Can You Deduct a Speeding Ticket as a Writing Expense?
Or…The Dragon answers your burning authorial tax questions

I’m not really going to answer a lot of tax questions here. April 15 is not my favorite day of the year for the simple reason that it stresses me out and typically sees me writing big ol’ checks to the Federal government and the state of Missouri. Here’s the part where visitors to the blog start to care.

On my way up to Pensacola the other weekend for the GCCRW Silken Sands Conference, I drove like a banshee. I’m not a patient person. At one point, while keeping up with traffic, I sat pretty much on the tail of a slowpoke in the left lane in hopes of encouraging him/her to move over or speed up. (Behind me, another driver did the same.)

Now, I have a fantastic car. A 2008 Dodge Charger. Check that gorgeous picture!

The front end looks like it’s snarling in your rear view mirror. It’s solid. It has that “move over or I’ll push you out of the way” look to it. But not everyone responds. (I’ll be investing in a push guard when my tax refund arrives.)

While sitting on this guy’s bumper, I let my thoughts drift or something, because I looked in my rear view mirror to see a police vehicle on my tail.

Doggone.

I figured I better move over. I also wondered who he was pursuing if the six or seven of us driving aggressively at 80+ mph in a pack weren’t of interest to him. I recently read an article that claimed cops are lowering their tolerance for speeders due to the recession. The supposed 8 to 10 miles over the speed limit that drivers can typically get away with when roaring past a speed trap is ratcheting down, according to the report.

I don’t recall the article offering a “safe” speeding range. If you ask an officer of the law, I’m sure he or she will tell you no speed over the posted limits is “safe.” (The limits are set for a reason. It’s not arbitrary.) The idea is that more written tickets for more speeders means more revenue for the counties in which the law-breakin’ takes place. There were statistics to back it up. And I have to say, considering crime is up and driving is down (both due to the recession), having the number of citations awarded in a county during the month of January triple in 2010 compared to 2009 says something for the officers’ focus.

As luck would have it, the officer tailing the little pack in which I sped along I-75 North a couple weeks ago hadn’t received the memo and I made it to the conference sans citation. Woo-hoo!

The mileage I incurred driving to the conference and the hotel cost while there will be tax deductions when working on my 2010 taxes because the “book writing business” is a business and not a hobby. As a writer, if you can prove that your business is just that, you can write off your expenses. But if your writing is still a hobby, don’t try to pull a fast one on the IRS. Can you say “audit?”

I went to H&R Block for my taxation worries this year. This is the second year that I’ve had mega fear about taxes. The year before the divorce was the first of “abject fear” because of someone else’s lapses in judgment/recall pertaining to deductions and responses. I ended up filing separately that year rather than relying on the Innocent Spouse Rule to protect me in the future. This year I felt the need to claim book income, even though Choices Meant for Gods and Choices Meant for Kings didn’t take me to the Federal income level required before reporting it (bummer, eh?) because my expenses were fairly substantial and I anticipate some changes in the coming months.

So there’s the quick-n-messy taxation discussion for this writer: a tax preparer who’s got my back helped me file a Schedule S form with my schtuff this year. I’m even getting a little something back from the Feds, which I’ll use to pay off a hospital bill. And I don’t have speeding tickets to try to find a spot on the Schedule S for.

“Some days, you just want the dragon to win.”
Tags: taxes, writing expense, taxation, tax questions, Schedule S, H&R Block, audit, Innocent Spouse Rule, April 15, Dodge Charger, refund, speeding ticket, citation, mileage

Economic Stimulus Payments Will Take Time to Reach Writers
Or…starving writers should file 2007 taxes and continue to starve until late spring, early summer

Even though I'll be receiving my economic stimulus payment/reimbursement in, oh, late June, I'm still very thankful to be getting anything at all. If the Internal Revenue Service times it right, I'll already have my divorce finalized and won't have to give half my check to an idiot who feels entitled to half my future earnings because he's too stupid to get a job. Hmm. Or maybe the problem is that I was the stupid one for maintaining employment while he sat on his growing can for years.

But I digress.

The point of this post was to let all ya'll know that if you're waiting for your economic stimulus payment to arrive to help you purchase writing supplies, printer ink, food, etc., it might be a long wait. First, you must file your taxes as you normally would. If you normally wouldn't (for instance, if you're a lower-income worker, which many starving writers are, or you receive Social Security or veterans' benefits), you will need to file this year to stimulate the stimulus… You get the idea. Dude, to get the $300 to $600 back, just file and be thankful it's an easy form.

Here's the timetable for receiving your rebate, based on the last two digits of your Social Security number, if you're set up to receive your normal tax refunds through direct deposit. (Personally, I feel very uncomfortable giving that control to the IRS, even when I have this sneaking suspicion that they can just take it when they want it. ***I glance nervously over my shoulder at the camera above the bookshelf.***)

Last 2 Digits...Direct Deposit by
00-20...May 2
21-75...May 9
76-99...May 16

If you're receiving your refunds the old-fashioned way, you could be waiting until after the middle of the year. But, hey, with the housing market the way it is, the government workers know no one is moving, so mailing things to us will be easy.
Last 2 digits...Check's in the mail by
00-09...May 16
10-18...May 23
19-25...May 30
26-38...June 6
39-51...June 13
52-63...June 20 (happy birthday, John Taylor!)
64-75...June 27
76-87...July 4 (ummm…I see a flaw in this plan)
88-99...July 11

For slightly more information (but a less entertaining/sarcastic tone), visit http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=180247,00.html.

"Some days, I just want the dragon to roast the IRS."
Tags: economic stimulus payments, timetable, starving artists, Social Security, benefits, tax rebate, tax refund, file your taxes, IRS, direct deposit, housing market