3 June, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Tonight I did my U.S. taxes. The deadline for those who live abroad is June 16th. This deadline is two full weeks from now and you may be thinking — “Wow, Anglofille did her taxes early and not on the night of June 15th. She is so organized.” But alas, no. Hell hasn’t frozen over. I had to do my taxes this week because I will be out of town when the deadline rolls around. Your faith in me, if you have any, is entirely misplaced.
My American income for 2007 was exactly $33,000 (£16,500). I don’t know how I managed that. I know that’s pretty loser-ish for a highly educated person of my age, but come on — I don’t even live in the U.S. right now! Thank heavens for the interweb. When I opened my W-2 tonight, I was shocked that the total was so high. (I’ve had my W-2 since January but just looked at it tonight — if that doesn’t sum me up, nothing does.) Most of my American income was eaten up by the exchange rate and also by the insanely high London prices. According to my calculations, $33,000 spent in London is roughly equivalent to about $217. Not too bad. You could go out to dinner and a movie for that price (no popcorn though).
For those curious about the American tax system, nearly 25% of my 2007 income was taken in taxes. Not sure how this compares to Europe. I will be getting a refund though, which represents about a quarter of what I paid in. My refund is high because I’m a student. Before I became a student, I always owed money. (FYI: Starting in 2008, there will no longer be a tuition fee deduction. That sucks because this deduction is worth $4000. What genius decided to discontinue this and punish students?)
I also have to file state taxes. I pay in the state where my parents live, since I use their address for tax purposes. [The American company I work for part-time requires a U.S. address.] Why on earth do I have to pay tax to this state when I did not even step foot in it during 2007? Sigh. The tax form for this particular state is interesting though. It has a line for your name, then five lines for your spouses’ names (and you can turn over to the back and write more names there if necessary). They’ve thought of everything!
So I’m finished with my taxes now and I only have a mild throbbing headache. Not too bad. Don’t cry for me, Argentina.
Anglofille said @ 12:32 am | personal |
