We are in mid-December 2021. Christmas is a few days away. We just finished NaNoWriMo a couple of weeks ago. What timely topic have I chosen for this month? The IRS. We’re just over a week away from the time to start putting off organizing our paperwork to have our taxes done, so it’s as good a time as any to tell my latest IRS drama. What about Christmas? Well, super low key this year and every year. Maybe a meal with friends. And NaNo? I didn’t win, but I did write just over 10,000 words on a new novel. Yes! But . . . I haven’t written since November 28th. Extenuating circumstances: I had to move unexpectedly . . . and quickly. The dogs and I got in trouble with a neighbor. That’s all I’ll say right now.
The IRS. Last October when I was on vacation at the Mexican Pacific Rivera town of Guayabitos, I opened a letter from the IRS I had brought unopened from my home near Lake Chapala, Mexico. It was a bill for several thousand dollars due to a problem in my filing from several years before.
Good news! I had had a tax accountant do my taxes that year. Bad news! There had been a previous letter I hadn’t received which explained the problem. Without it, the tax guy and I were lost!
No problem, I thought. I’ll call them, I assured the tax guy. Well, I waited a lot, got transferred a lot, and never reached the person I allegedly needed to speak with. No problem, I thought. I signed a Power of Attorney allowing my tax guy to research the problem. And he found it. I was indeed at fault. I had to pay.
No problem, I thought. I’ll go online and pay. I couldn’t do that without a mailed ID thingy, which I had. But . . . all of a sudden, my password didn’t work. So, I asked the tax guy to pay for me as well, from my savings account.
Thousands to the IRS, hundreds to the hotel owner for a broken bathroom counter (story on Instagram), thousands to move twice in as many months, and Christmas bonuses are due to my household help! Merry Christmas and a better 2022 to all, including myself!
