I Finally Saw The Loophole

I'm not usually a lover of "loopholes." I'm of the mindset that people should do what they say they are going to do and mean what they say.

Be transparent. Be truthful. Everyone should be treated equally with rules evenly applied across the board. There should be no loopholes. 

Except today I am thankful for the loophole I finally saw.

If you read my previous post,  Deferred Entitlement,  you know I was furious after  I received notification that, as a federal employee, I would be forced to endure a tax deferral I neither requested nor wanted. In fact, I  feel this tax deferral will ultimately harm the very people it was purportedly designed to assist.  I was so angry I did not read the whole  email. As a result  I missed the loophole.

But even without reading the whole document, I should have known there would be a loophole. Especially since the government is involved.

For the remainder of the year everyone with gross earnings below a certain threshhold each pay period will have a deferral of their OASDI (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) tax.  This is the tax that funds Social Security. On the suface the deferral seems like a good thing for folks stuggling to make ends meet thanks to Covid-19 and the resulting shitdiwns and job losses.  However, it's just a deferral until the first quarter of next year, at which time the OASDI tax withheld will be doubled until caught up. 

Politicians in this election year are teasing us with the possibility of the deferral being forgiven next year...if they remain in office. 

Humphft...the government reducing taxes?  First, IMHO every politician has an agenda and second, their promises--especially election year promises--are not worth the hot air it takes to speak them into existence.  To say  I'm skeptical the deferral will be  forgiven is a gross understatement.

But there is a loophole.

The loophole is clearly stated. I didn't even have to seach for it. I just needed to calm down long enough to be able to realize it was there.

This tax deferral will not be applied to anyone whose gross earnings are above a certain threshold. Unfortunately my gross earnings are normally less than the threshold  so it really won't help me.

Normally.

However, due to  working overtime at the Covid Screening Tent, my gross earnings, this first pay period of the deferral, are above the threshold.  In fact, my OASDI withheld this payperiod was actually 1.5 times what it normally is. 

Aha! The loophole. In order to avoid the tax deferral my gross earnings have to remain above the threashold.

So, my strategy to avoid this tax deferral is to continue to work the Covid Tent, and any  holidays between now and the end of the year.  These actions will inflate my gross earnings.

My OASDI will be larger, but so will my net pay--with the added bonus of not having double OASDI taken out next quarter when the unforgiven deferral comes due.

I can breath easier now that I have an Anti-Deferral Plan.

Of the remaining eight payperiods, three  have holidays. Hopefully,  the Covid Screening overtime will continue to be available through the rest of the year.  It dried up once before, when we contracted it out to another company, so it's not a given. But so far, so good.

As long as I can work overtime, this loophole may keep me from having to have an unwanted deferral crammed down my throat.

I've decided loopholes may not be so bad after all. Especially when they apply to me.

In fact, I'm kinda lovin' this particular loophole.

Temporarily Untethered

I am untethered--at least for the short term. The donut has been replaced. I can once again take a trip and drive at highway speeds. 

I cannot tell you how much that donut has cramped my lead foot day triper style this past weekend.  Especially since it occured over a holiday weekend.

I probably could have requested another loaner from the dealership, but I didn't want to press my luck. Two loaners. Two months in a row. To replace my SUV while they made lightweight repairs for which they typically don't give out loaners. I'm a good customer, which is why it was approved by management for the battery last month, but even I would have a hard time asking that favor again...for a tire. Especially since they ate the total cost of the replacement tire thanks to road hazzard insurance. 

Besides, instead of needing transportation overnight to go to work (both times), it would have actually been a five day loaner this time because they had to order the tire over the holiday weekend.

Nope. Didn't want to press my luck for those odds. 

I stayed home except to go to work and the pharmacy. And I only drove on the slower surface streets. I'll save the loaner favor for another car crisis.

Being stuck at home was actually a good thing. No projects were completed, but I got some much needed rest.

I had good project intentions. However, the clothes and linens still need to be washed. The house still needs to be cleaned. The unfinished projects remain unfinished. And I rested so much I lost a day--I woke up Monday thinking it was Sunday.

Since I slept so much,  I also managed to avoid any online purchases, although when I was awake Amazon.com sorely tempted me.

Today, after I lost the donut, I treated myself to a Route 44 DDP at Sonic.

As soon as I pulled into my slot a sheriff drove up behind me. Reflexively I yanked my foot off the floorboard even though I was already parked.  Some reflexes remain ingrained--even though the candles on my cake could keep a small village in good light.

Was it coincidence? Or did this LEO know my tire was fixed and I was itching for a ride on the open highway? Did he know I sometimes drive a little faster than the donut allows? Did he have access to a dealership snitch?  Am I still on the speed radar even though I've been keeping my nose clean and my foot riding a little lighter on the pedal the past couple years? Is there a ticket rotation--kind of like the Jury Duty rotation--and is my number up?  Again?  Is my SUV marked as a habitual speeder? Was he sniffing out the donut residue?

The questions flitted through my head at a warp speed Scotty would have beamed over.  They continued to buzz my brain until I saw the Trooper slide effortlessly into a street facing slot, roll down his window, and place his order.

He'd be at Sonic for a while.

Because I've seen the police working in tandem on Main Street the past few months, I was relatively sure another might be lurking nearby. On the way home I drove 5 under just to play it safe. 

I also kept my eyes on the lookout for new hideyholes, and avoided making the acquaintance of a local guy. The zippy little sports car that passed by wasn't quite as wallflowerish.

I may stay  close to home another day. Even with the new tire.  I might have to employee  a  voluntary self-tethering.

I can endure one more day of tethering....as long as it's temporary...and I can untether again... 

For a longer, faster drive...and another DDP.  😉

Deferred Enslavement

So it seems I'm to be gifted a forced, unwanted, Social Security tax deferral for the remainder of the year.  Worse yet,  because I am a Federal Employee, I am unable to opt out of it. 

Social Security is funded, at least in part, through the earnings tax called OASDI on your paystub. OASDI is the acronym for Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance.  It is based on 12.4% of the employees gross income.  The employer pays half and the employee pays the other 6.2%.

Be sure that you understand this tax deferral is not like the free gift of salvation that God offers to everyone, and each of us make a decision to accept or reject the offer--whether our decision is an active acceptance or rejection, or a passive refusal to make a decision, which is in fact a passive form of rejection.

No, this tax deferral is more like a totally inadequate loan, which you neither want nor asked for, being forced on you. And the repayment is a wage garnishment which occurs when you have the least amount of resources available. 

If you, or your employer opt in to this deferral, you will pay it back on federal government terms.

As a federal employee, I am not even allowed to opt out. So it truely is being forced on me.  Which means January through March I'll have twice the tax taken out to pay it back. At a time when I personally am traditionally already short on cash.  This is not good.  This is not a gift. 

Oh, a disciplined person will not touch the extra money in their paycheck for the  next four months. However, I am not disciplined. 

If I were disiplined I would not have 7 alarms set each morning.  My checking account would always remain black and my savings would be healthy.  I would not have a weight problem. I would always know what time it is, and I would diligently focus on  my plans rather than get sidetracked chasing rabbits.

However, I do chase rabbits. I get sucked into the 'net  hours at a time. I frequently arrive just-in-the-nick-of-time.  I am overweight. I hit the snooze multiple times each morning.  My checking account is anemic and my savings account is lean. I am by no stretch of the imagination disciplined. 

In fact, every pay period I have an additional $50 taken out to cover federal income taxes.  It's how I ensure I always have a small refund due me, and I never have to pay the IRS more in April.  If that $50 were still in my paycheck, I would spend it.  When I see this tax deferral I will spend it. I know myself too well to know I will do otherwise.

And spending it is what the federal government wants us to do. To bolster the economy. To give the workers breathing room. So they say.

Like many, I have more expenses during the holidays. Like many, I pay for a lot of those  expenses on my credit cards. Therefore, because I aim for zero balances, I'm typically paying more on credit card bills the first quarter of the year. 

I count on my IRS refund  each year to pay down any  remaining credit card bills. Or repairs, or tires, or tution or CE courses--you get the idea. 

In good years where I've made wise money choices, I use it to take a much needed vacation. Two years ago I combined my vacation with a workshop and study course. 

The need is different each year. The refund does not cover the need, but it catches me up and makes the first quarter bareable.

This social security deferral will have to be repaid during that period of the year that I am already cash strapped. So not only will I have my own poor spending to repay, I will also be forced to repay an unwanted, forced on, me deferral/loan.

In order for me to survive this "gift" I will have to be very tight with my spending the rest of the year. My tightness is going to aid in stiffling any business depending on my spending. Therefore, this tax deferral will not provide the relief or economic stimulus that a second stimulus check would provide. In fact, I believe this deferral will serve only to hurt the economy and enslave us.

Yeah, I know: the President says he will forgive the taxes and make the deferral permanent if he's re-elected; however, I don't believe that for a second. That is a campaign promise coming from a politician.

Politicians are not to be trusted or believed and campaign promises are not worth the hot air it takes to voice them.

This deferral will not induce me to spend more.  It will not bolster the economy around me.  In fact, it will have the opposite effect: I will pull back on my spending now, try to sock away a little bit more than 7% into a hard-to-access savings account,  and pray to God it is enough to pay expenses and increased taxes I will incur starting January.  Others will spend now with no thought  or plan of repayment until they are in a world of hurt next quarter. Many will turn to payday or personal loans to make ends meet. 

Be prepared. This tax deferral is not in your best interest. It is not in the best interest of small business.  

Whether this quarter or next quarter this tax deferral is designed to enslave not liberate.  

Summer Tire Chains

Tire chains are not just for icy winter driving. Sometimes they rear their ugly head during the Dog Days of Summer. 

Driving to work the past few days I  heard a thunk with every tire rotation. Because of my vast tire knowledge I figured since the pressure was holding it was probably a bubble that was getting ready to pop. I was trying to hold out until Saturday to have it checked out because I wanted to give the tire guy plenty of time to fix it.

It didn't hold out until Saturday. 

I left work early for my monthly B12 injection today. On the way to the clinic my low tire air icon came on and the sensors told me the problem tire was the front passenger side. The tire hadn't popped as I feared; however, the pressure was dropping. 

Since the tire pressure drop was fluctuating and not a fast straight drop, I figured the tire, and its pressure, would hold long enough for me to make my appointment then double back to the dealership to have it checked out.

It held, but I was going to end up being an end of the day repair after all.  On a Friday.  And a pre-holiday Friday to boot. 

Well, it's not a bubble.  It's also not a repair. 

Yep. It's a replacement.  

Somewhere along my covid-limited travels I picked up a nail.  In the sidewall. Because that's where I pick up all my nails. I guess I really need to stop driving on the sidewalks. Those sidewall nails are almost always irreparable. 

I told the Service Advisor I wanted Michelin tires, not that inferior Hankook that came on the SUV.

Honestly it seems like I  already replaced them, but then I remembered the last thing this SUV was in the shop for was the replacement battery. And I've only had this SUV three years, so I must be thinking about my last SUV. Darn. 

I prefer to replace all tires at one time--or at least by twos on the same axle. I'm having eaves replaced all the way around the house, so tires all the way around the SUV would stretch me thiner than I would be comfortable stretching on this fine payday.  Yep. I spend it as soon as I make it. Even when I try to save it. 

So I told the Service Advisor I needed it replaced, but I would only replace it with Michelin. That's when he told me I have  Michelin on the SUV.  It wasn't crazy after all--better yet--I have replaced all of the tires on this SUV already. 

Well that perked me right up.  

Surely, since I have replaced the tires that came on the SUV, my new tires should still be under warranty. Since the SUV is only three years old, the tires can't be more than a year or two. Tops.  If nothing else, they should prorate the replacement. Besides,  I usually buy Road Hazard  due to the mileage I put on my SUVs. Surely, pro rating and road hazard insurance would take care of a majority of the bill.

The Service Advisor  checked.  

I spent the money on Road Hazard. The replacement is  covered. 😃

Unfortunately, the dealership  does not have the tire in stock. They will  have to order it and have it delivered--and they won't be able to pop it on the rim until Tuesday. 

So, it looks like I will be taking no road trips this  long holiday weekend.

And to add insult to injury, I'm having to run on the donut tire, so I can't drive fast or far.  I'm really teathered to home.  Not even a day trip for this girl. ☹

And because when it rains it pours...it has started raining.  Really.  On my night to work the Covid Tent.  

I need to take a nap. At least the rain is good sleeping weather. And good staying home weather.

On the brighter side, I can make it to work tonight without having to obtain a rental or ask the dealership for another loaner. And the cost of the replacement tire is covered.

All in all it could be a lot worse. 

I'm pleased. Even if I am to be  chained to the homestead for the weekend.

Mabye the weekend weather will clear and TheGirls and I will make a break for freedom and go for a walk.  

Or three.  

Here's to breaking tire chains...