Pritti upset with my accountant, the tax season really...
So a year ago I asked my accountant what I needed to keep track of for 2013 so I could itemize at the end of the year since I bought this condo. Straight up asked what I needed to keep track of for the whole year so I wouldnt have to scrunge up all these documents at the end of the year. The answer I got was 'keep track of your charitable contributions and out of pocket medical expenses' cuz they might be deductibles or whatever.
So now its the end of 2013 and tax stuff needs to be done in the next month or two, so again, I ask, just for clarity's sake so I can start sending my documentation before she actually does my taxes, "what else do I need to scrunge up for the itemizing or deduction part of taxes?" She said I could start sending her stuff on Jan 2.
I get a few answers here and there. The next day she told me W-2, 1099, 1098, charitable contributions, and IRA contributions. So I gathered that info and send it Jan 10. I always end the email with "what else?" Because apparently its really to say everything that may or may not count as deductions/itemizing in one email, apparently we have to think about this one at a time.
On Jan 23 she replies with "Don't you have health insurance premiums?" and "do you rent out part of your condo" cuz that apparently makes a difference and needs to be reported... She says this like I'm supposed to know all this. Can you count health ins premium as a deduction? Weird. What does the government care if I rent out my condo or not, its mine, I own it, somewhat....if you dont count the bank holding title to it. Whatever. So then I go scrounging up that information...
Then the next day I get another email filled with a lot more things I have to have EXACT numbers on for what I paid for the whole year. Seriously?! You didn't tell me I needed to keep track of that last year when I asked what I could do so I wouldn't have to scramble at the end of the year??? Apparently I have to have exact numbers on how much I paid for electric, gas, water, HOA, my roommates rent, my medical and dental premiums, my mortgage, my carpet, my appliances... the list goes on and on. And of course you have to have proof of all these expenses in case you get audited. Oy vay.
So now I'm on this mad document hunt AND trying to remember everything I did this year. I mean the bills are pritti easy they are a monthly thing and theres an electronic trail of it. But random things like medical and dental and eye appointments and the carpet and washer/dryer I bought at the beginning of the year and... ugh. And even if you remember things you can't add it to the total unless you have proof of it. So you can remember that $35 copay at the docs office, but you can't add it up til you have proof you paid it.
And then theres those little random questions of like this is what I paid for the mortgage, but do you count earnest money I put down to buy the house? Or do you count your roommates rent deposit in their yearly contribution? Does Lasik count?
It just frustrates me. If I knew I needed those things cuz they might help me even in the slightest I would have printed it all out AS I did it throughout the year so I wouldnt have to remember or scrunge up documents later. But as frustrating as it is, I think it's not really that hard to find evidence of all these things electronically. It would be much harder if you were one of those older ppl that did -everything- by paper. It makes me wonder for a brief second how the unorganized people do it. I mean I am fairly put together, I'd like to say more than most people. So for those that lose things and all that jazz, how do they do taxes at the end of the year? What poor accountant works with them? How much money do they miss out on cuz they dont get deductions they could have gotten?
Anyways, there is a reason I asked questions regarding taxes and itemizing -a year ago- because I dont know these things. I dont know what the government wants from us, accountants do. I dont know you need like exact amounts, an itemized list of -every single thing- you paid for that year basically. I am fairly sure that when I didnt own property half those things requested wouldn't have helped me as far as taxes, but now they do. This is my first time buying a home and doing a mortgage. Now I'm going to go and ask questions about my home insurance... Lets see if I get anywhere with that...
It juss kinda bugs me.