Notice anything unusual? Zoom in and scroll all the way over. Anyone remember the two Waffle Houses right by each other in Monroe? Yes, there are two H&R Block offices within 100’ of each other in a strip center in west Little Rock. For a few minutes last Tuesday, this added just a little bit more anxiety to the stress of doing my taxes at the last minute. First, I should say that I did not just procrastinate and avoid doing taxes. I diligently collected my W-2s and filled out a draft 1040 in February, which relieved my fear that I had grossly underpaid and would owe lots of money with penalties. (Think goodness this has never happened, but I still worry about that sort of thing.) However, last year (2007) was complicated, so a few of my forms were missing in February when I did the preliminary run, and I knew I would have to wait a while for them. So I waited and inquired and waited and waited. And finally, in late March, the last two forms – two K-1s – came in. I foolishly thought that I would be able to incorporate the details from these forms into the work I had already done and that I could finish my taxes that weekend. I also foolishly thought that I would be able to mow the lawn that weekend. Neither of these things happened. It rained, and I read through scary rules about limited basis and passive loss exceptions. The K-1s advised me to consult my tax advisor.
So on Monday, I made an appointment with H&R Block. Their website had short bios of the tax professionals at each location, and so I was able to select someone nearby who sounded like he would be able to aptly handle my possibly complicated situation. (My first choice’s first available time was on April 14th, so I went with choice number two on April 8th – right before a five-day out-of-town trip from the 9th to the 13th.)
Tuesday, April 8th, arrived with very bad weather, following even worse weather – tornadoes and flooding – that had come through midtown Little Rock over the previous weekend. I braved the rains, though, and drove from my office across town, passing tarp-covered roofs and fallen trees that had been cleared from the roads. The trip that should have taken about 20 minutes took 45, but I arrived at West Chase Plaza with a few minutes to spare. Very quickly I spotted the green H&R Block letters and luckily snagged a parking place right by the door.
When I dashed in, I was greeted with a madhouse and a rumble. There were about a dozen poorly divided cubicles where frazzled-looking tax preparers were shouting to communicate with downtrodden-looking, average folks who had shown up for tax help, probably not expecting – but at this point maybe not caring – that their personal financial details were not remaining particularly private. These were the folks lucky enough to have made it through the long line. Past the poorly divided cubicles there were probably fifty chairs, all filled, with people standing elsewhere. This appeared to be the kind of operation like the Department of Motor Vehicles where you pull a number and wait for your turn. It did not look like the kind of place where you could schedule an appointment. However, also past the cubicles, on the far side of the room from the door, there was a reception desk with someone trying to greet me. I decided to be optimistic and told her I was here for my 6:00 appointment with Mr. Tax that I had scheduled online over a week ago. She just shook her head no, seemed very confused – but with a twinge of worry like maybe she could get in trouble over this – and told me that she had no idea who Mr. Tax was or what I was talking about. I could take a number and wait, though, if I wanted. I produced my printed confirmation, which she also shook her head at and again offered me a number. All of this head shaking had taken several minutes by this point, and I was frustrated since I knew my situation was complicated and since I needed to be packing for tomorrow’s trip. Finally the receptionist made the offhand remark that there was another H&R Block location in the same shopping center (!!!!) . Was it in walking distance, I asked, looking out at the rain. Yes, she said, it was just a few storefronts to the north. Hmmmmm. I headed back out and scurried between awnings trying to protect my papers from the rain.
The store to the north had signage designating it as a Premium Office. There was a reception desk with no one there, many chairs for visitors – all empty, and a hallway leading to actual offices with walls. No cubicles were visible. There were nice, glossy pieces of corporate literature and free ledger books to keep track of next year’s expenses. Other than me, there appeared to be one more person present. She was in a front office with glass windows that looked out to the reception area, and her door was welcomingly open. She politely told me hello, asked me if I was Mr. Tax’s appointment, told me she was sure he would be there soon, and invited me to take a seat.
So I waited...and waited. After about ten minutes, she decided she would check in with Mr. Tax. Turned out, he would be another 45 minutes. (At this point, I was especially worried because a few days before, I had learned that my co-worker with a similar tax situation had spent three hours at another H&R Block office trying to make sense of the K-1s. His advisor told him that his taxes were the most difficult she had ever prepared and had considered turning him away at the beginning.) Since Mr. Tax was uncharacteristically late, Ms. Tax, who apparently was the supervisor at the office, decided to look over my forms herself. She didn’t see anything difficult, even the K-1s, though she acknowledged that some tax advisors could be “skittish” about them. She took the forms and my phone numbers to leave for Mr. Tax, promising that they would be ready when I returned from my five-day trip on the 14th.
I can’t say that my forms were really ready on the 14th, but they were ready today. I fought the traffic and lines at the post office and mailed them with several hours to spare. My federal tax return was fourteen pages long, and I paid H&R Block –not at all begrudgingly – with the check that happened to be next in line – number 1040 – on April 15th.
