First of all, updates. Once again I got completely blocked on the series, but I did finally complete the side project, back around the end of last year. It turned out pretty decently. Recently—like, the other week—I started a second draft, now that I know what the plot is and have a better handle on who the characters are. I was going to knuckle down and get back into writing in March, but my paying job had other ideas and I ended up booked solid in back-to-back assignments for the entire month. Throw in another flare-up of my video game addiction and March was pretty much a wash, as far as writing was concerned. January and February didn’t fare much better, for similar reasons.
But that was March. It’s a whole new month now, and I’ve got a whole new reason to get off my butt and get serious about producing books to put out on the market. This could finally be the motivator that pokes a hole in my procrastination balloon.
Thanks to aging and a low taxable income, for the last several years I’ve qualified to have my taxes done for free by the United Way. At first it was necessary: even with the low income, I needed to file a tax return in order to qualify for affordable health insurance. Me turning 65 and already being on Social Security automatically got me enrolled on Medicare, which took care of that. But I still have to file taxes every year, due to the paying job. It doesn’t pay what it used to, but between that and Social Security I can get by pretty well. The problem is that it’s contractor work, so technically I’m self-employed. Which means the outfit I’m working for doesn’t take taxes out of my monthly paycheck; I have to account for that myself, plus the percentage allotted to SS and Medicare. Let’s stop and ponder for a moment the fact I’m both collecting and still obliged to pay into SS and Medicare, and then we’ll move on to the punch line.
For the last three-four years I’ve been okay. I always end up paying local taxes, but it’s a fairly small amount. State and Federal usually evened out, but again, at a small amount. The last two years I’ve owed State taxes, but it’s been so low and given my age I’ve qualified for tax forgiveness and didn’t have to pay anything. That’s something I wouldn’t have known about, which is why I’m happy to let trained volunteers calculate my taxes for me.
Here’s something else I didn’t know about: the Earned Income Credit deduction I’ve been getting should have ended when I turned 65. Except the Feds extended it because so many people hit the financial skids when Covid shut everything down. I’ve been getting a bonus deduction these last couple years and didn’t know. This year the Feds put an end to the Covid aid extensions, cancelling my Earned Income Credit. Which left me owing the Federal government $700 in taxes. So that’s what a heart attack feels like.
It gets better. The tax pro recommended I pay estimated quarterly taxes to avoid this happening again next year. This is how contractors, and freelance writers and editors, usually handle it. Which is fine if you’re not already living paycheck to paycheck. And don’t have any unexpected other expenses. Like the root canal I’m already scheduled for next week. At least Medicare will cough up a portion of that.
The easiest solution, of course, would be to drop the paid job. Except that would leave me even worse off financially. Given the number of layoffs I went through during my 35 years in the workplace (five times, in four different professions) and the fact most of the jobs from the ‘90s onward barely paid a living wage, I’m lucky I qualified for Social Security in the first place. The contract job keeps me just above water, and now the gov’mint wants their cut again. Yes, the same gov’mint that keeps threatening to gut Social Security and Medicare. Wonder how much Mitch McConnell paid in taxes last year?
And don’t tell me to cut back. I’ve done that. I’ve been doing that. Prices keep going up anyway. Don’t tell me to find another job that pays better. Now that I’m on SS, I’m only allowed to earn so much per month. Go over the limit and they dock the difference from your SS payment, so everything evens out again.
The only solution, at least in my case, is to get my fingers in gear and start writing. Royalties are still income and still get taxed, but they only come in on a quarterly basis. Maybe I can slip them in through the back door and not screw up the SS payments. I might even be able to stash most in a separate account to cover taxes in the spring, freeing up the SS and contractor income for everyday expenses, with a little left over for fun. Or a miracle could happen and I could hit it big, and wouldn’t even need the other paychecks. It happened to E. L. James, and the guy who wrote The Martian, and the woman who cashed in on Bigfoot porn. Anything can happen, and a girl can dream.
And that’s why I’ll be hopping back into the saddle and getting the series written, while also tackling the second draft of the side project and who knows, writing a couple of shorter things along the way. United States Federal Government, I owe it all to you. Literally. I’ll be seeing you folks at the ballot box. Don’t expect me to contribute to anyone’s re-election campaign.
