Nobody enjoys doing their taxes, and it’s especially annoying when you find out you owe a lot of money.

What would you do if your partner kept putting off paying a tax bill, and the deadline to pay was quickly approaching? Would you keep pestering about them out, or would you stay out it since it’s their issue to deal with?

The man in today’s story was more stressed out than his partner about her tax bill, and he’s wondering if he handled the whole situation poorly.

Let’s read the whole story to decide.

AITA for continually chasing partner about financial issue

I need some advice on a situation.

My partner recently received a letter from our government stating she needed to provide details about a tax issue.

There was a three-month deadline from the date the letter was sent, which was earlier this year.

The task of gathering the info was straightforward, but my partner kept putting it off until just a few weeks before the deadline.

She was clearly procrastinating.

Throughout those months, I occasionally asked when she’d take care of it.

Each time she said she’d handle it and told me not to worry. But it was clear the situation was stressing her out, and it felt like she was avoiding it.

I offered to help, since I’ve done similar tasks before.

In the final weeks, I offered to help on weekends, but not weekdays after long workdays.

It turns out she owed a lot of money.

A few weeks before the deadline, she finally sat down, did the task, and realized she owed a significant amount.

This triggered a strong emotional response—almost a breakdown.

She has a difficult history with money and had worked hard to get into a stable place, so the tax bill was a shock.

He tried to be helpful, but he kind of made it worse.

I tried to talk to her to calm her down and figure out a way forward.

During the conversation, she said something I found genuinely funny and I laughed.

That was clearly the wrong moment—she thought I was laughing at the situation, not the comment.

Now, it’s in the hands of an accountant.

The next day, she contacted an accountant to file the return properly and verify everything.

At that point, there were still a few weeks left.

As the deadline neared, she still hadn’t heard from the accountant.

I asked if she’d followed up and whether everything was okay.

She said she had and told me not to worry.

This doesn’t sound like a very reliable accountant.

I was stressed.

Missing the deadline could mean fines or worse.

While it didn’t affect me directly, we’re married and financially tied, so it felt serious.

The deadline passed without any word from the accountant.

He is so stressed out about this that he’s even having nightmares.

She asked me not to bring it up again and assured me it was under control.

But I remained anxious.

One night, I had a dream where she was distraught over the cost. It stuck with me, and I mentioned it the next morning—we usually talk about dreams.

His stress isn’t making her feel any better.

Later that day, I was still visibly stressed.

She asked what was wrong, and I mentioned the issue again.

A few hours later, she called from a friend’s place and told me off for adding more stress to an already stressful situation.

I’m not sure if I did the right thing.

He explains why this stressed him out so much.

She delayed, avoided follow-ups, and left things last minute.

We’re very different in how we handle responsibilities—I would’ve done it right away.

I know it’s not my problem directly, but we’re married and financially connected.

It was stressful for me, too.

He wonders if he messed up.

For context we have separate bank accounts, separate salaries but we share a house and bills.

At no point did I think my partner would not be able to pay any bills, they have savings.

AITA for involving myself and adding more stress, even though I felt she wasn’t taking the necessary action?

Worry doesn’t solve anything. He could offer to follow up with the accountant for her. Otherwise, there’s really nothing he can do to help at this point.

Let’s see how Reddit reacted to this story.

He could call the accountant.

This person doesn’t think she’s mad because he reminded her about the bill.

Another person points out that nagging is not the answer.

He should’ve respected her wishes and stopped bringing it up.

This couple might need marriage counseling.