The Real Tax Deadline

A not-so-short stack

Yesterday, the end of the six-month extension period, was the real deadline for filing one's 2009 income taxes.

I had thought, because my income was down as an early retiree, that our financial life would be simpler. I was mistaken.

In our past life we had ignored sections of the tax code because we made too much money. Before you jump to the conclusion that we're rolling in it, dear reader, please realize that many deductions, credits, exclusions, and other incentives begin to phase out when income exceeds $100,000--and even lower levels. (Ask any Californian who makes $100,000 and who has a mortgage whether he or she feels rich.) Suddenly these provisions came into play and added calculations, pages, and mistakes that had to be corrected.

We were also late because of an all-too-common phenomenon in this economy: partnerships, Subchapter S corporations, and other pass-through entities were late getting statements to investors.

We got the numbers together, signed the returns, ran down to the post office to watch them stamp the postmark, and organized the files.

Time to get started on 2010's year-end tax planning...