Tax Carnival #18: Tax Break Time ... Maybe

May. The month that brings us May Day, maypoles, Mother's Day, May flowers, Memorial Day and now Tax Carnival #18: Time for a Break from Taxes ... Maybe.

Or maybe not.

Tax aficionados know that to get the most tax savings, you need to pay constant attention, year round. So here are some tax topics to consider this first month after we finished up last year's taxes.

First, let's wrap up our 2006 returns, starting with Mama Money's item on Our Tax Bill is What?! Posted at Financial Dispatches, she explains "why we purposefully under withheld."

We also have Anthony, who presents Resumania - Installment 1 at The Lives and Times... of Anthony McCune, a true tale of why "you should never lie to your doctor or the IRS."

Now to future taxes and tax planning.

Ben knows exactly what we're talking about, saying "Don't make the mistake of putting taxes out of your head until next spring. Tax season for 2007 has already begun!" He elaborates in Did You Know 2007 Tax Season Starts Today? posted at Money Smart Life.

Allison keeps us on that tax prep 2007 track with Money Mondays: Home Stretch posted at Queercents, which includes a recap of and links to all the posts in the Money Mondays series.

Luckily, we've already met our 2007 tax obligations. Confused? mbhunter explains in Congratulations! You’ve paid your taxes! over at Mighty Bargain Hunter.

Of course, we've got state taxes to consider, too. Matt G from Talking Taxes tells us about Indiana's new temporary property tax refund law. 

Super Saver presents A Capital Gains Tax Break For Retirees posted at My Wealth Builder.

nickel presents Estimated Taxes and Avoiding Underpayment Penalties posted at fivecentnickel.com.

Bill at Ask Uncle Bill explains how tax laws helped fuel and could crash our investments in Taking Away The Punch Bowl -- Why The Stock Market Could Go Down "Big Time."

David presents "Off the Books: the Underground Economy of the Urban Poor," a look at economic and political relationships in a poor section of Chicago and how they are threatened by taxes and government sanctions. You'll find it at posted at The Picket Line.

At the other end of the income scale, Dan tells us why the IRS Hits Time Barriers on Offshore Tax Haven Audits over at Tick Marks.

And when it comes to questionable deductions, Tracy looks at Interesting claims made by Usana distributors over at FRAUDfiles.

What about the tax money the IRS does get? FMF looks at How the Government Spends Our Money posted at Free Money Finance.

Maybe it's time to consider the concept of Personal Tax Earmarking, explored by Stingy Student over at Stingy Students.

Another look at taxes and societal issues comes from Leon, who asks, "How do you get more into the workforce and reduce the pay gap? Have women pay less tax, say two academics." The full answer is in Women, tax and pay over at Sox First.

Trent advises, "Don't get caught next year with your financial documents in chaos!" To avoid that, he presents A Fresh Start: How To Organize All Of Your Financial Documents In A Filing Cabinet posted at The Simple Dollar.

That topic also is addressed by Robert, aka The Wandering Tax Pro, in his post on Record Retention.

We can't forget about business tax considerations.

Joe presents IRS looks to tighten rules on S corporation advances posted at Roth & Company Tax Update, saying, "The 'Brooks' case sent the IRS back to the drawing board in determining how S corporation owners deduct losses attributable to open account advances. They have issued new proposed regulations. We show how different things would have been for the Brooks owners under the proposed rules."

Christopher presents a four-part look at Expanding Your Business Overseas: Why and Why Not? posted at GreatFX Business Cards. It includes a look at the international money and tax considerations.

We also have a couple of special tax situations.

Silicon Valley Blogger at The Digerati Life asks, "Wouldn’t you like to be a chosen homeowner for the ABC show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition ... when a team of top builders will ... turn your environment into a grand statement of luxury?" Beware, though. You'll Pay Taxes On Your Winnings!

savingadvice presents Kiddie Tax, some information to clear up confusion about this special investment income tax, posted at Personal Finance Advice.

When all's said and done, the key is to get your taxes in accurately. Lawmummy tells us what not to do in the Top 5 Ways to Get Caught Cheating on Your Taxes posted at Taxgirl.

Finally, wrapping up the 18th Carnival of Taxes, we go to our neighbors up north. Big Cajun Man presents Tax Time Cometh, posted at Canadian Financial Stuff. "Yes," he tells us U.S. filers, "it's a very good video clip describing the Canadian Tax system exactly!"

That's it for this edition. Thanks for reading and to all who contributed. The next edition, Tax Carnival #19, will be June 4. Be sure to submit your best tax post via our carnival submission form. And you can check out past posts and future hosts at the Carnival of Taxes index page.

May calendar courtesy Ecardia.com
Flag image courtesy Fireworks.com