So, guess what I get to spend my evening with? Pencils, Tax Form 45X1123590277-A (and corresponding schedules A through Z) or something like that and a big calculator. Why? Because I made a whole $300 in Canada last year and Canada WANTS TO KNOW ALL ABOUT IT. Talk about overkill. Seriously. I would make more money running a lemonade stand in a prime location. If we owned a whole bunch of houses that made $300 per year, I can see why CRA would care. But we own one. We make X amount of dollars off of it in rent, which we offset by claiming the mortgage interest, maintenance fees, how much it cost us to put a dishwasher that holds wine glasses in...a whole bunch of stuff. And then we end up with our total income...$300 each. Give or take $2. And then we have to spend a few precious evenings working out all of the above (stated simply enough, but Form 45X1123593050277-A (or whatever) doesn't actually allow for things to be stated simply) into complicated equations and honestly...I would just about kill to have one of those H&R Block nerds knock on my door right now and offer to do it. I would even pay them the full $300, just to take this off my plate.

OK...not really. The mad rush is at least a month and a half away, but I am of the "get it over with" persuasion and like to get started on these things early. Also, my 2007 return is a bit sticky and I want extra time to weed through it properly so that we follow all of the confusing procedures outlined so beautifully on CRA's website. And by "beautifully", I mean "not at all".

Obviously, when we first decided to move, my play-by-the-rules mindset kicked in and I started doing some research on how our taxes will work once we're gone. I collected all sorts of statements, paperwork and receipts, downloaded a crapload of PDF guides from CRA's website, and had a heart-to-heart with a tax accountant. Now that the time has come to get it all out on paper, I'm anxious to get it over with. Unfortunately, I'm still waiting for the various informational slips to arrive so that I can get started and I'm thinking that I shouldn't hold my breath for them to arrive anytime soon.

I don't know why I'm so anxious. I know we've done everything correctly and followed all the guidelines. Still, the combination of now filing as common-law (the romance of this overwhelms me), the change in residency during the year and the fact that we kept our house mean that I have at least one solid weekend ahead of me full of calculations, paperwork and the occasional frustration-induced screaming rant to Kurtis about how we should just say $%&@ it like everyone else and take our chances. But then the good play-by-the-rules girl will return, smooth the wrinkles from the tossed paperwork, tape the receipts back together, and fill in the little numbered boxes to the best of her abilities.

By the way - if you bank with TD, they are offering their customers 20% off QuickTax Web, which is a great way to file. For one, it's online and typing is more fun than pencils, which make my teeth hurt. Also, it checks for any missing information and guides you through your return, which makes it a lot easier. And most importantly, you can submit it to the CRA through 'My Account' and usually have your return in your bank account within a week. If you get a return, that is.