Taxes Due April 18th (not the 15th)--Oh No!

Taxes rank right up there with "Lions and Tigers and Bears, O My!" So althought I hope to provide you with resources that will lighten your load, fire your enthusiasm, and give you hope to carry on, today I'm going to need some help because here's the scoop: all I know about taxes is that we have to pay them. Maybe that's why I'm scared of them, yea, even dread them!

Plus, I don't remember anything about paying taxes when they were due eight weeks after my husband died. (Could we have sent our taxes in as soon as we got our W-2's? Nooo, not us. We never paid them a moment too early, so I was stuck with this chore in the early days of grief). I must have paid them, but I have no idea when or how!

Good news: ten years from now you won't remember all the hassle of your first year taxes either.

Until then, what to do? Well, before you run out to pay a tax service, you can check http://www.irs.gov/
They have a ton of information on the website, plus FAQ's which might actually be helpful like how young your kids have to be to claim them as dependents, head of household stuff, delayed payments, etc. If you need extra tax forms your post office, public library or city hall might have some, but you can also download everything you need.

So tell me, what do you do for filing your tax returns? Are you an old pro at it? Do you use a tax service? Do family members help you? Come to think of it, when I was first widowed our church treasurer probably helped me with mine. Does someone in your church help you with yours?

Click on the comment line below to share with other widows your taxing travails, triumphs and helpful tips.  ♥ ferree