Tax Day

I'm not very political. I'll admit, I get most of my news from The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. Oh, and Facebook. One can never forget Facebook when discussing reasonable and accurate sources of political information.

But I think today, Tax Day in the good, ole, U. S. of A. - almost everyone has a political opinion, at least about taxes.

Last year was the first year my husband and I owed money. It was pretty shocking. This year, we owe again as well, more than last year despite increasing our monthly with-holdings.

Tax time makes me think of student loans, and how much my education cost me. Mostly because part of my student loan debt is tax deductible. A laughable part. Here's my tax story, as it pertains to my student loans.

These numbers are hypothetical, kinda. They closely resemble my situation, close enough to get my point across.

I, like many vet school grads, have 6 figures in student loan debt. I'm working part time in small animal practice, and I am well compensated. Like, well above average for my area. But let's crunch some numbers. I work off production and average $25,000 a month production. My 20% commission on that is $5000. But I lose 1/3 right off the top to taxes. So my take home is $3300. I pay $1000 each month in student loans. (My actual payment is just under $900 but we round up to an even $1000.) So that leaves me with $2300. My mortgage is around $1300 a month so I'm now left with $1000 to pay my phone, gas, insurance, electric, food, water, etc, etc, etc. And people wonder why I'm still driving a hand-me-down Subaru with 220,000 miles on it! Because I can't afford a car payment!

Okay, fine. But then tax time rolls around and I get that student loan interest statement. Seems about 1/2 of what I pay each month goes to interest. Close to $6000. And when I plug all that in to Turbo Tax, I get the super helpful message Congratulations! You've reached the maximum deduction of $2500 for student loan interest! So fully 60% of the student loan interest I pay each year is NOT tax deductible! 

To recap, I'm taxed like I make $60,000 a year, I live on approximately $15,000 a year and only 40% of my student loan interest is tax deductible. 

Is it any wonder we get a little grumbly at tax time?

All I can say is Thank God for my husband, his complete lack of student loans and his good paying job. I honestly don't know how people getting out of school now, or those who are single or the sole bread-winners do it.