9:45 AM

Did our taxes this weekend.

• Time to do form 1040: 1 hour, 30 minutes.
• Time to do dividends: 4 hours, 45 minutes.

Apparently, we’re not the only ones with problems:

The new system for taxing dividends has caused serious disruptions for investors and accountants trying figure out which dividends qualify for lower tax rates. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants says it is the biggest headache facing their members this year.

“There’s a lot of people tearing their hair out,” said Tom Ochsenschlager, the organization’s vice president of taxation.

Congress last year cut taxes on some dividends paid by stocks and mutual funds. The change applied to dividends paid since January 2003. Taxes on certain dividends were lowered to no more than 15 percent.

Dividends that do not qualify for the lower rates can be taxed at regular income tax rates as high as 35 percent. Dividends still taxed at the higher rate include money distributed by preferred stocks, real estate investment trusts and some foreign companies.