Tax attacks

Tax season is upon us. This scares the bejesus out of me.

As a small business owner, I have to set aside money for taxes, social security, Bush's little war habit, etc. It's a scary and imprecise system. What with the fellowship, this business, and my former part-time Starbucks and orchard jobs, my numbers haven't been regular since 2002. Each year it's a guessing game, and the prize is my sanity: Will I have set aside enough money to cover my tax bill? I owed in 2003, I had a surplus in 2004, and I'm shitting myself once again in 2005.

Fortunately, I'm planning ahead for the 2006 tax season. I bought some accounting software designed specifically for family child care providers, so I have running tallies of my expenses and income. This will be my first year of running my business without a side job, so my tax bill for 2006 should be a little easier to predict.

Still, the appointment with our accountant is next Saturday at 11am. We'll find out what we owe (or, thinking optimistically, what the government owes us) a week or so after that, and then I'll breathe a little more easily. Until then, wish me luck!