Why do people wait until the last minute to pay their taxes? Oh sure, I know the usual excuse, "I don't want the government to make any interest on my money for any longer than I can help it." That's stupid, and even if it were true, it wouldn't make your tax bill any smaller, which is what really matters. After all, are you really going to be gaining all that interest by waiting til the last possible moment. It's like buying stuff on credit. Sometimes it can't be helped, but for the most part, it isn't any cheaper delaying the paying.

The rush and aggravation and stress of waiting until the very end must have some equivalent monetary value. Let's face it, the satisfaction of watching the last minute people rushing around like headless chickens in April more than makes up for absorbing the hit in February. By the time most people file, I've either already spent my refund, or had a chance to get over whining about my payment. The period of national angst and midnight mailings is just a stale old movie I'm forced to watch every year, like one of those annoying modern animated Christmas Carols. And I get the satisfaction of knowing that if there is any problem with my return, any administrative foul-up, missing document, misplaced evidence or other issue, I've got plenty of time to get it all straightened out before it becomes an IRS encounter.

Face it, taxes, like death, are a pain in the ass. Of course they are a pain in the ass. It doesn't take a mental giant to come up with that conclusion. Nobody likes paying them any more than folks look forward to dying. But they are both inevitable. It makes sense to delay death until the last possible moment, but that's because you only die once. I like to get over paying taxes as soon as possible. It gives me more time to start saving up for next year AND I don't have to waste three months working myself up into a snit.

And of course, it's a lot easier to schedule an appointment with an accountant
in the winter than in the spring.