If u dont eat ur meat u kant have ne pudding

Time to do taxes again.

Whip Out the newest version of TurboTax and go for it.
Fed Tax, State Tax, Deductions, W2, W4, 1099, Long Form Short Form
Itemized, Receipts, Donations, Health Deductions, Dependencies, Mortgage Tax Credit

Fine. Uncle Sam, Governor Jan, and Sheriff Joe...what's mine is yours, what's yours is.....
Oh, but there is $400.00 they are not going to get. $400.00 I can feel better about.

I'm talking the Arizona School Tax Credit. $200.00 individual, or $400.00 for a married couple that I can donate directly to the school extra curricular activity or character education program of my choice. With recent cuts to education funding in the Statue of Arizona, Teachers and students need all the help and funding they can get.

The kicker is, you can't think of it as a donation. Because the $400.00 ($200.00) check you write is a Tax Credit. That means at the end of the year when you are doing your income taxes and you owe money to the State...you can directly subtract this 'donation' from the taxes you owe. Sort of a no-brainer if you believe in any of the extra-curricular or character eduction programs offered in the Arizona School Districts. Band or Orchestra, Sports, Clubs, Choir, Field Trips, Science Camps...the list goes on and on...there is bound to be some organization at a local school near you that floats your boat.

The last couple years my daughter has been pretty involved with the FFA program at Highland High School. This is a terrific program, character building, skill building, social skills building. I never knew anything about this organization until she dragged me to a couple meetings. Very very much more worthy of my $400.00 bucks then the state general fund. Then in years past, there was band and choir, and science camp. All worthy of my $400.00. It helps me feel much more connected to my community when I know my tax dollars are being spent on something worthy, something local, and something educational.

So, you don't have a school age child? That's ok. Relatives, neighbors, people in your church, bunko buddies, ask around, someone can direct you to a worthy school fund. I think it is a great investment of your tax dollars.

Did I mention it was a TAX credit?

Cheers, nca