Rather than a mask, Ernest wants to see what hides beneath the false persona. By not adopting what they truly are, the person hides themselves and never leaves the shell. The result is a double identity, one a lie and one an unspoken truth.

This topic even comes up in rap – Meek Mill breaks character in “The Ride” to express his thoughts on life’s challenges to black youth.

Sometimes we miss the forest for the trees, letting sadness take over when we are surrounded by happiness and positivity. Even though the “sunbeams,” good things, shine down on them, they can only see the darkness and cry out. In reality, darkness is the tiny minority.

See: “paid”

This is by-the-books alimony, so it must be legal, contractual, and normally paid (cash/check/money order). Child support and other versions do not count, just pure alimony. Simple.

This comes from the IRS federal forms, so it already exists.

1040

Line 36

Line 28 is a monster, and probably where you will spend most of your time on the 1040A. The breakdowns are not simple – there are other forms of taxes and charts used to make sure that everything that you paid gets counted. This is in your benefit, but requires that you do some work. The IRS can do this for you in most cases, but learn how to do it – it’s fun!

Head to page 34 of the instructions to find the data and worksheets. Then plug in the result.

Your spouse messed it all up! If you are married and decided to file separately, and your spouse decided to itemize, you’re out of luck – no standard deduction for you. Just check the box for 23b and put “0” in 24. You’re done here.

The most important number on the form. Thankfully, it’s more simple math.

Take Line 15, your total income, and subtract from it Line 20, your total adjustments**.

Congrats! You have what folk in the industry call an AIG!

This is a little more dicey, because everything is not included! Be careful – only some of the numbers listed are taxable. Look only at the far right column!

7 – Wages, salaries, tips, etc.

8a – Taxable interest

9a – Ordinary dividends

10 – Capital gain distributions

11b – Taxable amount of IRA distributions

12b – Taxable amount of pensions and annuities

13 – Unemployment/Alaska Fund

14b – Taxable amount of Social Security

Here’s where it gets messy and you have to know what you invest in. For most, knowing whether you qualify for qualified dividends required you, a financial planner, and a tax expert. It is worth it to know: certain dividends, when held for long periods of time under the right circumstances, do not get taxed at the higher income rate. Instead, they are taxed as capital gains, saving you some real money.

Read up on the details and find a pro – it can pay for itself.