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It's That Time Again

Ah, we have arrived in March, the third month of the year, AND the month in which tax returns for 2023 begin in the Netherlands. You can file a tax return from March 1. Because I was so good last year and declared my crypto earnings, the tax authorities were kind enough to send me an invitation for the next tax return this year. Now the letter very kindly states that it is an invitation, but of course, they mean nothing other than that you are obliged to report the crime. So if you were to ask me today what I did today, I would tell you that I have been working on that tax return. That annual party that everyone looks forward to... said no one ever.

Hive Is Income

Since my Hive earnings count as income here, I have to crunch through quite a few numbers. So here I am, with my nose in my Excel file, the contents of which I requested from Waivio's advanced tax reports. Copied into an Excel file and then it is simply formulas, formulas, and more formulas until ultimately 365 days of Hive have been processed... And that is because our government is so eager to know what I have earned. If possible, they would also want to know how much I spent, but ultimately what matters is how much I owe them. It's unbelievable that I have to put in so much effort for that pleasure. Unfortunately, it's the same... but you can imagine that I feel screwed, and without being able to experience the pleasure.

My Reward For Being A Good Girl

Before I started Hive I didn't have to file a tax return, I didn't earn enough, and they knew what I earned anyway because every employer neatly reports it. When I started Hive, I didn't immediately file a tax return, but I didn't want to continue taking that risk, so I dutifully filed a retroactive tax return. I neatly paid my taxes, and well, the result is that I am now obliged to continue filing returns. Great!

@Waivio Advanced Tax Reports

Now, fortunately for me (and for every other Hive user filing their taxes), reports of Waivio exist. This handy tool tells you exactly how much you've earned on Hive. It's seriously an amazing invention, but I'm someone who never wants to blindly trust technology, so I check every detail... After all, it's my money. And I prefer not to pay a cent too much to the government. They already take more than enough.

Numbers & Formulas

So here I sit, with my Excel file open, ready to process my 365-day Hive earnings. A little something, right? Well, not really, a file of more than 9000 lines in which the necessary formulas have to work because Hive does not always have the same value. And to make it easy, neither does HBD. They fluctuate quite a bit, the tax authorities don't give a damn whether I've earned 10,000 Hive, even 10,000 HBD doesn't mean anything to them. But the euro value at the time of earning is what they are concerned about. And so I have to calculate all that. I could say that I had earned 4000 Hive for the entire year, but then no one knows how much that is in Euros yet, and if I were to use today's value I would be shooting myself in the foot... because in 2023 we have not had many days when we were at this value. Days of 29 cents, for example. So you get the picture, it's really important to check every detail every day. Then suddenly those more than 9,000 rules are no longer such a trifle. I know that I will make it before the declaration deadline has expired, after all, I still have almost 2 months. But to say that I feel happy now... No, you could say that I feel a bit frustrated.

I Can Only Blame Myself

And then the question arises, who can I blame for this chaos? Unfortunately, the answer is "no one but myself." I should have just kept track of it monthly. But as the saying goes: why do something today if you can put it off tomorrow? Oh wait, that's the other way around. Well, believe me, the first one is my talent, it really is. And especially when I don't feel like doing something, I am very good at postponing the task. Am I the only one playing this game?

Life Ain't Easy

Anyway, enough self-pity. The tax return waits for no one. So while my partner is watching a horror movie (that fits with my mood actually), I will dive into the numbers and formulas again... Life ain't easy! And as it looks now, I can donate a nice amount to our government again, it will be somewhere in the neighborhood of 900 euros. Yes, I know, for many of you here it's a pittance, for me it takes hard work to earn that. I'll never like it, but I can't change it either. So that means making sure I keep HBD on hand for my tax return reserve fund. How charming, I much preferred to spend that at something else. but hey, that's life too.

Prepare For Next Year

And while I'm at it, let me start preparing for the next round of financial frustration. Next year's tax return... after all, we've already had 2 months. If I keep track of what I earn via Hive every month this year, then next March it won't suddenly be such a big job. I'm curious how long I can keep that intention, what do you think?

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