Life, Death and Taxes: Sometimes... My Brain Just Hurts!
As I alluded to yesterday, I have started down the treacherous road of preparing our income tax return for 2021.
For those whose tax returns are a pretty simple affair, the word "treacherous" might sound a bit inflated, but it's really not.
All These Myriad Jobs...
Because both Mrs. Denmarkguy and I are self-employed, and we each have multiple ventures, the required forms and schedules become a bit really overwhelming.
My stamp business is a retail sales business that involves buying and carrying inventory.
My artwork is also a retail sales business, but the inventory doesn't have an actual carrying cost, but I do have production expenses that become part of the cost of the inventory.
My "Found Objects" business is a "retail sales" business, but the inventory is not purchased because I find it, so it has no value. But it's still "there."
My editing and writing business is a service business. There's no product, just my time.
Mrs. Denmarkguy is both a minister AND a therapist which are treated quite differently.
Mrs. Denmarkguy also designs, creates and sells things like Tarot and oracle decks, which is a whole different thing.
And then, of course, there's "the crypto."
I get overwhelmed, just writing that all out! Getting the bits and pieces together to do the taxes... well, that's a hassle.
This year I am being extra ambitious in the sense that I am not only collecting numbers, I am trying to create my own set of "fillable forms" that I can use in future years, and that will hopefully save me some preparation time, then.
To What End...?
I suppose I might feel slightly better about the whole thing if I were doing it with expectation of an outcome other than merely generating "proof" that we are living close enough to the poverty line that we qualify for various forms of government assistance.
A few days back, a friend observed that it's often the price we must pay for the "freedom" to step outside the generally "approved" way of living, and carving out our own paths, instead.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I can also hear my mother's voice — when I was in my late teens — informing me that trying to live the "creative life" would only lead to "paving a road to the poorhouse."
She strongly felt I would be better served by being an accountant or a lawyer, or something similarly "sensible." Silly me... I never had any interest in such things.
All in all, I figure the whole process will take me about 8-10 days. That's 8-10 days of doing something other than the usual (not very) income producing things I typically do!
In short, the whole thing is a reminder of why I am not something "sensible" like an accountant... the whole process is making my brain hurt!
Writing a Hive post at 11:45 at night is a lovely distraction!
Thanks for stopping by, and have a great remainder of your week!
How about YOU? Aside from the usual annoyances, do you find tax returns easy or complicated to deal with? Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!
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