My Photo

Keep Uncle Sam cranky!

  • It's no wonder Uncle Sam is not very happy here. His vault is empty.
    Don't Mess With Taxes aims to keep him cranky by providing tax and personal finance tips and advice that will put more money in your bank account, not the government treasury.

Great Googly Moogly!

July 2009

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
      1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30 31  

Tax Calendar

  • April 15 has come and gone, but millions now have until Oct. 15 to file their 2008 returns. And millions more have 2009 tax planning to do.
  • There are plenty of year-round tax dates to keep track of, as well as lots of tax-saving moves you can make between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31.
    Find them here each month.

    monthly tax moves
  • July 1: You're halfway through the year. Now's the perfect time to make some midyear tax moves that could cut your 2009 IRS bill. If your life has changed significantly since the beginning of the year, adjust your withholding to more accurately reflect your new life, and tax, situation. Just give your employer a new W-4.

    July 4: Happy Independence Day! Celebrate your independence from future tax hassles. Hire a tax professional now to help get your tax life in shape while there's still plenty of time to plan.

    July 10: Does your job include tips? If so and you received $20 in tips in June, use Form 4070 to report them today to your employer.

    July 17: Are your kids at day camp while you work? You might be able to use that expense to claim the child and dependent care credit to cover some of the costs.

    July 21: It's been summer for month. How's your air conditioner holding up? If you need a new one, make sure it's energy efficient; that way on your 2009 tax return you can claim a tax credit for 30 percent of the cost, up to $1,500. Other energy-saving home improvements also qualify. Get the details at EnergyStar.gov.

    July 31: If you kids are older and working summer jobs, make sure they understand their tax responsibilities. You also can help your youngster get a nest egg head start by helping him or her open a Roth IRA with some of those summer earnings.

    Small Business Tax Calendar -- July: Important filing, deposit and record keeping dates your company needs to know.
  • 2010 Tax Countdown Clock

2009 Tax Guide

Carnival of Taxes

  • Where we party like
    it's 1040 ... Form 1040!


  • Check out the latest
    Carnival of Taxes,
    #55: Tax Fireworks

    Want to be a part of the next one on August 3? Just review the Tax Carnival guidelines
    and then send
    your tax musings, mumblings,
    even music to the
    Tax Carnival submission page    .
  • Catch up on prevous
    Tax Carnivals in our archives.

Improve the IRS

Tax Terms

  • Earned income -- It's just like it sounds: Compensation you receive from work, including wages, salaries, commissions, tips and self-employment endeavors. Learn more...
  • Unearned income -- Money that is not gained by work or delivery of a service or product. It's most well-known source is from investments. Learn more...
  • Tax rates/brackets -- The U.S. tax system is a progressive one, in which the greater the earnings, the higher the tax rate. Learn more...
  • See these and other tax terms
    in the perpetually updated
    Tax Glossary.

Cool tax quotes

  • The income tax has made
    more liars out of the American people than golf has.
    -- Will Rogers, humorist
  • I'm proud to pay taxes in the United States; the only thing is,
    I could be just as proud for half the money.     -- Arthur Godfrey, comedian
  • Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a refund from the IRS, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with. -- Author unknown, from a Washington Post word contest
  • "Internal Revenue Service: The world's most successful mail order business.” -- Bob Goddard, writer
  • "If you are truly serious about preparing your child for the future, don't teach him to subtract. Teach him to deduct." -- Fran Lebowitz, writer
  • "The United States has a system of taxation by confession." -- Hugo Black, Supreme Court Justice

Recent Posts

Dive Deeper into DMWT

Posts of particular note

But wait! There's more!

  • If you'd like to view more than
    the posts shown on this page, Arrow_right click here to go to the Don't Mess With Taxes archives page. There you can browse earlier blog items by the month they were posted or by their category.

What are you looking for?

  • Looking for something in particular? If you know the general topic, you can click on it in the "Categories" section that follows. Or you can enter specific keywords in the box below for a Lijit search of
    Don't Mess With Taxes.

Categories

I gotta tell ya ...

  • AKA Disclaimer:
    The content on Don't Mess With Taxes is my personal opinion based on my study and understanding of tax laws, policies and regulations. It’s provided for your private, noncommercial, educational and informational purposes only. It’s not a recommendation or endorsement of any company or product. I strongly suggest that when it comes to filing your taxes, you get additional, professional, paid-for guidance from your accountant and other financial advisers who are familiar with your individual circumstances. In other words, don't blame me!

©©©©©

Reading room

Andertoons


  • DAILY CARTOON click to enlarge
    ANDERTOONS.COM OFFICE CARTOONS

Fun beyond finances, really!

Rocking Around Austin!

Dept. of N-yah, N-yah!

« Congressional ethics 101 | Main | The tortuous life of tax-cut legislation »

Friday, December 09, 2005

Santa's bad day

Santa1animated Seems like Santa is having a bad day over at this blog originating from New South Wales, Australia. (When did he move there?)

Before you click, one quick link content caution: I’m not kidding. This particular Santa’s is having a really, really bad day. In fact, I think he must be the model for Billy Bob Thornton’s R-rated “Bad Santa.” So you might not want to let the kiddies read.

What caught my eye in the post was, of course, a tax reference. Apparently, the IRS says St. Nick owes them, which prompts the query, who has ever sent Santa any money?

Well, when as kids my brother and I asked for expensive toys at Christmas, my mother would tell us that we had to find something more affordable because Santa always sent a bill for what showed up under the tree.

Sorry, Santa. I guess it’s my mom that sicced the IRS on you!

Posted at 09:03 AM in Film, Humor, Taxes, U.S. Holiday |

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8345157c669e200d8355958e469e2

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Santa's bad day:

Comments

Verify your Comment

Previewing your Comment

Posted by:  | 

This is only a preview. Your comment has not yet been posted.

Working...
Your comment could not be posted. Error type:
Your comment has been saved. Comments are moderated and will not appear until approved by the author. Post another comment

The letters and numbers you entered did not match the image. Please try again.

As a final step before posting your comment, enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below. This prevents automated programs from posting comments.

Having trouble reading this image? View an alternate.

Working...

Post a comment

Comments are moderated, and will not appear until the author has approved them.

Buy My Book!

  • Got tax geek friends? My new book, "The Truth About Paying Fewer Taxes," is the perfect gift.

    Got friends who simply want to make sure they don't overpay the IRS? "The Truth About Paying Fewer Taxes" is perfect for them (or you!), too.

    Look for it now on bookstore shelves or order from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

  • TruthAboutTaxes

  • Also check out my AmazonConnect Author's Blog.

Staying in touch
Web 2.0 style

Kay's tweeting about ...

    follow me on Twitter

    Subscribe: by e-mail,
    RSS feed or both!

    Horn tootin'

    Selected writings
    of S. Kay Bell

    Forbes.com Business & Finance Blog Network

    My favorite tax
    & financial sites

    More PF Blogs

    Politics Plus

    Et Cetera

    Blog powered by TypePad
    Member since 11/2005

    Keeping count

    • eXTReMe Tracker

    Where in the World?

    • Locations of visitors to this page