I swore last year would be my final year of coming up short on my taxes. I’ve been paying into “The Man” very year for the last 7 years. I know, I know, everyone pays into “The Man” and that it comes right out of my paycheck. But I’ve farted around a lot with my W-4 in the past which has caused me to come up short every single year. Accountants will tell you that its good to come up short because it means you’ve been living on the government’s dime. What they fail to tell you is that you will eventually have to pay it back in a year.

After paying in the heftiest ever last year I vowed to get my act together and never have it happen again. I found some online aides that helped me determine the right number to put at the bottom of my W-4 and changed my withholdings for 2005. I submitted the form to my employer and prayed I had done it right. The frustrating part is waiting a year to find out.

I filed my taxes last night and was quite happy to find out that “The Man” owed me this year! No scrambling to save this year! w00t! The pennies can stay in the couch!