Tax Day

Today is tax day—did all of you file? I am usually fairly quick to get it done, but this year I waited until last weekend to squeak in just under the wire. As it turned out I owed about $100, so there would have been no benefit in rushing anyway. Taxes are one of the times I feel the NYC cost pinch the most. If you’ve ever used Turbo Tax, you may remember that they show your federal and state return amount along the top of the screen as you’re working. The number adjusts here and there as you enter various information. As always, my state return was looking very healthy (around $1,800 this year) right up until the moment when I click “New York City resident,” at which point the figure drops to zero—or worse. I was horrified the first year I used Turbo Tax and had this happen. I’d had visions of shopping sprees and vacations dancing in my head...ever since I’ve been smart enough not to get too excited. So I wasn’t surprised when the city tax did me in again, but I was disappointed (as always).

I hope the rest of you are getting big fat returns and use them to visit NYC!