datlas 

FYI for those in the US/Canada, the current influenza season is in full force (possibly at its peak but stay tuned), it's a medium incidence year but the good news is the vast majority of the strains circulating are the same strains in this year's vaccine.

indyfabz

Got my taxes done last night. My effective tax rate dropped 1.3%, but that is because I sheltered some income via my HSA, which I did not do in 2017.

datlas 

I need to start thinking about doing ours.

indyfabz

Those with W-2 income might want to beware. My accountant opined that the withholding rates for 2018 were too low and will result in some "refund shock" when taxes are prepared. So many peoples budget for refunds based on their personal refund histories. Some of them could be in for a surprise.

datlas 

You have an accountant?

I always do my own. I am actually about it because I really find the forms easy to do but you almost HAVE to do them electronically now which means paying turbotax etc. $60 for fed/state taxes. That $60 could buy a new pair of GP4000s tires!!

indyfabz

I'm lazy and somewhat of a Luddite. But unless the law changes drastically again I am going to start doing them myself because he charges too much for my simplistic filing. I can no longer itemize since I have no mortgage and they capped the SALT deduction at $10,000. I have one W-2, one 1099-DIV and one 1099 from a required minimum distribution I have to take from an inherited IRA. Even I should be able (and have the patience) to complete the forms using something like Turbo Tax.

datlas 

Yeah sounds pretty easy. Ours are easy too, a W-2 for each of us, a few 1099-INT from some banks, a 1099-DIV from a brokerage mutual fund account and that's about it. The house is paid off and the deduction for state/local taxes has been raised so much I think we just do the standard exemptions.....it's pretty basic, I don't even make enough to qualify for the AMT so it's really simple.

WhyFi

Yup. That's what was warned when the tax reforms were pushed through ahead of elections (in the hopes that voters would see bigger paychecks and a more favorable view of the admin).

seedsbelize 

The beauty of the Youtube version is that the commentary is in English, with Tony Romo as analyst. When watching live, I thought the New England defense was never ready for the snap, or confused about their set. I see now that this was intentional, to confuse Goff. It worked wonderfully. And I will re-iterate that it is the best Superbowl I've ever seen. I'll likely watch it several times more. Just to see what there is to see.

Velo Vol 

Is there a reverse Groundhog Day on the bottom of the world?

Your excused absence is approved.

Velo Vol 

First timer?

MoAlpha

The hole goes all the way through.

MoAlpha

We have gnarly taxes, which should go down some this year, not that I believe that's a good thing.

indyfabz

Quality.

Trsnrtr

MoAlpha

Whoa, whoa, whoa, what? They got a thing about eating in the head?

Trsnrtr

Dan333SP

Sample size of 1, surely, because we went from the best superbowl ever in 2018 to one of the worst in 2019.

WhyFi

A week ago, when we had a few days in a row of the high 30s, some of my compadres thought that their fat bike riding season might be over... Yeah, not so much.

Rowan

Machka still has to explain every years what groundhog is all about, including the animal. It gets coverage on TV news here, but only relatively recently. Very small parts of the Australian continent suffer from winter with snowfalls and low temps. The rest of the country welcomes the lower temps, a bit of the rainfall, and the prospect of more water sporting activity to come soon.

Thanks for the approval, too. It's been a tough year for me, that's for sure... medically.

And Machka got some good news from her hip MRI -- no breakage in the bone, but it seems like ligament and muscle issues are at play.

Another weekend away coming up for us, coinciding with a public holiday on Monday. That will be more fun in an area which is becoming a lovely place to be, in my mind, on the northern end of the island.

Rowan

Aren't your charges by the tax form preparation professionals added to your tax deductible claims ? They are in Australia, although the claims can only be made in the financial year when sustained, not for the one the form is being prepared.

MoAlpha

The groundhog doesn't gestate its young in a pouch on its abdomen, so no wonder you have trouble. They are nasty, overgrown, rats who destroy gardens and rip the hell out of dogs who tangle with them.

Good about the MRI!!! Hips are tough.

Rowan

Just to reiterate my previous post, scenes like this are rear in Australia except for some places in the Great Divide mountains that run parallel the nation's east coast, and some parts of Tasmania. And they last a little over a week, if that.

This photo reminds me a lot of the winter I spent living in Red Deer in Canada; winter there really does mean cold and snowy. I remember departing from Calgary airport where the temp was -43 deg C... and arriving eventually in Melbourne where it was +43 deg C hot. I spent four or five hours sitting around in the airport and after reassembling my Fuji Touring bike before setting off to find a place to camp the night.

Trsnrtr

MoAlpha

They were until 2018, but subject to a threshold of 2% of income, grouped with other miscellaneous expenses. We always have itemized, but that line never made it anywhere near 2%.