Hello 🍂 September
After heat waves and droughts across the United States, we cheer the arrival of this ninth month of the year, which officially brings us Autumn.
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Fall's cooler (we hope!) temperatures offer us some respite from 2022's extraordinarily hot summer. But Fall doesn't mean we can fall down when it comes to tax tasks. So here are some September Tax Moves to make in the next 30 days. 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 Internal Revenue Service's National Preparedness Month. The 2022 Atlantic/Gulf of Mexico
hurricane season has been hurricane season has been unexpectedly quiet, but that's not likely to last.
So take advantage of this likely temporary tropical lull and
get ready for the rest of the official hurricane season, which runs through the end of Meteorological Fall on Nov. 30. 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.
Even if Uncle Sam's official forecasters at the NOAA Climate Prediction Center are wrong and the season doesn't bring their
predicted 21 named storms, remember that it only takes one to wreak havoc. So if you haven't yet prepared — physically, financially, and tax wise — it's time to do so.
The ol' blog's special
Storm Warnings pages also can help, whether you're preparing for, recovering from, or 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.
Sept. 5: Happy Labor Day! This celebration of workers' contributions is a federal holiday and day off for many.
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After two years of coping with the COVID-19 pandemic, many workplaces have move back full in-person office work. job sites. But the lingering effects of hybrid — some days working from home, others at the office — could produce some tax complications for workers. One of them is the unwelcome realization that as employees, their home office is not tax deductible.
Sept. 12: If your job is as a server at a restaurant, or at any other establishment where gratuities from customers is part of your compensation, don't forget that those tips are taxable income.
Whether you're dining in 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.
Today is a key day for workers who regularly get tips as part of their jobs. If you worked at least some of August and got at least $20 in gratuities, you need to account for them today by using
Form 4070 to report that month's tips total to your employer.
Sept. 22: Fall officially arrives today with the
Autumnal Equinox at 9:04 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Adjust for your time zone, since the equinox occurs at the same moment worldwide. It's also a godo day to think about home maintenance that will help you weather the coming colder weather. The recently enacted
Inflation Relief Act includes extension of and tax breaks for some energy saving home upgrades. While making any necessary repairs, also consider
home improvements that could increase your home's basis and guarantee you
won't owe any capital gains tax on your eventual residential sale profit.
Sept. 30: It's the last day of September. That means if you got an
extension back in April to file your tax return, that new
Oct. 17 deadline is just weeks away. Don't wait until the very last minute. Get to work on your tax paperwork now and be done with it.
The easiest way to do so is 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 until midnight, Eastern Time, on 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.
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.
If you’ve got a new address, notify the U.S. Postal Service so your tax refunds or IRS correspondence will be forwarded to you. Postal Service will take care of passing your new address to IRS for updating.
Posted by: Tax Return | Saturday, December 17, 2011 at 08:08 AM
I agree with Ben, no more interest free loans for the government. Most people do not understand that the money is yours, and if you get a refund you could be using it better by spreading it out in your paychecks and not having as much withheld. Don't give the government any more than you need to! You never know when you might have more money than you think.
Posted by: Larry Kozky | Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at 07:44 PM
People know themselves. If they then consciously choose to get the money later, then kudos. Many people don't save or invest their money, they spend it.
Interest rates are so miserable lately, it's not much of a loss anyway.
You could be going through changes and can't anticipate your actual withholding so you guess in a way that favors you rather ending up with a tax bill.
Lots of good reasons.
Posted by: siddhi | Monday, May 02, 2011 at 06:54 AM
I get into arguments with people all the time about this! Why anyone would choose to give the IRS an interest free loan is beyond me!
Posted by: Ben Marino | Friday, April 29, 2011 at 02:28 PM