | Parent | Thread | Reply

i_feel_sick

that's awesome that you do the same thing. hehe. I really should at least have en evelope though. so it's not just randomly somewhere in my room. one can learn a lot from you ;)
Posted on Jan. 3rd, 2008 02:09 am (UTC) | | Parent | Thread | Reply

girlgoth

I'm just doing mine by hand, as usual. I hate it how they send the paperwork right before Christmas...Happy Holidays! Don't forget us! lol
Posted on Jan. 2nd, 2008 11:20 pm (UTC) | | Thread | Reply

cagekitten

I suck at numbers. I managed okay with a 1040EZ (back when I had an employer). But I definitely lack the skills necessary to balance my own books or properly prepare my business taxes now.
Posted on Jan. 2nd, 2008 11:37 pm (UTC) | | Parent | Thread | Reply

chessdev

Can I recommend you consider putting your savings into a money market account with someplace like Boeing Credit Union or Smith Barney?

They pay higher interest rates than savings accounts usually and so you can earn some decent interest during the year.

Just a suggestion...
Posted on Jan. 2nd, 2008 11:30 pm (UTC) | | Thread | Reply

cagekitten

I would need to make a withdrawal out of it every quarter to pay my quarterly taxes. Are there any penalties for withdrawing this frequently from a money market account?
Posted on Jan. 2nd, 2008 11:34 pm (UTC) | | Parent | Thread | Reply

chessdev

Depends on the account, and also depends on whether you attach checking/credit card options to the account.

Some accounts will charge a flat fee ($25, for example) to have checking/credit card options

Some accounts will charge a 1% withdrawal fee (on the amount you withdraw) -- but that's not bad considering you can be earning 4-6% on the account anyway.

I'm not a financial advisor so I dont know all the options available to them -- but I'm saying do some research (www.smithbarney.com or a local credit union) and see what they offer you.
Posted on Jan. 2nd, 2008 11:40 pm (UTC) | | Parent | Thread | Reply