Death and Taxes

Everyone wants a piece of us, I guess. Yesterday: letter from mortgage company informing us our house payment is going up $50 a month because the dumb a***es passed that last levy. (sorry, if you were one of them.) I figured it out; if we pay off our house tomorrow, we will still have to pay almost $300 a month in taxes, to keep it. Throwing money at schools has not worked so well, so far, and I doubt more money will do more than enhance their sports programs, which is what it's all about, anyway.

Today came a notice from IRS - they say Bob's disability payments are taxable; for 2004 we owe them $1600; God only knows about 2005, and we are well into 2006, aren't we? This is exactly why I had HR Block do the taxes! Because for the first time, I was unsure of myself, since the disability payments. I could have saved the $100 I paid them each year and screwed it up myself. I think we gave them an extra $35 for insurance for 2005, come to think of it. I say IRS is wrong; (looked it up on THEIR site)- they clearly say that if you pay the premiums yourself for the disability insurance, you do not have to declare the income. Only if the employer pays the premium. We have an old pay stub of Bob's that clearly shows a payroll deduction for "long term disability ins". But in that case why did the insurance company send the IRS income statements?

So - no doubt we will be paying for this for the rest of our lives. Have you ever tried to fight with these people? And what are they doing with this money anyway? Obviously, someone needs it more than we do.

Gary used to say, "They can kill you, but they can't eat you!" I think he was wrong.