Sept. 1: Today is Meteorological Fall, the three months from Sept. 1 through Nov. 30 when days get shorter and cooler, but not cold. It's also the start of the annual National Preparedness Month. This year’s theme is “Start a Conversation,” since it's important to talk with your loved ones about potential emergencies. It's also critical to be prepared, as the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico hurricane season usually peaks in September.
We’ve already had three tropical systems do enough damage to prompt Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) major disaster declarations. The 2024 tropical storm season’s second named storm, Hurricane Beryl, landed as “just” a category 1 on the Texas coast, but still took 38 souls and left Lone Star State residents facing an estimated $30 billion in damages.
Hurricane Debby made two U.S. landfalls, in the Big Bend area of Florida and then again in South Carolina before moving up the Eastern Seaboard, producing disaster declarations all the way up to Vermont. Tropical Storm Ernesto, followed, slamming the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as spawning deadly rip tides along East Coast beaches as the storm moved toward Bermuda.
And, coinciding with Meteorological Fall, we’ve still got three months of the 2024 hurricane season to go!
That has coastal residents on edge, since Uncle Sam's official forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center say we could get 17 to 25 total named storms, which are those with winds of 39 mph or higher. Of those, eight to 13 are forecast to become hurricanes, meaning winds of 74 mph or higher. Four to seven becoming major hurricanes; that’s category 3, 4 or 5, with winds of 111 mph or higher.
Regardless of the count, it only takes one to wreck your world. If you haven’t already, get ready for not just tropical systems, but whatever dangerous weather that’s common where you live. The countdown clock above 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 collection of special pages with posts offer tax advice on preparing for, recovering from, and helping those who sustain damages from the many ways that that weather goes wild.
Sept. 2: Happy Labor Day! This annual celebration of workers' contributions is a federal holiday and day off for many.
When you get back to work after this three day holiday, take a few minutes to check the federal tax amount that’s coming out of your paychecks. If you need to adjust your withholding so that you have the most accurate amount of taxes withheld, now is the time to do that. Submitting a new W-4 early this month will mean any changes are spread over the last four months of the year, making any impact less noticeable.
Sept. 3: If you live in Auglaize, Crawford, Darke, Delaware, Hancock, Licking, Logan, Mercer, Miami, Richland, or Union counties in Ohio, today is your Tax Day. The Internal Revenue Service granted individual and businesses in those counties tax relief since they were declared major disaster areas following a tornado outbreak in March.
Sept. 10: Do you work as a server at a restaurant or at any other establishment where gratuities from customers are part of your compensation? I hope you get all the tips you deserve for doing your job well. Remember, though, that those tips are taxable income.
Whether you're dining at your favorite eatery or getting food delivered to your home, if a tip isn't included on your restaurant or delivery bill, click the image above to calculate how much to tip the person who brought it to you.
And if you got at least $20 in gratuities in August for your extraordinary services as a food server or hair stylist or parking valet or whatever job where tipping is common, you must report that amount by today. Use Form 4070 to let your employer know the total tips you took in last month.
Sept. 16: Today is the deadline to pay your third installment of estimated taxes. This tax is due on income that’s not subject to withholding, such as investment earnings or contract work. Most estimated tax filers make the payments four times a year. The September payment is for such earnings received in June, July, and August. It’s usually on the 15th, but since that was Sunday, the deadline is pushed to the next business day — today!
Sept. 23:
Sept. 22: The Autumnal Equinox arrives today at 8:44 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time in the Northern Hemisphere, marking the first day of Fall for all us who don't follow the meteorological fall calendar. Adjust for your time zone, since the equinox occurs at the same moment worldwide. It's also a go-to day to think about home maintenance that will help you weather the coming colder weather. The Inflation Relief Act includes extension of older and addition of new energy-related tax breaks, including some for residential energy improvements.
Sept. 30: Wow! Where did September go? That’s a good question to ask if you got an extension to file your 2023 tax return earlier this year. The last day of this ninth month means that your absolutely final Oct. 15 due day is another month closer. So you might want to get to work on that Form 1040 now. The easiest way to do do is to use tax software and electronically file.
If your adjusted gross income is $79,000 or less, you should check into Free File, the no-cost online tax preparation and electronic filing program offered by the IRS and its Free File Alliance partners. It’s open through the Oct. 15 extension deadline. This year, eight tax software companies offer programs to qualifying taxpayers.
Note that the Free File $79,000 or less income threshold applies to all filing statuses. If your income is too high, you still can file for free by using Free File's Free Forms option.
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.
Just remember it's always easier to spend someone's else money on some program that you may Fancy
its the rich Person's money not yours!
Stop playing Robin Hood he was still a thief !!!! a thief is still a thief even if its the Government
spend only on what benifits all of society not some select group
and just because you claim it's the right thing to do Dosen't make it true a lie told over enought times unchallenged will eventuly be accepted as a truth that was unchallanged
Posted by: G.H. | Friday, December 17, 2010 at 06:54 PM
For those of us who care about Social Security, reducung the withholdings for it is a big mistake and only puts more pressure on the program........and the politician more ammo for messin' with it.
The rate should be slightly increased from the 6.2% and the salary cap taken off...so you pay on all your earnings....no matter how much you make. It's one of the few Gov.t programs that needs to stick around.
Posted by: Jim Plate | Friday, December 17, 2010 at 03:29 PM
I understand he had to compromise in order to get anything completed in a timely fashion. (Here it is 12/9 and nothing is official yet!). So while it's not perfect, I do applaud him for making some hard compromises in order to reach a deal.
Really, I'm just sick of the overall process. It appears that our government is not capable of getting things done in a timely fashion and when they do finally do something, it is short lived, reworked, tweaked and confusing for the rest of us who just want stability in our lives.
Posted by: Elizabeth R. | Thursday, December 09, 2010 at 06:25 AM
I wrote about this issue on my own blog a full 24 hours BEFORE Pres. Obama announced an agreement.
I use the word agreement very loosely as its still not passed/signed. Until both parts of Congress adopts the proposal and the President signs it, then its premature to celebrate.
I could announce that I found the key to World Peace, but no one sing my praises until I actually delivery World Peace.
I want results, not empty promises.
Posted by: Finance Diva | Wednesday, December 08, 2010 at 11:42 PM
Making work pay credit was more progressive & less punative to low income persons than the 2% cut in the F.I.C.A. tax rate, which is only defensible if it stimulates job growth (but do we really think a 2-year employer/employee 2% F.I.C.A. cut is unlikely to do anything to create jobs?).
Posted by: Ray in MD | Wednesday, December 08, 2010 at 08:52 PM