I paid my taxes last night. I regret the delay. Because I'm getting a refund, I was, in effect, extending the US Government an interest-free loan since January 1st. I blame the slow mail service out here; I never did get some of the 1099 forms I needed. I think I calculated the missing numbers successfully from my bank statements.

Years ago, I was filling a 1040EZ in about ten minutes. Then I moved to the 1040A two years ago, and it was taking me a half hour. This year for the first time I was on the full 1040 with no friendly letters after that nasty number, and it took me almost two hours, even using a friendly web site to do the heavy lifting for me. But hey, I got back a couple of extra bucks in credit for foreign taxes paid last year!

Interestingly, although I earned about 10% more money this year than last, I owed noticeably less money, because I substantially increased my contribution to the TSP ("Thrift Savings Plan"), the equivalent of a 401k for us government employees. Marine living is cheap: free housing, free food, and I drive a car that I bought for $50. So I've got 40% of my paycheck going into the TSP, plus I put a chunk into a bank Roth IRA. (Why a Roth? I expect to be in a higher tax bracket at age 60 than I am now. The free food, housing, etc means my cash compensation is only about $24k this year.)

The annoying thing about the TSP is that, like a 401k, your employer can match contributions to encourage retirement savings. Most federal departments match some portion. But the Department of Defense has chosen not too, even though Congress has specifically permitted it. I wish Congress would mandate it, not just authorize it, as given the option, the generals would rather buy shiny new useless F-22's.

Posted by: Boviate at 05:23 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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