Those Who Write the Tax Code and Design the Forms Should be Required to Do their Own Taxes

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I'm quite sure that those who write the tax code and design the forms hire someone else to do their taxes. If they had to face what I did they might change those forms. Case in point. For years I used my Volvo in my book business as I bought collections and transported books for shipping. Since I was a sole proprietor, I filed my vehicle information on Schedule C. I had used my car for that business since the day I bought it. Some years I claimed my vehicle expenses and some years I didn't do it because I had enough deductions without them. In 2016 we used the Volvo to make business trips to a property in Ventura County -- 360 miles round trip. We also had expensive car repairs during the year for that car. It seemed smarter to try to claim actual expenses, but since my previous use of the car was on Schedule C, not Schedule E for rental properties, I couldn't supply some information the Schedule E Form asked about the car that the Schedule C Form did not ask. I had always used standard mileage on Schedule C, but Schedule C did not have questions about the depreciation of the vehicle and didn't figure it. There is a rule that in order to use standard mileage deductions, you have to use standard mileage the first year the car is in service. After that, you can choose whether to deduct using standard mileage or actual expenses for your business use of your personal vehicle. I wanted to put in the form that I had used the Volvo in the rental business since the day I got it, but I didn't always claim expenses for it. But I could not do that. To do that I had to enter the depreciation from one of the years I'd used standard mileage. But I had only used it on Schedule C, not Schedule E, and so there was no depreciation figure to put in the Schedule E Worksheet. I could have claimed my actual expenses by saying I put my car into service in 2016 and claiming the actual expenses, but then I'd never be able to claim standard mileage in future years. After determining there was no way around this, I took the standard deduction because it made more sense for future years. But it was still maddening. I should have been able to say I used my car for a Schedule C business for a certain amount of miles and for a Schedule E business for another amount of miles. I suppose next year I will be able to, but it seems the forms want to make one car into three separate cars instead of making one car do work for more than one business. Also, when I was thinking of stating that I put the car into service for rental properties during 2008 instead of when I got it in 2006, I found I couldn't do it without knowing the Blue Book Value of the car in 2008. Have you ever tried to find a past Blue Book Value for a car? I can find out what it would be today, but not what it would have been in 2008 for a 2006 car. I spent way too much time trying to find out. That's why I finally settled for putting the car officially into service in 2016, even though I'd used it every year and just never claimed it. What frustrates you most about doing your taxes? What do you think of the idea of a law that requires those who write the tax codes to do their own taxes instead of hiring someone? Not everyone can afford to pay a professional to do their taxes. Why should the tax code be so complicated and the forms so insane that self-employed people can find it almost impossible to do taxes properly without professional help or advice?