Spidell's Tax Season Tribune

Spidell’s Tax Season Tribune: Farewell until 2026!

By Diane Fuller

Contributing Editor

Another Tribune season is coming to a close as April 15, 2025, fast approaches. Congratulations on almost crossing the finish line!

Have you noticed that among our Tribune topics, food plays a significant role? From timeless tax time treats to national Egg McMuffin Day to caffeine and ayahuasca, to “good snacks that change weekly with a combination of healthy and some not-so-healthy,” per Mike Giangrande — it’s clear that a successful tax season is both sweet and savory.

So it’s appropriate that everyone say farewell to the Tribune for now and toast filing season survival with some special cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. Click here and let the celebrations begin!

Starting next week, Spidell’s California Minute^® podcast returns for its 10th season. Spidell’s Federal Tax Minute^® follows on April 22.

We look forward to staying connected and providing you with everything you need to know about California and federal tax issues.

In the meantime, relax with a cheese puff.

Return of the PEEPs

By Sandy Weiner, J.D.

Contributing Editor

It’s been a couple of years since we’ve sweetened the Tribune with a PEEP delight. But have no fear, PEEPs are returning this year in style ... and I mean literally in style.

We know people are regularly tuned in to the annual “PEEPs show” where people can put their Peepsonality on full display by creating art pieces and dioramas with PEEPs:

www.peepsbrand.com/art-diorama-contests/

There are a plethora of PEEPs recipes, including ones for a PEEPtini and PEEP Jello-shots, which will definitely come in handy on April 15:

www.delish.com/holiday-recipes/easter/g3312/peeps-hacks/

But some people are taking PEEPs to a whole new level and are coming out with PEEP clothing, using actual PEEPs:

www.facebook.com/craftymorning/posts/save-those-peeps-so-you-can-get-started-on-your-easter-dress-credit-httpswwwinst/661486856217294/

www.lovetosewstudio.com/take-a-look-at-this-peep-fashion-show/

Being the doomsdayer that I can be, one of my first thoughts (after “wow, people really went there”) was “I just hope there are no April showers” because that could give a whole new meaning to a “PEEP show” …. Ba dum dum.

Tax, taxidermy… same thing

Recently, Chip Leighton, author of New York Times Bestseller “What Time is Noon,” shared on Instagram some classic texts from kids (who were attempting to handle their own taxes) to their parents.¹ The children are our future, and they want to know:

Do I just give the tax guy my WD40?
What do you use for taxes? Geico?
Do I just take my stuff to the taxidermist’s office?
I thought W2 was a band.
Am I a ward of the state?
Have I ever worked for the railroad?
Do we live in a halfway house?

A few final tax season punishments

Thanks to everyone who submitted creative ways to punish those tax clients who make things more difficult than they should be during tax season. Here are a few final punishments suggested by Stacie D.:

“I want to hang water balloons on the ceiling above where the clients sit. I also want a remote control to release them. Because for some reason, almost everyone I ask about business miles seems to think it’s written up on the ceiling above them! If the balloons were to drop and peg them once, or twice, they’d remember this is supposed to be documented and supported…and it’s not written on my ceiling.

I would love to hand out, free of charge, a gift bag of manure for every farmer who has sales of $10,100-$10,300 every single year.

A tube of lipstick for the clients who bring in numbers that we call “Revlon.” Because it is all make up.

And tiny fiddles for all the clients that balk about bringing in proof for due diligence for child tax credits. According to them, we’re the ONLY place that requires this. Um, yeah, ok.”

A few fun facts about this week’s writers:

Diane Fuller loves to read, cook, and go to Ketchum/Sun Valley, Idaho, as many times as possible during the year with her family including grandkids and dogs.

Sandy Weiner, J.D., as California editor, loves all things California. Whether it's hiking at Big Sur or playing at the beach in San Diego where she lives, Sandy takes full advantage of all that California has to offer as a way to clear her head after trying to comprehend and explain California's Revenue & Taxation Code.

Austin Lewis loves music and the outdoors, and if he’s not going to a concert you can probably find him on a hike somewhere. Last summer he traveled to Peru, where he spent seven days on the Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu.

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