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How You Know Whether You Are a Tax Nerd

Jay Katz, JD, LLM

Long gone are the days when nerds would get shoved into lockers; we've grown up to rule the world. Glasses-donning Clark Kent perpetually saved his city from villains; techie nerds now make millions as startup CEOs; and studious girls went on to become medical heroes. What some may call “nerd,” we call “genius”—and let's face it: Who you gonna call when you need to save much-needed funds during tax season? Tax nerds (aka, accountants)! If you think none of the below apply to you, you are a tax nerd in denial.

  • ▪ You wear funny hats and throw confetti at fiscal New Year's Eve parties.

  • ▪ Your audiobook selection includes the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended and read by Mitt Romney and Harry Reid.

  • ▪ You believe that below the line deductions should be allowed to offset under the table income.

  • ▪ You named your pet dog FIFO.

  • ▪ You were surprised to learn that the commissioner at the other end of the Batphone did not work for the IRS, and that Batman was not a revenue officer.

  • ▪ You charge $1,099 to prepare the tax return of an independent contractor.

  • ▪ You think those who advocate a VAT are full of it.

  • ▪ When your parents gave you a copy of the Internal Revenue Code as a birthday present, you insisted they file a gift tax return.

  • ▪ You believe AMT is the IRS's ATM.

When your parents gave you a copy of the Internal Revenue Code as a birthday present, you insisted they file a gift tax return.

Jay Katz, JD, LLM is a tax attorney with a concentration on IRS issues. He is a contributing editor and member of the Tax Facts Advisory Board and coauthor of the upcoming 17th edition of Tools & Techniques of Estate Planning. Previously, he was a professor at Widener Law School, Wilmington, Del.

 
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