Finally, progress on US taxes

[mtbc]

This gap in between jobs is a chance for me to catch up on some neglected chores. Today's focus was last year's taxes for the IRS. (I had filed for an extension.) They take me more than a day partly because there are new things to figure out each year. This year's, so far, turn out to have been: how to use my lifetime allowance in calculating gift tax, and how to concisely report capital gains when a small fraction had loss disallowed as a wash sale^*. Alas, this year's taxes will be no easier.

^*I did not sell simply in order to realize a loss to reduce my taxable income but, of course, the IRS suspect that may have been my motive.

Comments

[thewayne]

It is ridiculous how our system works, and it's all because of corps buying congresscritters to game the system.

[mtbc]

I'd actually quite like being paid full-time for nicely encoding all these rules so I can implement them in a clearly explained way. But, I've read a variety of Federal and state law over the years and, of what I've read, the tax code is by far the least penetrable.

Excellently, from my current draft, I don't think I'm liable for a penalty for underpaying tax a little. We'll see how a review for mistakes goes …

[thewayne]

Once upon a time a tax bill was introduced in Congress.  It was very obtuse, and it didn't seem to benefit the public - or corporations - very much.  So some tax experts started picking it apart.  In the end it was discovered to benefit ONE person.  H. Ross Perot.  An entire tax bill for one person.  I don't remember whether or not it passed.