A Place For Everything

I worked another shift at Tax Help New Mexico on Friday. It was not a particularly good day. I could complete the returns for only about half of the clients. The others did not have all their infomation. The waitng room was full. We planned to be open until 2:00 but had to start turning people away at 12:30. We did not finish until 2:30. I drank half a diet soda ( unusual for me) and started getting migraine symptoms for the first time in several years. I wonder if it is the Aspartame.

On the other hand I did meet some good people. One young man had to get his taxes done that day because he was leaving for Marine Boot Camp on monday. A teacher had taken the day off to come in. He had some tuition for continuing education that he could take some credit for. He did not have his records with him. After a while we figured out that he could call the University on my cell phone and find out the exact amount. I'm glad that we could get his finished, as otherwise he would have had to take another day off.

There are other interesting people and good stories I could tell but I am afraid it might compromise confidentiality.

Tax Tips:

• Credits are available for all secondary education tuition. It can be taken two different ways. Be sure to check both ways to see which is more advantageous.
• If you provide tools for your work they can be deducted on Schedule A, but only if it above a certain amount. If you do the same kind of work as a second job, do the second job under contract, not as an employee. The tools can be deducted in toto as a small business expense.