Help! I'm buried!

It's the last day of January & I'm snowed in.....buried under financial forms & receipts. It's our designated day to finish the 2008 taxes(federal, state & local), as well as help oldest son out with his form filings. I must say, I'd take what HE has to file(both the form, amount of time it takes and what he pays or doesn't pay)over what husband & I are required to suffer through.
I don't mind paying my taxes, don't get me wrong, I just wish this whole PROCESS wasn't so complicated and convoluted! Bring back STEVE FORBES and his FLAT TAX Deal I say!! Get rid of all the loopholes and have everyone pay their fair share across the boards.
Of course, the federal government would much prefer you just told them how much you make, write a check for that amount and mail it ALL to them. 8-P

Ugh.

Here are SLUGMAMA'S TIPS TO DOING YOUR TAXES.

Please keep in mind that I am NOT a Tax Professional, nor do I play one on the Internet, so follow my advise at your own risk. ;-)

1. If you are going to have to pay, wait until the last possible day to send in your return. This is kind of self explanatory, isn't it?

2. If you are due a refund, file your return as quickly as you can! It is your OWN MONEY you are getting back. You've already let the government BORROW it for up to a Year, why should you let them have it another second longer than they have already?

3. About that refund...don't look at it as FREE MONEY. It isn't! You worked VERY VERY HARD to earn that money in the first place, don't blow it on some cheap/expensive hunk of plastic. If you have DEBT(the FOUR LETTER WORD)of any kind, put your tax refund toward paying down that Debt! If you will feel deprived to the point of distraction by using that Tax Refund to pay down your Debt, take a tiny piece of your refund and go buy yourself something(Chocolate comes to mind). But take the Lion's Share of that refund and dig yourself a little more out of that suckhole of Debt! If you are one of the lucky ones without any Debt, then put that money toward your kid's COLLEGE FUND or into your RETIREMENT FUND. Or start an EMERGENCY FUND. There are oodles of better things to do with Money than to BUY FLAT SCREEN TVs or NEW CARS, etc.

4. Double check ALL your math on the Tax Return before mailing it in. If the math is wrong, it WILL affect when you get your refund or affect how much you owe. It may also RED FLAG your return and trigger an audit.

5. NEVER....I repeat, NEVER apply for an Advance on your Tax Return at one of those places that advertise INSTANT or QUICK REFUNDS. It isn't a refund, it is a LOAN against the refund they THINK you are getting. If something happens(like you didn't check your math, etc.)and you are NOT due the refund amount you thought you had coming, you will still have to pay back what these Tax Advance Businesses give you. PLUS, the Tax Advance Businesses charge you fees and interest on that Advance payment. They are nothing better than those Check-Cashing Businesses that prey on the financially poor and uneducated to make their profits, or the Credit Card Companies that practice Usury.

**If you NEED a Cash Advance against your anticipated Tax Return to keep yourself financially afloat, you have a MUCH bigger financial problems than you think. Run, don't walk, to a professional Financial Planner! Use a little of that Tax Refund you get in 2008 paying someone to help you toward a Financial Plan for your future. INVEST a little bit of your money in YOURSELF!

Sluggy