Thursday, April 30, 2009

Lessons never learnt...

Just like the previous years, I HAD to wait till the last minute to submit my income tax returns. But, this year, the experience has somewhat been a kind of "blood-goes-upstairs" experience for me because of a few things -

Firstly - I decided to do my e-filing at 9:05a.m yesterday morning, thinking that it would only take half an hour (at the most), and I would be on time to reach the office at 10:15a.m. after sending Hilman to my MIL's. The problem started when my EA annual salary statement which all this while I thought was in my office bag, was NOT there when I wanted to do the e-filing. This resulted in the bedroom looking like a hurricane had just passed through it when I finished with turning everything in the room inside out and upside down to find that piece of paper, ONLY to find it NOT in the bedroom, but downstairs in the livingroom - in one of Hasya's paperbags... I must have put it there as a temporary measure earlier this month, only to have forgotten all about it. Nasib baik lah jumpa...

Secondly - I also had to search for all the insurance statements, and relevant receipts which I knew I had kept somewhere safe. Too safe in fact, sampai tak terjumpa! Spent about half an hour rummaging through all the letters received in the last 4 months. After finding them, of course, I had to decide which ones should be used for my filing, and which ones to be used for Ayah's. I decided to just use one policy for myself, and the rest of the policies, i.e. Ayah's and the kids' should go under Ayah's filing as he needs as many tax exemptions as possible so as to avoid paying a bomb for his income tax this year.

Thirdly - I happily clicked on the LHDN E-filing link, only to be asked to provide my Password before I could proceed. Aaaarrggghh! I totally forgot about it! So I tried my luck with a few probable passwords which I might have chosen for last year's e-filing rigmarole. Nope - none was accepted :( The problem was - I even forgot the answers to the challenge phrases to retrieve my password in the event I should forget my password - which obviously was not much of a help, huh?

Questions like -

"What's your favourite food?" Errr...too many to mention here, mate!

"What's your mother's name?" Errr...she has two names, by the way. And do you want her binti as well?

"Which primary school did you go to?" Errrr...you want the FULL name or just the initials?!

"What was your first transport?" Errr...I've forgotten whether I registered it as "Perodua", "Kembara", or "BMW"? Coz' my first transport memang BMW pun - Bas Mini Wilayah"...

Aawwwhhh, maaan?!

So how?!

So, I had to call this particular number to get a new password.

Fourthly - calling that number, or rather, WAITING for a human being to answer my call PERSONALLY (rather than a computer-prompted voice) took nearly an hour, and I had to call the number at least 6 times because the phone kept on getting cut-off! And finally, when I did manage to speak to a human being, it was another waiting game.

Because, fifthly - after successfully accessing the E-Borang with the new password, and after clicking on "Simpan & Teruskan" everytime I wanted to proceed to the next page, again I had to wait for nearly half an hour after every "Simpan & Teruskan", and that did not include the times when I had to fill in the pages again when suddenly out popped the "This page cannot be displayed" notification. Memang banyak kali I dah nak nangis semalam...

Sixthly - not wanting to abandon the mission after waiting for so long, I persevered, walaupun hati ni menyumpah-nyumpah! Mind you, I was not cursing the LHDN people. I was cursing myself for leaving it to the last minute! Tak serik-serik...

I FINALLY completed and submitted it at about 1:35p.m. And because I did not want to abandon the mission, especially when I had finally managed to access the E-Borang, Hilman had to miss school yesterday. His Mommy just could not possibly leave the gruelling task of filling in the E-Borang halfway just to send him to school, could she?! Of course NOT!

Seventhly - my PCB payment was short lah pulak for last year, unlike the previous years when the LHDN owed me money! So, this time around, I had to pay the balance. And thus, another waiting game began - nak buat E-payment lah pulak...And you guessed it - itu pun macam SIPPPUUUUUUTTT!!! Waited for nearly half an hour!

So, eighthly, I decided to make the payment manually. Went to send Hilman to my MIL's house at 3:00p.m., and went straight to CI*B and payment was finally made at 4:15p.m...

LEGAAAA....It's a nice feeling when you don't owe the government any money, kan? If not, takut nanti tak leh gi holiday overseas...Hehehe! But, of course, it's even nicer if we get the check from LHDN returning our overpaid tax, kan? ;))

Another thing I lega - it's a good thing that starting last year Ayah is only required to do his tax returns in June. If not, lagi haru I...

I just hope, there won't be a repeat of this next year.

But, but, but...Don't be surprised if this time next year, there'll be a cut and paste of this posting ajer coz' I'm pretty sure I'll be doing the exact same thing again ;)

Hehehe...

33 comments:

Kak Ezza@makcik Blogger said...

tu ler,
macam macam hal lh kalau buat kerja last minit...dan saya tau bukan you sorang,,ada juta juta yang macam u..tu la pasal nak d/load semua macam siput..hahaha
My abang pun ada masaalah pasal password ni...nasib baik ada no yang boleh di panggil 24 jam sehari...dan mengikut borang tu, Aziz terlebih bayar...tapi last week datang surat yang mereka akan buat siasatan dulu...huh! gomen ni ..kalau dia hutang kita..kena tunggu lama baru dapat..tapi kalau kita hutang dia..kena hambat sampai lubang cacing!

dillazag said...

K Shana,
Sila belajar dari kesilapan lalu. Jangan lah menjadi Lil Miss Procrastinator.. Kan dah siksa.. hihihihihihihi
Nasib baik e-filing saya berjaya dioutsource sepenuihnya kepada my hubby's Admin Manager yang juga merupakan ex-pekerja sebuah tax agency. Yee-ha!!

MAMAMIA said...

Shana,

There's always next year.... & year after that.

An added excitement to our lifes. Kurang2 ada benda yg nak di blogkan...

IBU said...

Ahhhh.... best nyer cerita ni.... hehehe.... it only further entrench the notion that we strongly uphold: birds of the same feather flock together-gether. kenapa lah kita suka sangat naik satu bot kan? kahkahkah....

Sorry fren, didn't mean to laugh at ur misfortune. just that, it feels much healthier when you have company for that same kind of "learn to laugh at ourselves" reminder - just to maintain our sanity.

I went thru almost similar senak perut experience tau. I wanted to do it earlier - like one night earlier . HAHAHAHA!!! Then that night balik lambat sbb prepare for mtg the day after, so i just left my bagasi komputer riba kat office. Half way sampai traffic lights realised, jerung - my EA form in the bag pocket!!! So went home that night with kata-kata manis to Ayah. hehehe.

So I brought it home the night after. Tapi dah ngantuk, tak buat.

Exactly the same morning you did yours, I did mine too I think. Tapi earlier, before 7.30 am. Samelah lupa password. Nama anak ker? birthdate ke? nama kucing ker? Had to call 911 ( i.e. AYAH!!!!!! Tolong lahhhh..... ). So Mr Ayah to the rescue ( rupanya dia pun tak buat lagi!!! hampeh...... ). Nasib baik la nama mak ku pendek. So replacement password pronto. One that I will surely forget again in 1 year's time.

I simply maximise all allowable exemptions sbb last year dah kira and memang terlebih so okay lah tu. Except for ubat for Bapak - half only. Zakat under Ayah. Donations lain2 takde.

And because LHDN had erroneously summoned me to pay extra via CP38 early last year, so ended up they now owe me almost exactly the same amount yg I bayar ansur-ansur tuh! SO hopefully they will credit asap laaaa pls. I won't charge them interest.

So the sweat was over on that one.

BUt as you know, this morning I was presented with another 'procrastinator' challenge. kahkahkah.... pagi2 buta dah kena call another talian hayat!!! Kesian kawan I. Worthy of a blog entry u think?

kay_leeda said...

Wanshana,

Ehh..kalu tak procrastinate tak trill lerrr!! No worries there are many out there who share the same story such as yours.

I'm kinda lucky coz hubby is not a BIG TIME procrastinator like me. Had it been me, sure tak sempat nak make it by midnite 30/4.

Shyyyy...tell you a secret ahhh. People like us who religiously monthy make the PCB deductions, Taxman tak cari sangat. It's those biz people yang they are very strict with. So relax lah eh....next year boleh buat last minute lagi :D

Naz in Norway said...

Well done, Shana!
Ini hadiah dari I :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqrBYRCxy2E

Anonymous said...

salam,

YAY!!! you've done it!!!

now you can enjoy the weekend :)

*hugs*

Madam Tai Tai Again said...

Hehehe...I've never done any tax filing in my entire working life. Hubby did it all for me. The only time I went to LHDN was in 2005, and that was to inform them that I would not be eligible for paying tax anymore since I've stopped work indefinitely (or is it definitely now?).

I guess it is a mad frenzy in Malaysia now with everyone rushing to file before the deadline expires. Glad that you managed to do it this year! Look forward to another repeat next year in your blog..

Pi Bani said...

Mana tak slownya... almost everybody dok tunggu last minute baru nak submit online, tak upaya lah server nak cope!

Don't forget to wait until 30th June to submit Ayah's returns, ya? No thrill la submit earlier :)

Amy said...

Kak Shana, Amy buatkan untuk my dad I think on 20th April, and it was an easy 10 minutes task. So, I procrascinate mine sampai 29th April, perghh slowwwwww gilos, every time 'Simpan & Teruskan', I had to reload the page. It took me 3 hours to complete..padan muka sendiri. Er, ada deadline ke kena bayar tax tu eh? Hanguss duit

wanshana said...

Kak Ezza,

Sebab juta-juta orang yang lambat macam siput nak file income tax, tu sebab lepas tu dapat server pun macam siput...Hahaha!

Wah, seronok nih - Abg Aziz terlebih bayar! I heard that some of those yang filed their returns awal hari tu, within 2 weeks dah dapat their cheques from LHDN, Kak Ezza. Ada chance nak jolly lepas ni, ya? ;)

wanshana said...

Dilla,

What to do? "Procrastinator" is my middle name, sis ;)

Your hubby's Admin Manager tu ada buat perkhidmatan luar kawasan tak? Kalau ada, can we pinjam him/her every year masa semua orang kemaruk income tax? At least one less worry for us, Hehehe!

wanshana said...

Mamamia,

Setuju!! ;)

But, I wouldn't call it as "excitement", though. More like "penyakit cari sendiri"...Hahaha!

wanshana said...

Ibu,

Ya, itulah antara kriteria-kriteria yang perlu dipenuhi untuk menjadi ahli MT. Mari kita sama-sama gelakkan diri sendiri. Hehehe!

As for me, my parents medical expenses semua bagi kat Yong, books purchases if both Haizal and I use to the max each pun, boleh bring forward the balance to the next few years, but unfortunately - tak buleh :(, Insurance, I give him the max he can take, and balance dapat kat I :) The rest of the pelepasan saya serahkan kepada dia...

So, you nanti dapat cheque from LHDN jangan lupa jemput kengkawan, ya? :)

I tergelak sesorang lepas dapat your phonecall pepagi buat hari tu...Dok teringat incident Haizal naik plane on his expired passport and also when he discovered it had expired just days before his trip somewhere dulu...Memang salah satu lagi kriteria untuk menjadi clan MT...

Yes, Ibu - worthy of a blog entry ;)

wanshana said...

Kay,

Betul tu! Hilang nikmat hidup kalau tak buat kerja-kerja last minute ni, kan?!

For me, masalahnya adalah, I'm also Ayah's PA when it comes to filing returns ni. Tapi, tak per lah - he's willing to take the risks...EVERY year. Hehehe!

I know what you mean. But, selalunya, kita yang religiously dok bayar our tax ni lah yang selalu rasa bersalah kalau our payment tak cukup or not made on time, kan? (even though tak le banyak mana pun hutang kita tu!). Those yang owe LHDN beratus ribu/juta-juta, buak deeeerrrkkk aje year in year out. Tak per lah - itu hal dioghang. Tak nak masuk campur :)

Anyway - YES! Next year saya buat lagi ;)

wanshana said...

Naz,

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Thanks so much for the hadiah! My blood will surely go upstairs if I were to come across that Siputman crossing my path...Mau I simbah 2 kilo garam on him...Hehehe!

wanshana said...

Murni,

Thank you, dear :)

Yup, can enjoy the long weekend...tapi ada sikit lagi exam scripts dok melambai-lambai kat I tu...

Hope you, Hi*mi and the kids will have a great time over there, too.

(By the way, Li*da Al*p is Kak Ab*d's sister! Small world, huh? :))

wanshana said...

Hi Gina,

Are you back in Malaysia already?

Hmmmm, lucky you :) As for me, as far as I could remember, it has always been me who has been doing the returns for both of us.

But, LHDN is pretty efficient and you wouldn't face any major problems or issues when you deal with them - IF you don't leave everything to the last minute like me, that is. Hehehe!

I look forward to do a repeat posting of this next year, too ;)

wanshana said...

Kak Pi,

Yes - memang I nak tunggu sampai last minute. This time, instead of a day before, I nak buat on the LAST day itself - pukul 4:00 ptg.

Kalau seminggu lepas tu I tak buat any postings, maknanya I masuk hospital lah tu...Hehehe!

Have a good weekend, Kak Pi :)

wanshana said...

Amy,

Memang - akak pun asyik kena reload page ajer everytime "Simpan & Teruskan". Tapi, tak leh nak menyumpah lah, kan? Memang sendiri cari masalah...Hehehe!

I'm not sure if there's any deadline to pay our taxes, but I would normally pay on the day I file my returns, which of course would be on the last or second last day of filing :) Senang - just get it over and done with.

I know that if we submit our forms lambat, kena fine (RM300?), but, I've never really thought about whether there's a deadline to pay our taxes. I just assume that we need to pay on the last day of filing.

All the best to you!

Have a good weekend, dear :)

hanakirana said...

hahahahaha! kelakar la baca, especially part Questions to answer tu.

Desert Rose said...

Akak,

I mg slalu last minute doing almost everything in my entire life....tak reti2 nak berubah.

First time I buat cepat & awal was completing my borang nikah, my dad even shook my hand saying 'this is d first time u are early"

Duhhh nampak sangat kemiangan tu kan

Ada geng yeahhh

wanshana said...

Hanakirana,

Sekarang bila baca, memang macam kelakar...tapi, hari tu sungguh tak kelakar, okey?! :)

Hari tu, kepala rasa besar, rasa panas, telinga rasa berdesing, jantung memang macam ada palpitations segala! Sikit lagi tak keluar asap ikut hidung...

Dalam Dakapan Ibu said...

Dear Shana,
Tahun depan buat lagi na? LOL! Memang best work under pressure ni, baru ada ummph, tak gitu?

I pun macam you jugak selalunya. Tahun ni nasib baik lah I nak tukar maid, so the agency mintak our BE forms. So dgn kelamkabutnya I buat, jadi awallah I submit tahun ni. Next year tak tau lah :P

wanshana said...

Desert Rose,

HI-5!!! :)

I think kat dunia ni memang banyak species macam kita ni - kalau tak procrastinate, hidup macam tak complete, macam tak der makna.

Anyway, I pun masa bab-bab nak kawin dulu memang cepat ajer semua selesai. Sebabnya there was only a window of 10 days for Ayah to come home from UK for the nikah and the 2 receptions. So, I had to make sure everything was in order awal-awal lagi...Takut tak leh nikah pulak, kan? Gigit jari sampai putus pulak nanti, kan?

(Ya, rasanya memang juga sebab ada semacam kemiangan masa tu...Hahaha!)

wanshana said...

Ja,

Memang - I'm pretty confident that next year will just be a repeat of this year!

As far as I could remember, sejak mula kerja, before kawin, lepas kawin, dah beranak tiga, memang selalu dok file returns within the last 2 days. Never earlier than that. Penyakit kot? Penyakit cari sendiri...Hahaha!

MrsNordin said...

That's the very reason why I still do mine manually. Always leave it at the very last minute which I'm sure would take ages to get through the e-filing. In the end, I did it first thing on 31st morning and submited it in the afternoon at MPAJ.

wanshana said...

BJ,

I ni - e-filing or manually pun sama ajer...Mesti last minute jugak! Hehehe! Memang suke mencabar kesabaran sendiri :)

MamaEta said...

Shana dear..u never fail to amuse me w ur memacam descriptive 'essay'/events...hihi!!...

a stay home mum like me...minta tulung ngan my ch' abang..kol 2 pagi hari tu...siput gak lah...tapi tak dak ape nak declare....follow the rule..submit gak..rase cam kelakar gak!

AuntieYan said...

Salam Wan,

Alhamdulillah, semua dah settled.

N'tah angin baguih apa yang melanda Auntie, tahun ni, awal-awal lagi Auntie dah buat e-failing tu...he!...he!...sungguh kacang tak sampai 10 minit, semua beres....sebabnya, hak tahun lepas semua Auntie print out and simpan dalam laci ofis. Gaji pulak dah bertahun-tahun tak de ubah apa-apa...(gaji dah sampai dinding)...:-)

wanshana said...

Eta,

Masa buat e-filing tu, it wasn't amusing at all tau... :(

Waaaah, bagusnya you. Warganegara mithali gitew...Hehehe!

wanshana said...

Salam Aunty Yan,

Seronoknya tengok Aunty bertandang kat sini :)

Tahniah for being amongst the first few ones yang buat e-filing awal-awal. Tak ramai yang boleh jadi member of this Club. Exclusive gitew...Hehehe!

Hmmmm, Shana pun simpan last year's submission, all the slip gaji, statements, receipts segala dalam laci/bag. Masalahnya - I used BEBERAPA lacis and BEBERAPA plastic bags! So, dah lupa lah pulak laci/bag yang mana satu :)

AuntieYan said...

Salam Wan,

He!...he!...Auntie selalu datang bertandang ke sini, cuma tak tinggal jejak ( or, ada sekali dua kot)...psssttt...baca habis kisah cinta you tu kah!..kah!...