Seanan McGuire (seanan_mcguire) wrote,
Seanan McGuire
seanan_mcguire
  • Mood: annoyed
  • Music: Kate and GP playing Rock Band.

Dear Uncle Sam: I hate you, too.

So here's the basic thing: I grew up below the United States poverty line. Way, way below the poverty line. "I really thought yellow boxes meant it was food" and "let's have government cheese sandwiches" levels of below the poverty line. One thing you don't get when you're below the poverty line in America? Dental care. Combine this with a dental phobia (brought on by the rare occasions when I actually saw a dentist, as the dentists assigned the charity cases were often shouty) and an adulthood spent largely temping, and, well. Nothing good can come of this.

Because I am a working author with a day job and good dental insurance for the first time in my adult life, I thought "hey, I'm finally in the position to actually pay to have all the necessary work done." Not "the cosmetic work." The "chewing is fun and awesome and I enjoy being able to do it" work. I found a dentist, I organized my finances as responsibly as I could so that I would be able to pay for everything...

...I got slapped upside the head with self-employment taxes, which, as anyone who's ever looked at the forms can tell you, is obscene. They don't adjust for your situation, either. There's no box to check for "I need lots of medical work, I am employed by a non-profit, and I live in one of the highest cost-of-living regions of the country, so please, don't assume I can afford what you're asking me for." If you make ten dollars income that can be hit with the self-employment taxes, the government wants between three and five dollars of that, even if you're not going to get any more money that year.

Why am I bitching about this now? Because I finally got my full estimate for the rest of my dental work. And that, combined with my final quarterly tax payment for the 2009 tax year, will basically kill my savings account, which I have worked so very hard to build. A lot of my expenses for the year have been deductible—including a lot of my medical, given the level of extensive that it's achieved—but the bills still have to be paid now. If it weren't for the sheer scope of the taxes I've had to pay this year, I'd be fine. Instead? I'm crazy irritated.

Screw you, too, Uncle Sam.
Tags: cranky blonde is cranky, medical fu, state of the blonde
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  • 44 comments

bearhand

October 18 2009, 22:49:31 UTC 7 years ago

Seanen. even if you only make $10,000 a year selling books, get a professional book-keeper and incorporate. The tax structure is set up to protect corparations and squeeze the little guy. So, the only solution is to be the little guy who has incorporated and hired a competent book-keeper. Your agent should know several someones who are able to handle your paperwork.

lagringa

October 19 2009, 00:12:24 UTC 7 years ago

Um, actually, agents (including myself) probably don't know bookkeepers other than our own. One of those many many myths about what an agent is responsible for. We aren't accountants, and we don't pretend to be. To get accounting and bookkeeping advice, hire an accountant. We do.

bearhand

October 19 2009, 11:50:10 UTC 7 years ago

But you'd know an accountant, right, and a question could be, are you happy with your accountant enough to recommend their services?

And it's also helpful to learn what is and isn't a myth for any profession. Thank you.