Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Ahhh, tax time

It's that time of the year again, between January and April 15th, wherein everyone goes paperwork crazy and files their tax returns. Like they say in the "Sun Makers" episode of the Fourth Doctor Who, everyone runs from the taxman...

This year there is a slight change. There is a stimulus package coming from the government, a rebate check ranging from $300 to $1200 depending on your status. The deal is, you have to file for tax returns this year, something that certain income groups, especially among retirees, didn't have to do before. (please read the instructions on that link for further info) As a result, we're getting a lot of questions at the library regarding tax filings, waaaay more than usual (this is coming from someone who wrote a short story about how even angels had tons of paperwork to file...).

There's a link here to my library's E-Gov't blog that details some of it. If you're a retiree, the one group that's asking the most questions about, you can get tax assistance from the AARP group, and locate the nearest AARP Tax Aide service in your community. There is also the official IRS website to get your forms online for free (must have recent version of Adobe Reader to open them)

Tax season. It's about 10 times more fun than Duck Season...if you happen to be a Wabbit.