Tax Carnival #30: Ever-changing taxes
Welcome to Tax Carnival #30. In this edition we celebrate the one tax law constant: They are always changing!
Take today, for example.
But millions more had to wait until today because Congress changed the applicable laws too late last year as they applied to the alternative minimum tax.
And lawmakers are still messing with the tax laws. Just last week they passed a stimulus bill with several tax provisions.
So our 30th Tax Carnival is dedicated to blog postings aimed at helping us cope with all these continual tax changes. We've got lots of good posts, so let's get to them.
Rebate ramblings
Obviously the tax rebate checks that many of us will be getting in a few months are on top of our lists.
David Weliver asks the question we all have at his blog Money Under 30: Will You Get Your Economic Stimulus Tax Rebate Check?
That's also on the inquiring mind of Ecuskully02, who asks, Is a tax rebate coming your way? It's posted at What you should and may already know.
If the answer is "yes," then several of our Tax Carnivalistas have follow-up questions.
Jeremy Zongker at Destroy Debt wants to know, What Will You Do With Your Rebate?
That question also is posed by Ryan of Millionaire Money Habits in his post How Will You Spend Your Tax Rebate?
Tracee Sioux who writes Blog Fabulous questions the wisdom of a federally sponsored trip to the mall in her post Recession or Sanity?
Tax season tips
Once we get over the excitement of some extra cash from the IRS, it's time to refocus on our 2007 returns.
Chief Family Officer of the blog of the same name gets us started with Preparing for tax season.
The simple nickel who posts at another self-named blog reminds us of Benjamin Franklin's famous observation about the certainty of death and taxes. But tax-filing doesn't have to be a death-defying experience, says TSN, thanks to An Overview of Tax Software.
FIRE Finance of, you guessed it, the blog of the same name, has more tax software news at FREE Turbo Tax Filing for Federal Returns!
And Pinyo, who posts at Moolanomy, presents TaxCut Online and 2007 Tax Law Changes.
Even with software, you need to be careful when you file. But Jim tells us that Most common errors on tax returns are simple to avoid. You'll find that post at IRS Mind.
We all want to deduct as much as we can. Thanks to nickel at fivecentnickel.com, we get a look at Common Tax Deductions.
Adam Pieniazek takes a look at a specific tax break in Tax Credits for College Tuition, Senior Tax Administrator Style, posted at his self-named blog.
Super Saver over at My Wealth Builder cautions us to watch out when children no longer qualify for the tax credits and deductions that have routinely been taken in How Children Can Cause Taxes To Increase Sharply.
And to keep track of all those tax breaks, Allison at Queercents recommends a very simple but often overlooked piece of filing advice: Keep All Your Tax Documents In One Place.
That's a good move for filers everywhere, including our Canadian readers who should take note of what Peter from Plan Your Escape has to say in Personal Finance 101: Income & Taxes. And while the information presented in this post is unique to Canada, Peter suggests readers "look into your local taxation laws to see if something similar would apply."
Investment tax topics
Some of the income being reported comes from unearned income.
Kristin presents Gold ETFs – The good, the bad and the taxes, posted at The Financial Engineer.
Kurt Brouwer of Fundmastery Blog informs us that Tax-Free Muni Bond Yields Now Above Taxable Treasury Yields.
Business taxes
We haven't forgotten about our business filers.
American Entrepreneur presents How to Pay Taxes on Small Business Income, posted at American Small Business News.
While Kristine of Tax Tips for eBay Sellers deals with a couple of common business questions: Do I collect sales tax on all my sales or just those I sell in my home state? And does this tax money get claimed as income and then expensed as a deduction? Find the answers at Do I Need to Collect Sales Tax?
Tax collection
We get more on collection matters from Diane Dean, who presents Collection Process; Part 2 over at at Need IRS Help?
Continuing that theme, Beckie from A Tax Consultant for All Seasons tells up about the Collection Process - Appeals.
Collection concerns were obviously on Wesley Snipes' mind recently. RacerX examines the argument the actor relied on in The 861 Tax Argument Brought to you by Wesley Snipes. It's posted at Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Money.
Wesley also has encountered additional tax troubles in connection with a New Jersey home. Don't Mess With Taxes' contribution to today's Tax Carnival is More tax trouble for Snipes.
And speaking of houses, Steve Faber reminds us over at Debt Free that taxes are Your Other Largest Household Expense.
Tax system alternatives
All these taxes! It's enough to make many folks look for other ways to collect our money to pay for government services.
To that end, FMF of Free Money Finance offers us an Open Forum on the FairTax.
Fair taxes also are on Wenchypoo's mind, who discusses a Do-It-Yourself Fair Tax Plan at Wisdom From Wenchypoo's Mental Wastebasket.
And we close our 30th Tax Carnival with a celebration of the beginning of tax season from our buddy Robert D Flach, who says goodbye for a while as he begins his annual tax season hiatus. Check out IT’S HERE! posted at THE WANDERING TAX PRO.
Well, that's it for now. We'll be back in a couple of weeks --
Thank you, Kay!
Posted by: Chief Family Officer | Tuesday, February 12, 2008 at 10:18 PM
Great job with the carnival. Thank you for hosting!
Posted by: Pinyo @ Moolanomy | Tuesday, February 12, 2008 at 08:20 AM
wow! you have a very comprehensive sight here...thanks for sharing so much useful information, and for including my post in the carnival.
Posted by: the simple nickle | Monday, February 11, 2008 at 05:04 PM