July is 🧨 poppin'!
This first full month of summer begins with fireworks and the tax-related pyrotechnics continue through the month. In fact, they started before the official Independence Day celebrations.
Click on the image for some fireworks safety tips and warnings from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
I know, you're feeling like the youngster above, not quite ready yet to talk taxes. But take your hands off your ears to hear — or rather keep scrolling to read — some tax moves to make in July. July 1: Today is the beginning the new fiscal year for many states, meaning some
new tax laws take effect today across the country.
July 1: Today also is the start of some of the various state
sales tax holidays happening this summer and early fall in 18 states. Attention Florida shoppers, most of them are in the Sunshine State.
July 4: Happy 246th Birthday, America!
July 4th actually falls on Monday this year, so there's no need to shift it to accommodate the federal Monday holiday law. That also means there's no confusion about what jurisdictions are closed across the United States. It's also a good time to note how official
federal holidays often do affect tax deadlines.
July 8: A tropical system organized enough last week to give us the
second named storm of 2022. U.S. residents didn't have to worry about Tropical Storm Bonnie making landfall but she's a good reminder that the tropics are heating up. Be prepared physically, financially, and tax wise to cope with what storm watchers expect to be another active Atlantic/Gulf of Mexico
hurricane season.
Uncle Sam's official forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center
expect 2022 to bring as many as 21 named storms, with six to 10 possibly becoming hurricanes. Three to six of those could reach major status, which is category 3, 4 or 5 with winds of 111 mph or higher. Regardless of the count, it only takes one to wreak havoc. The countdown clock below can help you keep track of how many more days you have to worry about tracking any size or type of tropical storms.
You also might want to check out the ol' blog's special
Storm Warnings.
These multi-page collections of posts offer tax advice on preparing for, recovering from and helping those who sustain damages from the many ways that that weather goes wild. That includes
claiming uninsured losses from a major natural disaster as an itemized tax deduction.
July 11: Eateries are still recovering from the challenges of operating during a national health crisis. Restaurants closed, then opened, then closed again. Others relied on and have stuck with take-out and deliveries. Whether you're dining in or still getting food brought to your house because of the latest Omicron coronavirus variants, remember to tip your server or delivery person.
If a tip isn't included in your food delivery charge, click the image above to calculate how much to tip the person who brought it to you.
As for servers who now are back on the job, remember that your
tips are taxable income. If you worked at least some of May at a job where you got gratuities, you need to account for them today if they came to at least $20 last month. Use
Form 4070 to report your tips today to your employer.
July 18: We're not officially into the last half of the year. Time really does speed by when you're having summer fun! But if you've had some changes in your life, now is a good time to make related tax accommodations. Specifically, conduct a
paycheck checkup to determine if the amount of taxes taken out of your wages is still correct. You might need to
adjust your payroll withholding.
July 25: If you got an
extension back in April to file your 2021 tax return, you have until
Oct. 17 to do that. But you don't have to wait until that deadline. You can get to work on that tax paperwork now and be done with it so it won't be hanging over your head while you're trying to enjoy summer.
Whenever you do get around to finishing your tax return, the IRS recommends you do so electronically. Check out ways to e-file at no cost, including via Free File, which is, as its name says, free. The official electronic filing webpage is
Free File on IRS.gov is available to qualifying taxpayers through Oct. 17.
Free File this year is available for taxpayers whose adjusted gross income is $73,000 or less. That income level applies to all
filing statuses. This year,
8 software programs are available to eligible filers. Spoiler: The two biggies, Intuit's TurboTax and H&R Block, are not among the choices. The two leading tax prep programs decided to
end their participation in the program.
July 31: Again, too much tax fun getting us to July's end in no time. But you can keep the festivities going, and possibly save some money, by taking care of these July tax moves.
Small Business Tax Calendar: Important filing, deposit and record keeping dates throughout the year that your company needs to know. You can get more tax calendar information at the IRS' online calendar page and view the full year's important business and individual tax dates in IRS Pub. 509.
Comments