Taxes

It's that blessed day of the year when we are allowed to pay for the privilege of living in the USA. Or maybe you, unlike us, are getting paid back for that privilege. Anyway, Muffin stayed home Monday to complete our complicated returns for the IRS. It's complicated because I play in an orchestra as an independent and nothing is withheld during the year. And because I play in a quartet and contract the other players and pay them as independent musicians. And because I have a music studio in our home which makes the house and all the services connected with it deductions. And because I have to keep records of trips in the car, postage costs, supplies for my instruments, CD's, downloads, sheet music, electronic supports, pencils for tests, tickets to supporting concerts, meals purchased at workshops and conventions, and......lots of other stuff.  

Every year I try to keep better records in a better, more improved system of organization. And every year it seems that it becomes more complicated so that my organization fails to cover all the bases yet again. I have files in the music room, files in the office room, files in the file cabinet, and files on the computer. I have two calendars on the computer with every meeting and every rehearsal and every trip written on them. There is a separate folder in my computer for receipts for music organizations, tickets purchased online, supplies ordered online.  There is a membership folder for all the professional organizations. I have an insurance folder for the instrument insurance. There is an entire e-mail folder for download confirmations, because for every concert I play I download music well in advance so I can listen to it and learn it before even receiving the music to practice. Finally, there is a folder of receipts of real paper from real stores where I purchase supplies, stickers, posters, paper, computer supplies and recital supplies for students. And I order real, honest to goodness CD's as gifts for them too! 

Poor Muffin puts all of this together and makes sense of it every April. So I made this lemon pound cake for him. Good boy, Muffin!