Almost there

Today’s usually the day I start to feel really guilty at work. Because I don’t do individual income taxes at my job I’ve been done with my work that HAD to be done since last week. This week, while I still have lots of work to do, has been very low stress. I’ve even been slowly cutting back my hours to 9 or 10 a day. My schedule is not the only schedule like this – my office mate has wrapped up her work and has been officially cut back to 40 hours.

As you all know, today is the day before individual taxes are due. Tomorrow is also the due date for partnership returns and some state corporate returns. Folks I hate to break it to you this way, but if you are getting your returns prepared by a CPA and they’re not done by now they’re getting extended. I just found out that we apparently have about 150 personal returns that still need to be completed or extended. And here I am blogging about it.

My partnership and corporate returns have all been extended since March 15, the due date for corporate returns, and I finished my financial statements that are required of me last week. But that’s pretty much it – I’ve got to wrap up my audits and finish the tax returns that aren’t due now until September 15. I don’t get recruited to do work on any individual returns. I know that some of my co-workers have been and are staying later than I can imagine trying to get all of them done. The tax partner is stressed out beyond belief. And apparently nearly everyone owes tax this year – very few refunds. Not exactly the best news a CPA can deliver to a client.

I feel guilty because I can’t help out. It’s not that I can’t do the work but that the partners have picked me to do other work instead. I’m an auditor, not a tax person. And I’ll be heading home about 5:30 this evening.