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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.

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July 2009

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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

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  • 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!

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« Tallying our West Texas wanderings | Main | Healthcare shopping season »

Monday, September 18, 2006

Kids and houses highlight the latest PF Carnival

Personal_finance_carnival_badge_2 If you're looking for a compendium of recent money bloggings, then look no further than this week's Carnival of Personal Finance, hosted and posted this time by Free Money Finance.

There are a couple of bloggings on kids and money that caught my eye: Teaching a Six-Year-Old to Save by Raising4Boys and Teaching Kids About Money by The Road 2 Riches.

Minime_smaller Why, you might ask, since the hubby and I have no Mini-Mes of ourselves, am I reading and recommending these items? Because, I answer, sometimes we all are pretty childish, chronological age notwithstanding, when it comes to money. So it pays to reassess our basic financial concepts, many of which were created when we were just mere Rugrats, to help us stay on the smart adult money-management path.

A big part of grownup money goes to housing. And if you've been paying attention to the real estate market, and who hasn't, you know there have been recent and dramatic changes in some areas.

We have a friend in South Florida who says the go-go residential property market there went-went almost overnight. Even if she wanted to sell her house now, she says she couldn't, and she sure couldn't get now anywhere near what she thought she'd make on it just a few months ago.

Our friend's predicament is probably why Scott on Money's post on Buying Real Estate with Fake Money caught my eye. OK, its about the board game Monopoly, but in this case Scott's observations show how game playing definitely imitates real life and real estate investing.

And I must point out that Stop it, stop it right now!, my item on Senate efforts to halt private tax-debt collection also is part of this latest Personal Finance Carnival.

Don't just take my word on what's worth reading. Head on over and check out the myriad entries yourself.

Image of Verne Troyer as Mini-Me courtesy of AllPosters.com

Posted at 04:39 PM in Blog Carnival, Finances, Taxes |

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