tax joy

Aieeee. What a frustrating weekend. I've been trying to get taxes done. I got the calculation part done, which is frustrating enough. How come they aren't paying ME money instead of the other way around, for starters? Then I had all the questions done and was ready to go to the "e-filing" step in the online program I had selected. The first thing it asked for was from last year's return. Okay, I bookmarked that as well as printing out a hard copy, so I'll just pull that up. Hrm. Page not found; check address and try again. Eek. Okay, I'll just get the hard copy.... wait. It's not where I thought I put it. Sort, look, hunt, shuffle, relocate, repeat.... sob. Okay, if I really have to send in snail mail, I can travel back in time for a day. After all, I do it on weekends anyway. Wait, there are other reasons not to file hard copy. And I finally found the info I need for e-filing, so I’ll just change this back to “file electronically.” Now it says I can’t file until I correct an error on the NC form, but even after innumerable tries, I still can’t get to the page to change the information. The program won’t let me go there from here.

After researching all my options I wound up emailing a letter detailing the problem to a support tech, who sent a link for a free chat support link. When the chat guy couldn’t help, he gave me a number for a free priority phone call. In other words, this really is a problem and they don’t know how to fix it. Because I was working with a web based program, they couldn’t just get in there and fix it. Apparently the only solution is to send me a download of the desktop version of the program for free. Since I have already put all the info in, I can import it easily (they say) and be ready to e-file quickly. I hope, having spent unfathomable hours on this, and only standard deductions to deal with.

Later: It’s now Wednesday, and they were to send the download yesterday. No joy yet.

Lost in a miniature

I don't think my last entry made a lot of sense; let's just say that Turbo Tax wasn't the piece of cake I hoped it would be. With one employer, one bank paying me a tiny bit of interest, and only the standard deduction, how hard can this BE? I'm trying to file for free via the IRS link and had selected them as the lucky chumps. What with one thing and another, that just totally hasn't worked out and I'm filing through another company. It won't be totally free since I'm paying to e-file in NC. Wait. That isn't worth it. I have the form all printed out; I'll just mail the damn thing and get a check mailed. I can wait that long, and it'll save me money, which is key right now. (I have to pay the feds about half of this month's disability income, in addition to what they already withheld. It still doesn't seem right to me, but I knew Georgie was re-distributing the wealth. I guess his defense contractor-pals' kids were complaining about their low allowances.) No, wait-- I have to e-file, since K is in TX and we're still married, thus necessitating that whole signature thing. Sigh. Gotta get that divorce thing done. Damn.

Isn't it wonderful living in my mind? No wonder I'm confused. To top off this little discussion, I thought, oh, hell, I'll just go on and file and be done with it. That's the simple thing to do, and I won't have to worry about it any more. Except when I got back into the program I remembered that when I was doing Turbo Tax I authorized a debit to pay the feds, and I don't know if that will still go through, or it it's tied to the final filing via their site. Since it's to be paid on the 14th, I'll wait till the 15th and see if it cleared on the 14th, and if it didn't, I can file then. Life is never simple.

I saw the neurologist today. She was more responsive today than she has been on other visits. Hell, I know everybody has off days. Today things were clicking, though, and we hope we made some discoveries. We're trying a different approach-- a muscle relaxant at bedtime, since an awfully lot of the time my migraines start during the night. I just find that bizarre-- I have what is obviously a misconception, that the body is relaxed at night. Since I already know that I clench my teeth so tight they ache in the mornings, you'd think I'd have given up that silly notion, but I still cling to it. Today I felt more like she really wants to get rid of the migraines, is aware of all the meds I'm on and wants to keep them to a minimum, as soon as we can find something that works. I'm also considering acupuncture. My insurance will only pay if the acupuncturist is also an MD, and that combination isn't real common here in NC. Not sure it's real common anywhere-- I figure that's why they did it, but hey. There is one listed in the phone book, so I'll give him a call next month.

I'm going to go paint awhile to cheer myself up. Nothing like getting lost in a miniature for a good distraction!