Tax Carnival #9: Welcome to Tax Season 2007

Yessireebob, or as
we say here in Texas, yessireeJimmyBob, the
new tax year is off to a roaring start. Last-minute deductions added, fiddling with forms, more changes on the horizon.

Whew! More than three full months until April 16 and I'm already worn out!

So I'll quit yammering and let my fellow tax bloggers fill you in here at our first tax carnival of the year and our ninth overall. Enjoy our official TC#9: Welcome to Tax Season 2007.

Dan at Tick Marks gets right into the spirit with "IRS Gets Off to Bizarre Start to 2007," where he focuses on two recent tax rulings, each prompted by the great cycle of life.

Tracy at FRAUDfiles gets down to filing specifics with a look at some new tax laws that could affect your 2006 return.

Complying with those laws will be easier if you heed the advice of Jim from Blueprint for Financial Prosperity: Remember to update your tax forms and software.

And nickel at fivecentnickel helps you get all your forms in on time throughout the year with a rundown of important 2007 tax deadlines.

Speaking of deadlines, a lot of people paid real estate taxes in December so they could write them off on 2006 returns. If you missed that deadline, don't worry. You can deduct them on next year's return.

But make sure you don't miss your property tax's final due date or you'll also face late fees. One way to avoid that, says Ben at Money Smart Life, is to pay your tax bills electronically.

Meanwhile, from Down Under, Australian blogger Gavin presents in the letters section of his blog /etc/cron.whenever/ reasons why landowners should prefer land value levies to other taxes.

For you obsessive compulsives careful planners who never miss deadlines and who are, in fact, already mapping out this year's tax strategies, Steve at DebtBlog has this alert: Changes are afoot for your 2007 taxes.

Robert, known in the blogosphere as The Wandering Tax Pro, details one of those changes, the new rules for cash contributions.

And makingourway presents at his eponymous blog this year's maximum retirement account contribution amounts.

One change that would be welcome by anyone who's ever been hit by the alternative minimum tax is noted by Kristine at Beacon Financial Tips & Tools. She reports that legislation to repeal the dreaded parallel tax system has been introduced in the Senate.

But Jim, the tax prof at MauledAgain, says that if lawmakers will just fix the regular tax system, we won't have to worry about fixing the AMT.

All these in-effect changes and might-be changes make even the most dedicated tax geek's head spin. Maybe this is the year to turn it all over to a pro. Or maybe not.

That's the dilemma facing Ricemutt at Experiments in Finance. She's got a chance to get no-cost tax help from a CPA, but isn't sure if she wants to accept, musing, "I must be a real geek to feel awkward giving what’s normally considered an onerous task over to an expert to do for free!"

Sometimes misgivings are in order, though. Check out this item from Joe at Roth & Company, P.C., on flea market tax preparers and well-traveled babysitters.

Finally, an item for last-minute, year-end tax tips missed the #8 deadline. OK, it's too late for your 2006 return, but some of the advice also applies to this year. So if you look at the year-end tips from Paula at Queercents you can put them into use well before the 2007 year-end rush!

Whew again! That wraps up the first Tax Carnival of 2007. I hope you found it entertaining and informative.

And I hope you'll send along an item for #10, which will be hosted by the aforementioned Robert, The Wandering Tax Pro. Go ahead and send your Tax Carnival news and notes via our official submission page. I'll make sure he gets them.

Until then, happy filing!

Comments

[Paula Gregorowicz]

Great roundup. Glad to be included from my activities over at Queercents...

Some great tips I can check out as I descend upon my own taxes.

[ricemutt]

Thanks for the link! Over the weekend, I decided it was a good thing that we're giving our 2006 taxes over to a professional, because I only realized just then that we'd probably be making itemized deductions for the first time ever, thanks to CA's state income tax. Oh well. I'll be sure to peruse whatever the CPA does so I can learn from it for 2007!