Visiting the Tax Man

 

 

The way my brain works is a wonder.  Sometimes, I surprise myself by the craziness that ensues while the wheels turn inside this clock of mine.

Recently, we went to get our taxes done.  I am very particular when it comes to having everything organized and ready for the tax man.  By nature, I am a very organized individual.  I have a folder for all the owner’s manuals from items that we have bought.  I still have owner’s manuals for items that are long gone.  But, if something goes wrong with the lawn mower, the treadmill, the television or the dog feeder, there’s an owner’s manual in that folder just waiting to be read.  My boyfriend admires me for keeping good records.  I admit, I am a little over the top.  Anyway, that is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to organization of financial or important materials.

Last year, we went to get our taxes prepared and we were listing the donations.  Of course, I have all receipts to back up my listings but there is a gray area.  That would be donations of clothing.  Usually, I bag everything up and take it to the local donation box.  I then grab a receipt and estimate an amount that I think the bag is worth.  Our tax man said that he thought that I was undervaluing those items.  He suggested that I take a picture of the items so that the following year we could get a better idea of the value of the clothes.  For the entire year of 2018, I took photos of each and every item that I donated.  When we had our taxes done and came to the donations part, I handed the tax man a stack of pictures of each and every item.  He looked at me like I had 3 heads.  I responded to him by reminding him that he was the one who told me to take pictures.  He laid each and every picture out all over his desk and with a smirk, he called in his assistant and asked him, “What do you think this Tshirt is worth?”.  At that point, I was embarassed along with my boyfriend and step-daughter.  The laughter ensued and we couldn’t stop.  We literally took picture by picture and estimated it’s worth.  Our tax man had never dealt with anything like this before.  I think he might have thought I was crazy but I was just following instructions.  That situation is going down in history like so many other ridiculous things that I do.