Last week I found myself on the 19th floor of the Bank of America Financial Center overlooking downtown Spokane. No, I didn’t have a sudden career change. Rather, I was there with my EWU crew filming a video on one of our students who is interning for an accounting firm that leases lucrative office space in the financial center.

My team setting up on the 19th floor of the Bank of America Financial Center.

It was a very nice gesture of the firm to allow us to visit during the busiest time of the year for accountants. With tax season in full swing, I know it probably didn’t help anybody (except my crew) to have lights, equipment, and a camera filling up their conference room.

Don’t worry, I didn’t ask for any free advice when it comes to my household’s taxes. It might not come as a surprise to those who know me, but I try to file our taxes within the first couple weeks of filing season. For the past several years I have used TurboTax to file and it always seems to work out fine.

Well, let me clarify “fine.” It works out fine in the sense that TurboTax is easy to use and it has never led me to make a mistake. The final outcome, however, has been mixed over the years. We have received nice returns before but there was also a year when we had to pay much more than what we expected.

I have had different outcomes when it comes to tax time over the years.

An accountant friend has told me that I should strive to neither pay nor receive money when I do my taxes. One year I came close to achieving that benchmark but it has definitely been elusive over the past 18 years or so that I have been responsible for paying taxes.

Due to insane mortgage rates, we are usually able to itemize which typically means that a return is imminent.

One final note on this completely unsolicited blog post about tax situation: Although Washington is an expensive state to live in, I do appreciate that there isn’t an income tax. Yes, a recent bill was passed that does tax the income tax of millionaires in Washington but I don’t have to worry about that.

When we first moved back to Washington and I started receiving my first pay checks, it was nice to be spared from the state income tax I had to pay when I lived in Montana and South Carolina. Although paying state income tax would probably lead to a larger overall return, I don’t miss filling out the additional forms on TurboTax.

You still have a month until taxes are due but know that April 15 will be here before you know it. Make sure you don’t get audited! Don’t Blink.