Tax isn't as scary as it sounds
What I'm about to write is tantamount to heresy - to the Krupo of, oh say, roughly a year ago.
Like most introductory level disciples at the altar of capitalist accounting, I looked at tax with apprehension at best, and complete fear and loathing at worst.
I mean, it's a course saved until the very end of your university career and people spend the first 20-odd years of your life making it sounds like one of the grisliest things you ever have to deal with.
As usual, though, it boils down to being another case of making much ado about nothing.
It’s also a case, though, of practice making perfect. As much as you may not like the idea of doing your taxes, after a mere several dozen or so hours you can get a handle on a given category of returns.
The usual exceptions apply. If you haven’t you may need to brush up on new rules. It’s amazing how many mundane details you need to stay on top of. Of course, it helps if you work for a medium or larger-sized firm which has a dedicated tax department who analyse the annual government budgets and other intermittent policy announcements to help you stay on top of what’s new.
Having tax software, ironically enough, may end up complicating matters more than they help. Simple programs may be easy to use, but they may not necessarily be powerful enough to handle every bizarre exception you might run into - or they may charge extra for those features.
And while you can “get a handle” on the work fairly quickly, there are nuances that can stump you if you don’t have a decent tax guide or experienced colleague nearby to help you. Check back with me at the end of the month to see whether I find that you can achieve some degree of ‘mastery’ over personal taxes after an intensive month in the return prep trenches.
Will I find it - gasp - perhaps even a pleasant way to spend some time at work? So far the outlook has been rather positive. Although how much that had to do with the free food I scored for three of my lunches may have made me feel dangerously optimistic.