Tax Man

The day of reckoning has descended upon me - I finally found the chance today to get all of my paperwork together for my annual income tax filing. Time to take the fiscal measure of the man.

In 2008, I made slightly more money that I did in 2007 despite less rental income, mostly due to performance bonuses. But I didn't have tenants in the Unsellable Condo in Vinings from July to November, and the tenants that I did have in the first half of the year basically stopped paying rent in May. And then the repairs that I had to perform on the condo after I finally got them out added up to $10,265. During the year, I just held my nose and paid what was needed - today was the first time I actually totalled the full amount spent. Which is to say, I lost over $19k on the property last year when all expenses (mortgage, taxes, association fees, etc) are considered. Last year, I lost "only" $8,000. Wanna buy a condo?

Other than my real estate misfortunes, my 2008 taxes are not noticeably different than those of 2007, reflecting a somewhat stable lifestyle. Although I had my house on the market for a while in anticipation of a planned move to Portland, I suffered no expense even though neither the house nor I moved.

So, in a few days I will complete my return and render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's (actually, I'll be getting a refund - I basically gave Caesar a loan all year).