Tax Deadline Day on Roosevelt Island and the Rest of the U.S.

You Tube video of Beatles Tax Man

It's April 15 and time is nearly up for filing your taxes before the Tax Man comes to seek you out. Remember, if you are a tax procrastinator, or need more time to file, make sure you get a tax extension. It may help to laugh as well with a Dave Barry column:

...it's also time to file your federal tax return. Yes, this is a pesky chore, but remember that paying taxes is not a ''one-way street.'' When you send your money to the government, the government, in return, provides you with vital services, such as not putting you in prison. The government also uses your money to pay for programs that benefit all Americans, such as the Catfish Genome Project.

...My point is that, as you do your taxes, you should remember where your tax dollars are going, and recognize that you, as a citizen, have a moral obligation to prepare your tax return with the same degree of conscientiousness that Congress exhibits in spending your money. So let's get started on your taxes! Here's a step-by-step guide:

Step one is to gather together your tax forms, your financial records, and, if you plan to itemize your deductions, at least two liters of vodka.

Step two: ... (Hat Tip to Andrew Sulllivan)

If you are self-employed you certainly recognize this hapless feeling:

... That was the sort of mood I was in on April 14 of last year, when I took out the tax forms I'd picked up at the library and started trying to wade through my finances. I was still wearing the clothes I'd fallen asleep in the night before and now was facing a floor covered with 1099s, a few W-2s, and those pesky "estimated tax payment" envelopes that I never remembered to send in.

About eight hours later, I was still sitting in my room and the sun was going down. I had reached my yearly tax breaking point, the moment each April when I realize that, while they are technically written in English, I have no idea what any of the documents I am reading actually mean.

Here are some helpful tax tips for freelancers and those self-employed.

And here's the Singing CPA via the Wall Street Journal. Maybe you will see him outside the Farley Post Office tonight with the other last minute filers.