Jan. 17: E-filing is OK, Free File opens and estimated tax payments are due

Tax Carnival #95: Tax Filing Season 2012

Would Mitt Romney's tax plan keep his personal tax rate at 'around 15 percent'?

Jan. 17: E-filing is OK, Free File opens and estimated tax payments are due

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Welcome to the first day busy tax day of filing season 2012.

Today the Internal Revenue Service starts accepting electronically filed returns. If you've already filled out your 2011 return via tax software on your personal computer, you now can hit "Enter."

Or if your 2011 adjusted gross income was $57,000 or less, you now can head to the IRS website and use its Free File program to complete and e-file your taxes. Fifteen companies are participating this year. You can peruse the list or use the program's Help Me Find a Free File Company interactive tool.

Finally, don't forget that today also is the due date for the final estimated tax payment of 2011. You can e-file and e-pay that fourth quarter 1040ES voucher or get your check in the mail, but do one of those things sometime today.

You can, however, ignore today's estimated tax deadline if you make sure you get your completed 2011 Form 1040 filed by Jan. 31.

Have fun!

You also might find these items of interest:

Posted on Tuesday, January 17, 2012 at 07:00 AM in Estimated taxes, Filing, Tax Tip | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tags: 1040, 1040ES, e-file, electronic tax filing, estimated taxes, Free File, IRS, tax, tax tip, taxes

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Anything that streamlines tax problems and processes is fine by me. The environmentally concious will be delighted at the paper saving also!

Posted by: Craig | Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 07:44 AM

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Weekly Tax Tip

Inventory your property before disaster strikes — The historic 2020 Atlantic/Gulf of Mexico hurricane season started early and shows no signs yet of slowing, so don't let up on storm preparation. That process includes taking a pre-disaster inventory that can help when you file insurance and/or potential tax deduction claims. (Sept. 18, 2020)
Check out all the latest post-Tax Day tax advice in the 2020 edition of Weekly Tax Tips. Many of these once-a-week tips will focus on planning moves to cut your 2020 tax bill.
If, however, you got an extension and are still working on your 2019 return, you can get a refresher of the 2020 Filing Season Tax Tips at their respective monthly pages:
January, February, March, April, May, June and July.

COVID-19 & Taxes

Coronavirus has wreaked havoc
on the 2020 tax season.
This Coronavirus (COVID-19) & Taxes page has details.

All About Kay

OK, some about Kay

Kay Bell — Native Texan (the blog title totally makes sense now, right?). Professional journalist. Tax geek.

My Other Accounts

Tick ... Tick ... Tick

Tax Season 2020 continues!
Are you among the millions of taxpayers who got an extension to file tax year 2019 returns? Thanks to this year's coronavirus-delayed July 15 Tax Day, your new Oct. 15 tax filing deadline will be here before you know it.

The monthly tips and reminders a little further down this column should help you focus on your taxes
during this extension period.
If you've already sent in your 2019 Form 1040, look for those monthly moves that offer advice on ways to cut your now accruing 2020 tax bill.

Also keep an eye on the countdown clock below. It will help you keep track of how much time you have until that absolutely final fall filing due date arrives.
Note: I'm in the Central Time Zone, so adjust accordingly for where you live.

Time for Tax Tasks

Fall's fresh feel is upon us!

via GIPHY
Hello, September!
We've been waiting for your cooler, crisp days. In some parts of the country, leaves soon will turn bright colors and then fall. That annual process is a reminder that we can't fall down on tax tasks. So let's get to making some tax-smart moves this month.

Sept. 1: School is back in session, either in COVID-19 modified classrooms or remotely. Whatever the teaching venue, there still are costs. So parents of elementary, secondary and college students need to do some tax homework to learn how Uncle Sam can help pay some educational expenses at all these levels.

Sept. 7: Happy Labor Day!
This celebration of workers' contributions is a federal holiday and day off for many.

via GIPHY

For many, that is, who still have jobs.
In these cases, workers are dealing with coronavirus-modified workplaces or are doing their jobs from home. While working from home can be handy, for most in this situation it won't offer a tax deduction for that bedroom corner converted into a temporary home office.

In other cases, COVID-19 pandemic layoffs have prompted folks to embrace their entrepreneurial spirits. Remember, though, that as an independent contractor, your gig job (or jobs if you've got a lot of side hustles to make ends meet) mean more tax responsibilities.

Sept.10: Most restaurants across the country closed earlier this year due to COVID-19. Some opened, then reclosed as the virus resurged. And many eateries simply stuck with take-out meals and deliveries. Whether you're able to dine in or still getting food brought to your house, 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 August 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.

Sept. 13: Happy Grandparents' Day!
If you're an older grandma or grandpa, pay attention to your overall earnings. Your added retirement income could result in some of your Social Security benefits being taxed.

If you're helping out an older parent, Mom or Dad might qualify as a dependent and help you claim the $500 tax credit for qualifying dependents.

Sept. 15: The first two estimated tax payments of 2020 were combined and then delayed until July 15. The third one is back on schedule. It's due today.

Sept. 18: Still haven't filed your 2019 tax return? I hope you at least got an extension, which gives you until Oct. 15 to complete your Form 1040. But you don't have to wait that long. The Internal Revenue Service will gladly take your tax return this month.
And if you qualify, Free File, the IRS/tax software industry partnership that offers eligible taxpayers access to online tax preparation programs and federal return e-filing at no cost, is still available.

This year 10 software companies are participating at IRS.gov's Free File webpage. It's available for taxpayers with adjusted gross income of $69,000 or less regardless of filing status. If you make too much to use the online software, look into using Free File's fillable forms.

Sept. 22: Fall officially arrives today with the autumnal equinox at 9:31 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Adjust for your time zone, since the equinox occurs at the same moment worldwide. It's a good time to think about home maintenance that will help you weather the coming colder weather. While making those 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: September is ending, but not the hurricane season. If your area hasn't been hit by any tropical system so far, good for you. But your luck might not hold, as the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico hurricane season runs through the end of November. So that you're ready for another Hurricane Laura or, hopefully, a less severe storm, prepare now.

Uncle Sam's official forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) expect 2020 to bring as many as 19 named storms, with six to eight possibly becoming hurricanes. Three to six 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.

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.

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.

Tax Forms

Thanks to our increased use of tax preparers and computer software, many of us don't see our tax forms until we sign and file them. But knowing what's on these documents, either in paper or digital form, and why the IRS wants it is key to understanding our tax system. And knowledge definitely is power, especially when it comes to tax savings. Find this valuable information in the ol' blog's special Tax Form Tuesday page.

Mapping Your Tax Route

Do you get lost doing your taxes? Check out the Taxpayer Advocate Service's Taxpayer Roadmap.

This publication, designed along the lines of a subway map, shows the many routes and detours of a taxpayer's journey through our elaborate Internal Revenue Code and the Internal Revenue Service's enforcement of our tax collection system.

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Kudos Et Cetera

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2011 and 2013
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I gotta tell ya ...

AKA Disclaimer:
I am a professional journalist who has been covering tax issues since 1999.
I am not a professional tax preparer.
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 is provided for your private, noncommercial, educational and informational purposes only. It is not a recommendation of any specific tax action(s) you should or should not take. Similarly, mentions of products or services are not endorsements. In other words, my ramblings on the ol' blog are free advice and you know what they say about getting what you pay for. That's why when it comes to filing your taxes, I urge you to get additional, professional, paid-for guidance from an accountant, Enrolled Agent or other qualified tax preparer who is familiar with your individual tax circumstances.

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