Taxes

I did my taxes this morning. It used to be that I would get my taxes done in February, but that was back when I was getting money back. Two years ago, my refund was down to $1. Last year, I actually owed money. I figured I would this year as well. It's creeping up, but still not a lot of money.

They revamped the 1040, which meant I read it a little more carefully than I have been. There seem to be many more forms involved, none of which seemed to be included. The only truly painful bit was line 45, Alternative Minimum Tax, which has a worksheet to see if you need to fill out a certain form. Line 7 of the sheet says:

"Enter the amount from Form 8914, line 2"

I didn't find anywhere in the 1040 instructions telling me what Form 8914 was, and was able to tell that it didn't matter for me, but it is exactly the sort of nonsense that makes taxes such a pain.

[I found out online that form 8914 is entitled 'Exemption Amount for Taxpayers Housing Individuals Displaced by Hurricane Katrina' so it is doubtful that knowing this will help me next year.]