I decided to spend my Monday performing a patriotic duty: my taxes.
Anyone who knows me very well will be surprised at that statement.
No. Not the part of the sentence that places the words "patriotic" and taxes" so close to one another. Even though it is shocking.
The fact that I have waited until April to complete and file my taxes. I usually have them completed somewhere around the third week in January.
And this year was not an exception for the form preparation. I had everything ready to file when I returned to Mexico in January.
But when I finished the forms, I had a shock. I usually receive a nice refund. Not this year.
I owed Uncle Sam and Uncle Ted a sizable sum. The total does not matter. But I could take a couple of very nice cruises with the amounts I needed to pay this year.
So, today, I sat down to complete the process. I always file electronically. And I get my refunds electronically.
I was naive to think people, who need to pay, have it that easy.
For Federal tax payments, it is that easy. Just set up the account you would like the Department of Treasury to dip its greedy little hands into, and you are done.
Not so the vaunted-progressive state of Oregon.
If you owe state taxes, you either have to mail your check in or you can pay by credit card (along with what we used to call a "substantial penalty" for the convenience of paying what you would prefer not to pay).
Mailing the check is out of the question for me. If I dropped the envelope at Mailboxes, Etc. today, I could almost guarantee that it would not be post-marked by Thursday. (At some point, I will need to put together a post about my experience with Mailboxes, Etc. this past year.)
I took the only choice I had. I used the credit card and paid the surcharge.
Of course, I could have avoided that step if I had simply written out the check in January when I knew what I had to pay.
But you can list the reasons yourself why I chose not to do that.
I considered simply carrying the check to the reception desk at the Oregon Department of Revenue when I am in Salem on Monday. I suspect the penalty and interest for late payment would not be as much as the credit card surcharge. But I hate paying anything late. Even taxes.
My taxes are paid, though. I trust that I will be receiving my good citizenship medal in the mail real soon.
Anyone who knows me very well will be surprised at that statement.
No. Not the part of the sentence that places the words "patriotic" and taxes" so close to one another. Even though it is shocking.
The fact that I have waited until April to complete and file my taxes. I usually have them completed somewhere around the third week in January.
And this year was not an exception for the form preparation. I had everything ready to file when I returned to Mexico in January.
But when I finished the forms, I had a shock. I usually receive a nice refund. Not this year.
I owed Uncle Sam and Uncle Ted a sizable sum. The total does not matter. But I could take a couple of very nice cruises with the amounts I needed to pay this year.
So, today, I sat down to complete the process. I always file electronically. And I get my refunds electronically.
I was naive to think people, who need to pay, have it that easy.
For Federal tax payments, it is that easy. Just set up the account you would like the Department of Treasury to dip its greedy little hands into, and you are done.
Not so the vaunted-progressive state of Oregon.
If you owe state taxes, you either have to mail your check in or you can pay by credit card (along with what we used to call a "substantial penalty" for the convenience of paying what you would prefer not to pay).
Mailing the check is out of the question for me. If I dropped the envelope at Mailboxes, Etc. today, I could almost guarantee that it would not be post-marked by Thursday. (At some point, I will need to put together a post about my experience with Mailboxes, Etc. this past year.)
I took the only choice I had. I used the credit card and paid the surcharge.
Of course, I could have avoided that step if I had simply written out the check in January when I knew what I had to pay.
But you can list the reasons yourself why I chose not to do that.
I considered simply carrying the check to the reception desk at the Oregon Department of Revenue when I am in Salem on Monday. I suspect the penalty and interest for late payment would not be as much as the credit card surcharge. But I hate paying anything late. Even taxes.
My taxes are paid, though. I trust that I will be receiving my good citizenship medal in the mail real soon.