🎆 Happy 🎉 New 🥂 Year! 🎆 via GIPHY
Hello 2023! I cannot tell you how happy I am to see you! I know, I said that about 2021 and 2022, but I really, really mean it. And I'm hoping you reciprocate, you brand spanking new year, on the personal front by letting go of COVID-19, and, on the tax side, by making this the year that taxes also get back to normal. Don't laugh. A gal can hope!
Jan. 1: Once more for the official date — Happy New Year! One way to make things more enjoyable on the tax front is to get organized this month. Early this month. It will help you keep track of the myriad tax documents — W-2 earnings statements, 1099 forms, charitable donation receipts, year-end account statements — that will soon be on their way to your email or snail mail box. You'll need those (and more) to file your 2022 tax return as soon as the Internal Revenue Service starts accepting them.
Jan. 3: It's the first official work day of 2023. It's also a deadline for employers, including those who are self-employed, who took advantage of the COVID relief option in 2021 to defer the employer's portion of the Social Security payroll tax; that's 6.2 percent of each worker's wages. If you didn't remit thr taxes before the end of December, today is the absolute final due date for paying the balance of those postponed tax collections.
Jan. 6: It's Friday, the end of the first holiday-shortened work week of 2023. Even though most of us are thinking about filing our 2022 returns when the IRS opens filing season later this month, we also need to start our 2023 tax planning. Start with the inflation adjustments that apply to a variety of tax situations. You can find this year's figures in the ol' blog's 10-part tax inflation series.
Jan. 9: Tonight, TCU's Horned Frogs and Georgia's Bulldogs face off at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles to decide the men's college football championship. Thousands of fans are rooting for their teams. Even more people with no personal connections are betting on the game, thanks to the Supreme Court's 2018 ruling to allow states to accept sports wagers. If you're one of those bettors and your pick pays off, remember that you'll owe taxes on your winnings. The good news is that you won't have to share your luck with Uncle Sam until you file your 2023 return next year. The better news is that there are ways to reduce your taxable winnings.
Jan. 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 got lots of financial thanks for doing your job well, but remember that those tips are taxable income.

Whether you're dining in or, still COVID leery and 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.
If you got at least $20 in gratuities in November, you must account for the tips today by using
Form 4070 to report last month's tips total to your employer.
Jan. 13: It's the first Friday the 13th of 2023. That might not worry you, but even non-superstitious folks are frightened a bit by taxes. However, on this or any other day, don't fear, or fall for, these
13 scary, but wrong, tax myths.
Jan. 16: Every
Martin Luther King Jr. Day, millions of people commit to a
day of service.

Click image to find out ways
you can volunteer on MLK Day. Taking time on the Rev. Dr. King's holiday to volunteer at a charity isn't tax deductible, but some costs associated with
volunteering could help reduce your tax bill if you itemize.
Jan. 17: Today is the due date for the final
estimated tax tax payment for the 2022 tax year. It's usually on the 15th, but that fell on Sunday. Then Monday was the federal MLK Day holiday. So the final estimated tax payment deadline was shifted to the next business day, Tuesday, Jan. 17.
Jan. 17: This date isn't firm yet, but the IRS and its Free File Alliance partners usually offer their no-cost online tax preparation and electronic filing program Free File around the middle of January. When the special
Free File website at IRS.gov is available, take advantage of it if you qualify.

Free File last year was open to taxpayers whose adjusted gross income was $73,000 or less, but that earnings limit should be bumped up a bit for the 2023 filing season. Whatever the amount, the income level applies to all
filing statuses.
Jan. 23: If you make too much to use Free File, and don't want to use its Free Forms option, you always can purchase your own tax prep software or high a tax pro to handle your taxes. If you looking to hire someone, get to it now. At this point, if you can
find a tax preparer taking new clients, you'll be at the end of the filings list. But at least you'll be on the list.
Jan. 27: It was this week last year that the IRS started accepting and, more importantly, processing tax year returns. If you plan to be among the earliest of filers, you need to make sure you have all the necessary information and documentation. Check out
this list of the statements, documents, and forms you'll need before you start work on your return.
Jan. 31: Wow! The first month of 2023 is over? Time really does fly when you're having tax fun. We'll keep it going here in this new year with new Tax Moves to Make each month, which you also can find on their monthly tax tips pages.
January already is filling up!
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.
Penny, this is not as common, but it appears that negative points also could be deductible. A borrower receiving negative points is analogous to a corporation receiving a bond premium. Corporations issue bonds at a premium because the bonds pay a higher interest rate than the market demands for a bond with the same characteristics (risk, duration, features, etc.). The bond premium represents a reduction of interest expense that is amortized over the life of the loan (IRC §171 and IRS Reg. 1.171-2). Therefore, amortizing negative points over the life of the mortgage is consistent with corporate treatment of a bond premium. That is, the amortization reduces the interest deduction on the home loan. Furthermore, amortizing negative points over the life of the loan is consistent with the general rule for tax treatment of positive points. However, I suggest you talk with a tax pro who specializes in real estate transactions.
Note also that there is a school of thought that if the negative points are all used to cover closing costs, any actual receipt of the negative points as cash could mean that the recipient of the points would be liable for income tax on that amount. Again, check with a tax pro.
thanks for reading and good luck on your refi.
Posted by: skbell1 | Thursday, August 23, 2012 at 07:10 PM
We are also looking at refinancing. What happens when there are negative points involved, which is happening on ours?
Posted by: Penny J Leisch | Thursday, August 23, 2012 at 11:31 AM
Yes, D, you do ... unless.
First to the "yes" part. The IRS says you can deduct any remaining balance of the points in the year the mortgage ends. That termination could be by prepayment, refinancing or, let's hope not, foreclosure. Say, for example, our hypothetical refinancer got his loan three years ago.
Now to the "unless" portion. When the second second refinancing is with the same lender, the IRS says you cannot immediately deduct the remaining balance of your first refi's points. Instead, those points you're amortizing from the first refi are added to your new refinance amount. You then continue to deduct them, and any additional points you may have paid for the second refi, for the life of your new loan.
Posted by: skbell1 | Wednesday, August 22, 2012 at 06:37 PM
So if you are deducting $100/year and then refinance in the 2nd year, do you take the rest of $1300 all at once in that last year?
Posted by: D | Wednesday, August 22, 2012 at 05:34 PM