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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.

February 2012

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Tax Calendar

  • Welcome to 2012!
    Are you ready to file
    your 2011 tax return?
    You'll find tips and advice on how to get it done by the
    April 17 deadline.
    Yes, we get two extra days this year thanks to a weekend and federal holiday. Let's get started.

  • How much tax time remains?
  • The tax clock is always ticking. The calendar below,
    updated each month,
    will help you keep track of tax dates and highlights tax moves to make between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31
    so you can save tax money
    all year-round.

    monthly tax moves

  • Feb. 2: Happy Groundhog Day. Don't get caught in a Bill Murray loop and end up doing your taxes over and over. Get your 2011 return right the first time by being prepared.

    Feb. 6: Be on the lookout for tax forms and statements that are straggling in this week. Set up a tax filing system (or at least a box or envelope to collect the docs) so everything will be handy when you get ready to file your return.

    If some of your statements don't make it, there are ways to work around missing 1099s or file using a replacement W-2.

    Feb. 10: Does your job include tips? If so and you received $20 in tips in January, use Form 4070 to report them today to your employer. And don't forget to include the value of atypical tips.

    Feb. 14: Happy Valentine's Day! Do you and your better half file a joint return? Most married couples do, but sometimes it's a good idea to send in separate 1040 forms. You and your spouse need to sit down and look at which couples' filing status works best for your tax situation.

    If, however, your love life more resembles Kim Kardashian's short-lived marriage, remember that divorce definitely has some tax implications.

    Feb. 16: If you claimed exemption from income tax withholding last year, you must file a new W-4 by today to continue your exemption for 2012.

    Most of us, though, will need to evaluable our tax and financial situations and perhaps adjust our payroll withholding. That's the only way to ensure that we don't overwithhold and end up letting the IRS have use of our money for a year, or underwithhold and end up owing way too much in taxes -- and possible a penalty -- when we file our returns next year.

    Feb. 20: Today is Presidents Day. Let's tip our hats, stovepipe and otherwise, to Abraham Lincoln, the U.S. Commander in Chief who signed into law an income tax to help pay Civil War costs.

    Nowadays, however, this and other Monday holidays are spotlighted as special shopping days. You can still deduct sales tax amounts on your 2011 tax return if you itemize and that will produce a larger deduction amount than using your state and local income tax amounts. But unless Congress acts this year, this tax deduction will be gone for 2012.

    Feb. 29: Leap Year gives up an extra day to get our taxes down this filing season. But if you've already sent in your return, you probably did so because you're getting a refund. And now you want to know where the heck it is. Some were delayed because of a new effort by the IRS to reduce tax refund fraud. You can check the status of you tax cash at Where's My Refund?

    Small Business Tax Calendar – February: Businesses must file information returns for payments they made in 2011 by Feb. 29. You can keep track of this deadline and other important filing, deposit and record keeping dates that your company needs to know in this IRS-provided online datebook.

Yet another tax deadline

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« Comparing presidential -- and presidential wannabe -- 1040s | Main | State of taxes in Obama's State of the Union address. »

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Mobile posting test

Testing my ability to post via my new phone. Thanks for your indulgence of this nontax detour, but I'm hoping that once I master it, I'll be able to post tax items even when I'm out and about.

Mobile posting test

Posted on Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 05:20 AM in Web/Tech, Weblogs |

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Daily Tax Tip

  • Calculating correct investment basis -- Investors know how critical it is to have the correct basis. This amount, which starts with the price your paid for an asset and then includes other adjustments, is what you subtract from your sales price to determine whether you have a capital gain or capital loss when you sell the asset. If you've kept good tax records, figuring your basis is easier. But even then some folks forget about reinvested dividends and capital gains distributions that affect your basis. In these cases, you already paid tax on the reinvested earnings (remember the 1099s you got with the earnings data?) even though you never had the cash in hand. These amounts were "constructively received" by you, meaning the money in your account belonged to you and you could have taken it out if you wished. To ensure that you don't pay tax on those amounts again when you sell the asset, you need to account for it as part of the holding's basis. The correct basis will affect both your eventual gains or loss amount. So get it right, so that you pay only the tax that you owe or get the tax reduction that you deserve.
  • Did you miss a daily tip posted above? No worries. They're collected in the 2012 Daily Tax Tips for January page and now the February tax tips page, too. As filing season progresses and more tips are added, the ones for March and April will appear on their own Daily Tax Tip pages (with links here).
  • Can't get enough tax tips? Not to worry. Browse Don't Mess With Taxes' ever-growing collection of tax tips.

State Tax Help

  • Don't forget your state taxes!
    Forty-three states and D.C. collect personal income taxes. But even if you live in of the seven states without an income levy, you still face other state (and local) taxes.

    State Tax Departments provides links to your state's Web page. The companion page, Tax Tidbits, is the compilation of blurbs about each state's tax laws. And for more state tax news, check out all our state tax bloggings.

2012 Tax Guide

  • For help filing
    your 2011 tax return
    Bankrate Tax Guide
    Tax Guide 2012
    Bankrate's annual tax manual
    to filing your previous year's taxes and planning ways to cut your upcoming tax bill

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    Paying Fewer Taxes

    • Are you a tax geek? Got tax geek friends? Do you or they just want to make sure you don't overpay the IRS? Then my book, "The Truth About Paying Fewer Taxes," is for y'all.

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

    • TruthAboutTaxes

    • Find out more about my book, read excerpts, even listen to a podcast at the FT Press Truth About Paying Fewer Taxes Web page.

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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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