Hands in my pockets, Hands in my pockets...
Yesterday was just one of those days. It was one of those days where I just feel like EVERYONE needs part of my hard-earned money.
It was the last day to file taxes, so my accountant faxed me the sheet I needed to sign so he could e-file them. I got the fax and I almost crapped my pants. I owe almost four times as much in taxes as I did last year and the previous years. WHAT? Apparently I jumped tax brackets. I didn't make THAT much more last year. Certainly not enough to justify this amount in taxes. I talked to my accountant, and he said after we have Brian's info my taxes could go down some. Some? How about 5 or 6 grand? So, I'm freaking out about that.
Then, Brian's taxes are late because we, for some reason, don't have all of his T4s for last year, but it doesn't really matter because he will get money back.
Then, the car has been making a REALLY bad sound lately, like, REALLY bad. And this all happens just after I had taken the car in last week for an oil change, tire rotation and 40-point inspection. So I take it back to the mechanic and they look at it and tell me some stupid part is broken and it is going to cost $130 to replace it. That is, of course, on top of the already $500+ we need to put into the car. So I made an appointment and the car is going in next Monday to get fixed...growl.
And the other day we were driving home and our friend, who is a cop, pulled up next to us and told us that our registration was expired on our car. DOH! So it had expired in March. So yesterday I went into the registry place to register the car and renew my licence since it expires this month on my birthday. So I go up to the counter and the give the girl my thing I keep in my car with my insurance and registration. Turns out the insurance paper I had in the car was expired -- just the sheet, not my insurance. She said, just call your insurance company and they can fax us a current statement. So I call my insurance company and the lady says it will be at that fax number within an hour. So I sit and wait...and wait...and wait...and wait. And hour passes so I call the insurance company back. The lady I talk to this time says it takes about 2 hours to get a fax sent. Well, needless to say, I tore a strip out of her. I let her know that I was not about to wait any longer and that the other lady said it would be there within the hour. The registry would be closed in an hour and I certainly wasn't going to wait for another hour anyway. So then the lady says, Well, can I email it to them? So I go and find out and they can. It is there while I'm still on the phone with the lady. WHY ARE THERE MONKIES RUNNING MY INSURANCE COMPANY???? Why didn't they suggest that in the first place? Why didn't the first lady tell me it would take two hours? GROWL.... So an hour and a half after getting to the registry I finally leave after paying $130 to register the car and renew my licence.
So then the Flames lost last night...just to top off a bad day LOL.
Signed,
Cranky pregnant lady.
It was the last day to file taxes, so my accountant faxed me the sheet I needed to sign so he could e-file them. I got the fax and I almost crapped my pants. I owe almost four times as much in taxes as I did last year and the previous years. WHAT? Apparently I jumped tax brackets. I didn't make THAT much more last year. Certainly not enough to justify this amount in taxes. I talked to my accountant, and he said after we have Brian's info my taxes could go down some. Some? How about 5 or 6 grand? So, I'm freaking out about that.
Then, Brian's taxes are late because we, for some reason, don't have all of his T4s for last year, but it doesn't really matter because he will get money back.
Then, the car has been making a REALLY bad sound lately, like, REALLY bad. And this all happens just after I had taken the car in last week for an oil change, tire rotation and 40-point inspection. So I take it back to the mechanic and they look at it and tell me some stupid part is broken and it is going to cost $130 to replace it. That is, of course, on top of the already $500+ we need to put into the car. So I made an appointment and the car is going in next Monday to get fixed...growl.
And the other day we were driving home and our friend, who is a cop, pulled up next to us and told us that our registration was expired on our car. DOH! So it had expired in March. So yesterday I went into the registry place to register the car and renew my licence since it expires this month on my birthday. So I go up to the counter and the give the girl my thing I keep in my car with my insurance and registration. Turns out the insurance paper I had in the car was expired -- just the sheet, not my insurance. She said, just call your insurance company and they can fax us a current statement. So I call my insurance company and the lady says it will be at that fax number within an hour. So I sit and wait...and wait...and wait...and wait. And hour passes so I call the insurance company back. The lady I talk to this time says it takes about 2 hours to get a fax sent. Well, needless to say, I tore a strip out of her. I let her know that I was not about to wait any longer and that the other lady said it would be there within the hour. The registry would be closed in an hour and I certainly wasn't going to wait for another hour anyway. So then the lady says, Well, can I email it to them? So I go and find out and they can. It is there while I'm still on the phone with the lady. WHY ARE THERE MONKIES RUNNING MY INSURANCE COMPANY???? Why didn't they suggest that in the first place? Why didn't the first lady tell me it would take two hours? GROWL.... So an hour and a half after getting to the registry I finally leave after paying $130 to register the car and renew my licence.
So then the Flames lost last night...just to top off a bad day LOL.
Signed,
Cranky pregnant lady.
posted by Devynn @ 2:49 PM
8 Comments:
At 12:35 PM,
Anonymous said…
You either need a new accountant or some more write offs!
I have to pay my taxes quarterly. The government tells me how much I have to pay each quarter based on what I paid last year and then they reconcile it at the end of the tax year. It's kind of nice that way then it doesn't seem like such a hit although I put away more each month than I will owe so then come tax time it's like that extra money in that account that doesn't have to go to taxes is mine to spend!
At 2:51 PM,
Devynn said…
Yeah, I know I should be doing that, but no one told me to do that and I ended up behind my first year in taxes and I've been trying to play catch up. I had $11,000 in write-offs and I still owe a buttload. I know I should set $ aside ... I have no idea how I'm going to catch up now considering I'm not working at the moment.
At 5:04 PM,
Anonymous said…
One other tax tip, my husband and I do our taxes with the same guy and he puts each of our expenses, etc. to the best use. He's more educated in the spousal/business tax breaks (we only pay him $300/year to do both of ours, so he's not expensive at all) and he works his magic every year. Each year he gives us a few options as to which way we want to file, like three different scenarios, all of which mean my husband gets back a different amount and I owe a different amount. There also items that you can only use a maximum each year and sometimes he saves those things for next year as I won't have that same purchase next year. Like a printer or something. If you've already had enough "computer" expenses, save that $1000 receipt for next year's claim.
I claim all our medical, dental, massage, insurance, that kind of thing against myself. We also buy him the max RRSP each year and then me some, just not maxed as it doesn't make a tax benefit for me to buy any so we just buy some for me. And, we buy RESP's for the kid which are also a nice write off.
I put away 20 - 25% of my monthly billings for taxes and it's never been close to that amount that I owe.
Maybe since you're not working now and since tax season is over, sit down with a tax planner (maybe Brian knows one through the bank??) and they will give you boatloads of tips and tricks and money saving ideas. We did that about four years ago and it's great. Our guy is an investment guy so we use lots of his tips to make money on money we wouldn't normally be doing anything with.
Have you been paying into EI to get any mat leave benefits (that's a writeoff if you decide to do that with the next baby....) or are you just going to live on one income for a while? How long are you going to stay home for anyhow?
Good Luck! You'll always have a tax bill so don't worry about it.
At 5:20 PM,
Devynn said…
Well, since I'm self-employed and a sole proprietor, I'm not allowed to pay EI and therefore, not allowed to collect mat leave. I have made enough for us until July and then we will do the one income thing for a few months and I'll head back out to the work force :(. We don't have any RRSPs yet, that is in our goals for this year, and we know that that will help with the write-offs.
I think my tax guy is a dork, but he's my dad's tax guy, which is why I've been using him. My taxes were higher last year than I expected, but I made more, so I figured it was okay, but this year, I can't believe what I'm supposed to pay in taxes, so I'm looking for a new accountant/tax guy. If you are in the Calgary area...let me know who your guy is. I already pay $250/year to do my taxes and I'm getting ripped off!
At 9:14 AM,
Anonymous said…
Try Pam Robertson - Added Touch Accounting. She specializes in self employment (business) returns and would need to do both yours and your husbands for maximum return. She's in the phone book.
At 2:02 PM,
Devynn said…
Thanks!!!
At 9:59 PM,
Anonymous said…
Dev, regarding EI, anyone can pay in, self-employed or not. We looked into it just before we got married but for me it wasn't valuable enough. I would have paid in but not been able to collect the maximum amount as I still get paid here and there when I'm not working for misc. work that is outstanding. So, with EI you can only make I think $400/month and still get your EI benefits but I get more than that. So for me, to pay in would be fine but there would be months during my year off that I wouldn't get the benefit $$ as I would make more than $400 without even working.
You guys totally need to sit down with a tax guy and get some tips. The payment into EI is a tax benefit and might help you be able to afford to stay home for more than two months.
Oh, and pay off that government debt ASAP! That type of debt never gets erased from your credit ratings.
At 9:40 AM,
Devynn said…
Who are you? I am guessing you know me, since you said, Dev, but I am just curious as to who you are!
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