The best thing about doing taxes…mailing them off! Well, I suppose getting a refund is the best thing, but the relief from getting them completed is quite sweet.

Who was an early-as-can-be Mabel and who was a wait-until-the-last-second Gertrude? We did ours on Monday, so we were leaning toward Gertrude, though we have nothing on you true tax Gertrudes out there!

Taxes weren’t too stressful though this year, thank goodness. There have been times in the past where I’ve felt like running down the street while clutching my hair screaming, so this is definitely an improvement. I’m starting to get my Schedule C tax prep down to a science, so that helps. I keep a spreadsheet with the different MISC categories listed. I stuff all my writing receipts into a folder throughout the year and then plug them into the spreadsheet under the appropriate category. Then it’s just a matter of entering the category totals into Turbo Tax (Turbo Tax…how I love thee…) — and the great thing about TT is that it has the totals from the previous year, so I can mostly just eyeball the lines that have amounts. Nice.

Anyone have a great trick you use for tax prep or entry? Or do you just like to wash your hands of it and send it all to your local professional?

Whatever way you prefer…happy after tax day!!!