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.
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