MAM Day 15: Death and Taxes

The late and great Benjamin Franklin said this great quote "...in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." April 15th is the deadline to file federal and state income taxes. I suppose I should've written this blog earlier in the month to send out any links or additional information, but as a tax procrastinator, I myself didn't file until Monday the 12th. Lucky for some of us, certain counties within Massachusetts have been granted an extension to file tax returns due to flooding.


Tax day stress relief & freebies for those of you who want a tax day pick me up.

Why do we have taxes at all?

Are income taxes illegal?

Death, taxes, or dentists?

Why is tax day April 15?

12 tax breaks


This year was the first year my dad asked me to file my own taxes. I guess that's how you know you're an adult (or trying to be). I tried another online tax preparation site, but when I got to the end, they wanted to charge me almost $90 to e-file my federal and state taxes. As an AmeriCorps volunteer, $90 is a chunk of money I didn't want to spend, so I found a different online tax service that was free. Normally, I don't enjoy product placement, but H & R Block's online tax filing system was quite easy for me to figure out and they were extremely helpful.

After going through my forms for the first tax site, H&R Block's form was a breeze. Unfortunately, I had some issues with my tax return and I had to review and correct it. After floundering and nearly giving up on all my taxes, I found my 2008 tax info and contacted H&R Block to figure out where to put my information. Within 20-30 minutes, a H&R Block rep chat with me and walked me through the steps. Great service no? I expect my tax return sometime soon so I can pay off my student loan payment...


Finally, I found these amazing charts that show you where all the tax money goes - to the government. But how is it spent after getting to the government? These charts are super detailed and looking at the Department of Education budget from year to year is quite interesting. Original source: Mibi








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