Tax Season

It’s tax season, and so there are all these adverts currently airing with people celebrating and spending their tax refunds.  Only problem, not everyone gets a refund.  I think there is about a 99.9% chance that I will end up owing money once I do my taxes – no matter what kind of tax cuts that Trump has instigated for the year.  And I’ll probably end up owing quite a lot – we are talking thousands of dollars – such is my income and lack of expenditure.  Which is disappointing.  At least Washington state doesn’t have state income tax, so I only have to pay federal tax rather than federal and state tax.  But if the government shuts down again – something perfectly possible – then who knows what will happen with the deadlines for submitting our tax returns this year, if there is no one working in the IRS (the US equivalent of the Inland Revenue) to handle the returns.  I’ve used the same software in all my time in the US to complete and submit my returns – but I said last year that I would try different software this year, so I’ve also got that to deal with.  The joys and idiosyncrasies of earning money in the US – still, it’s a lot more than I would ever have earned if I’d stayed in the UK!