Tax Madness in the Big Apple

Since I was living in China last April 15 when taxes are required to be filed, I got a six month extension on paying my taxes. Because October 15 was a Sunday, the tax deadline was Monday, October 16. And, of course, as a procrastinator, I waited until the last minute! There were some headaches in figuring it all out. I own some funds which invest in Sweden (EWD), Germany (EWG), and Japan (EWJ). These funds all paid taxes in foreign countries, and as a result I can get a discount off my taxes in America. But the process is more complicated than it should be and was more difficult this year because I had lived in China during 2005. I did report all of my income earned in China and also had to report the apartment I lived in at TFSU as indirect income. OK, so how much is that worth? It's really subjective, but I reported it at 1200 RMB (US$150) per month or $1,800 for the year. Fortunately, for tax purposes, in 2005 I only spent 16 days in the USA (August 4-August 19). This qualified me to get the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion.

Finally, I finished my taxes, but since it was after 5 PM, I only knew of one post office in New York City that would still be open in order to get the postmark of 10/16. I figured the later I went the less busy the post office would be. So I took my taxes to the 8th Avenue at 31st Street post office in Manahattan at 10:30 PM. I was shocked to find the place was packed full of people holding envelopes in their hands with the words "Internal Revenue Service" on them! I guess when you consider that few people e-file in New York and that this is the main 24 hour post office in the largest city in America, it shouldn't have been such a shock. Anyway, it seems you can't just mail your package and leave if you want the postmark after 7 PM. We all had to stand in a long line and get postmarked one at a time -- and at a fee of 95 cents per package. I had to wait about thirty minutes to get my postmark.