Extra Credit

Sing along if you have kids...

FOR SHE'S A JOLLY GOOD CREDIT, FOR SHE'S A JOLLY GOOD CREDIT, FOR SHE'S A JOLLY GOOD CRE-E-DIT, THAT THE I.R.S. CAN'T DENY. THE I.R.S. CAN'T DENY!

I've been married for almost nine years and it wasn't until the baby came along that we actually got a tax refund. This is only the second year that we've had a child to claim, so the shock is still new for us. It's like looking at an infomercial or something. There's me doing the taxes and looking increasingly depressed as I make my way down the 1040.

There's always the initial disappointment when you get to line one for wages, tips and salary and you think to yourself, damn that's all we made? Then you go through and it reminds you of how broke your ass really is by asking you about stuff that only people with money can answer. Dividends? Capital Gains? Rental income? If it weren't for kids, the average person wouldn't even do a regular 1040. That old 1040-EZ used to be done in three minutes:
Wages: Very little
Tax paid: More than I'd like
Refund: Yeah right
Tax Due: How the hell do I owe???

So yeah, as I go through the 1040 line for line I get more depressed until that magic section about Child Tax Credit. How many dependents from line 6a? Multiply times what? Subtract from that. Then those magic words:

This is the amount you overpaid!

I wanted to break out a cardboard box and start break dancing. I picked up my daughter and carried her around the house on my shoulders like those Taco Bell commercials.

[caption id="attachment_1721" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="My daughter, the hero."][/caption]