• Home
  • Table of Contents
  • Tax Tips
  • Credits
  • Deductions
  • Refunds
  • State Taxes
  • Politics/Laws
  • Tax Terms
  • Archives

Don't Mess With Taxes

Translating taxes into money-saving English

Home Table of Contents Tax Tips Credits Deductions Refunds State Taxes Politics/Laws Tax Terms Archives

By the Numbers 2011

Starting with the 2011 tax-filing season, I began posting on the ol' blog each Sunday a new figure -- a percentage, dollar amount, raw number and the like -- that has a tax connection.

If you missed one of the numbers, no worries. Links to each item posted in 2011 are listed below. If you're looking for newer tax figures, check out By the Numbers 2012 and 2013.

  • 2%
    Miscellaneous itemized deduction threshold (Jan. 16, 2011)
  • $3,003
    Average refund amount in 2010 (Jan. 23, 2011)
  • 98,740,000
    E-filers in 2010 (Jan. 30, 2011)
  • $27,197,000,000
    Gambling income in 2008 (Feb. 6, 2011)
  • 56,372,881
    Married filers in 2008 (Feb. 13, 2011)
  • $13,283,907,000
    IRS budget request for FY2012 (Feb. 20, 2011)
  • $75,000
    Oscars 2010 swag bag value (Feb. 27, 2011)
  • 23,027,000
    Noncash charitable donations in 2008 (March 6, 2011)
  • 12
    States with off-synch filing deadlines (March 13, 2011)
  • 5
    Child dependency tests (March 20, 2011)
  • $15,652,149,000
    First-time homebuyer credit claims (March 27, 2011)
  • 10,155,306
    Medical deductions (April 3, 2011)
  • 2,948,057
    Free File users in 2010 (April 10, 2011)
  • 7%
    Tax procrastinators (April 17, 2011)
  • 176
    Days until October extension deadline (April 24, 2011)
  • $36,500,000,000
    Big Oil profits (May 1, 2011)
  • 17,846,375
    Child tax credit refunds (May 8, 2011)
  • $250,000
    "Rich" earnings threshold (May 15, 2011)
  • $18
    Beer excise tax (May 22, 2011)
  • 529
    College savings plans (May 29, 2011)
  • 0.1%
    Gift tax filings in 2010 (June 5, 2011)
  • 1,000,000,000
    Total e-filed returns since inception (June 12, 2011)
  • 1,762,000
    Happy Father's Day to single dads (June 19, 2011)
  • $50
    NY Amish face fines for not e-filing (June 26, 2011)
  • $40,000,000
    NFL lockout's potential tax cost to states (July 3, 2011)
  • $6,579
    Property taxes across the country (July 10, 2011)
  • 3,592
    Tallying tax crimes (July 17, 2011)
  • 77479
    Comparing your taxes to your neighbors' (July 24, 2011)
  • $24,000,000,000
    Congress joins online state sales tax fight (July 31, 2011)
  • 505,000
    Amazon's e-tax repeal petition signature goal (Aug. 7, 2011)
  • 23
    Polls say hike taxes as well as cut spending (Aug. 14, 2011)
  • 10
    10 years of 'temporary' tax cuts (Aug. 21, 2011)
  • 4684
    Form 4684, a disaster victim's best friend (Aug. 28, 2011)
  • $60 billion
    Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan wars (Sept. 4, 2011)
  • 15,014,000
    Filers in 2008 reporting taxable Social Security benefits (Sept. 11, 2011)
  • 3.8%
    Projected inflation rate that will affect many 2012 tax provisions (Sept. 18, 2011)
  • 155
    California bill A.B. 155 postpones online sales tax collection (Sept. 25, 2011)
  • $17,000,000
    Rhode Island now collecting more sales taxes, but not on marijuana dispensaries (Oct. 2, 2011)
  • $5,000,000
    Al Davis' Oakland Raiders and federal estate tax issues (Oct. 9, 2011)
  • 61,427
    First-time homebuyer credit still causing compliance problems (Oct. 16, 2011)
  • $4,000,000,000
    IRS says budget cuts could increase federal deficit by $4 billion (Oct. 23, 2011)
  • 2013
    IRS postpones backup withholding on credit card payment reporting until 2013 (Oct. 30, 2011)
  •  ½
    Vikings' drive for new stadium thrown for a loss by Minnesota governor (Nov. 6, 2011)
  • 47%
    47 percent of former private tax debt collection cases left untouched by IRS (Nov. 13, 2011)
  • 9%
    America's opinion of Congress at new low (Nov. 20, 2011)
  • $480,400,000,000
    Super committee failure could cost states billions in federal wages, projects (Nov. 27, 2011)
  • $100
    Holiday gift from an employer: Taxable benefit or tax-free gift? (Dec. 4, 2011)
  • 23
    IRS issues 2012 mileage deduction rates (Dec. 11, 2011)
  • 160,000,000
    Payroll tax cut extension in doubt again (Dec. 18, 2011)
  • $156,510
    What you'll pay for 12 Days of Political Influence on Capitol Hill (Dec. 25, 2011)

Some of you (OK, only the tax geekiest of you) might be asking why didn't this feature start before mid-January? You can, after all, file your tax return for the previous year as soon as you want after a new year rolls around as long as you have all the necessary information and are willing to file an old-fashioned paper return.

Well, there are two good reasons as to why this feature began on Jan. 16, 2011.

First, Jan. 16 was the Sunday after the IRS officially opened its 2011 electronic filing doors. Since around 70 percent of us use tax preparation software and e-file our returns, the beginning of e-filing marks the real, at least in the IRS' eyes, start of the annual tax filing season.

And reason number two for the delay is that I didn't think of it until that day!

Today's Tax Tip

  • Deductible mileage rates increased on July 1 — This year's historic inflation has increased the cost of almost every living expense. It even prompted the Internal Revenue Service to implement a mid-year bump up of the annual optional standard mileage rates for tax-deductible driving. The 4-cent hikes for allowable business, medical, and relocation miles driven took effect on July 1, and will last through Dec. 31. (July 3, 2022)

  • Tax Tip; click pencil for all tax tip links

  • The 2022 Tax Tips offer ways to file your annual return, along with post-filing advice, important tax news and, of course, ways to cut your current tax year bill. You'll find the monthly assemblages on their own respective pages: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December. Remember, tax tasks and tips don't stop after you file your annual return!

COVID-19 & Taxes

  • COVID-19
    Coronavirus has wreaked havoc
    on the 2020 and 2021 tax seasons.
    These three Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Taxes pages have details:
    March-July 2020,
    August-December 2020,
    January-December 2021, and
    January-… 2022
    You can find medical coronavirus resource links further down this column.

All About Kay

  • OK, some about Kay
    Open sign
    Kay Bell — Native Texan (the blog title totally makes sense now, right?). Professional journalist. Tax geek.

My Other Accounts

Advertisements

  • *************

Tick ... Tick ... Tick

  • Tax Season 2022 continues!

    Tax Day 2022 is finally over … unless you're one of the millions who have more time to file — looking at you taxpayers abroad and those in major disaster areas — or you got an extension to file your 2021 tax year return. That's fine. In fact, the Internal Revenue Service appreciates some of us spreading out our filings, especially when we and the agency still are dealing with all the complications of COVID-19 and taxes.

    That's why the ol' blog's focus now is on all y'all still working on returns. But I haven't forgotten my organized taxpayer readers, who are already looking for ways to reduce their 2022 tax year bills. Yep, that amount is adding up, but there are moves you can make. The monthly tips and reminders a little further down this column can help everyone, regardless of which tax year you're working on.

    Those on extension should keep a keen eye on the countdown clock below. It will help you track the days tick, tick, ticking off toward that absolutely final fall filing due date of Oct. 17. Yep, it's a few days later this year.
    Note: I'm in the Central Time Zone, so adjust accordingly for where you live.


Time for Tax Tasks


  • monthly tax moves


  • 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.


    toddler with flag background
    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.

    Hurricane satellite image

    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.

    restaurant check tip iStock
    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.

    IRS Free File; click image for details

    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.


    July spelled out in red, white and blue bubble font


    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

  • 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 Talking Tax Forms page.

What are you looking for?

  • Looking for something in particular? Start with the Table of Contents.
    Or check out the Archives, where you can review posts by month and category. Or enter specific keywords in the box below to search
    Don't Mess With Taxes.

Search

Subscribe:
E-mail, RSS or both!

  • Enter your Email


    Powered by FeedBlitz
  • RSS

Privacy Policy

  • Wondering what happens to your information once you subscribe? Don't worry. Don't Mess With Taxes respects your wish not to be a mere data source. Check the ol' blog's privacy policy at the Table of Contents page, as well as on the separate Privacy Policy page.

Sponsored Products

Affiliate Books

  • The Truth
    About Paying Fewer Taxes
  • Are you a tax geek? Got tax geek friends? Do you or they just want to make sure you don't overpay the IRS? Then my book, "The Truth About Paying Fewer Taxes," is for all y'all.

    Look for it on bookstore shelves
    or order a copy (or two!) from
    Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

  • TruthAboutTaxes
  • Find out more about my book and excerpted chapters at the FT Press
    Truth About Paying
    Fewer Taxes
    Web page
    .

  • You can read more
    of Kay's tax insights in ...


  • Kay Bell helps you build
    a solid tax foundation in
    "Personal Finance: An Encyclopedia
    of Modern Money Management"




    Kay Bell breaks down taxes and
    estate planning for millennials in
    "Future Millionaires' Guidebook"



    A collection of Kay Bell stories
    is included in
    "The Gambler's Guide to Taxes:
    How to Keep More
    of What You Win"




  • Tax Reading Room

    You also might enjoy these other tax tips from some of my tax-writing colleagues:




  • Don't Mess With Taxes
    is an Amazon Affiliate.
    If you click on the product links above and/or buy the items,
    I will be compensated.

0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 ...

  • Numbers
    Taxes are all about the numbers.
    Check out these (mostly) weekly
    By the Numbers figures.

Kudos Et Cetera

  • Association for Women Clarion Award Winner
    National Association
    for Women in Communications

    Winner, Best Personal Blog
    2012, 2014 & 2017

  • Plutus Award Winner
    Plutus Financial Bloggers Awards
    Celebrating the Best
    in Personal Finance

    Winner, Best Tax Blog
    2011 and 2013
    Lifetime Achievement Nominee 2020


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.

©©©©© & ®®®®®

  • Don't Mess With Taxes®
    is a registered trademark
    of S. Kay Bell.

    All content on this site is
    © 2005-2022 S. Kay Bell
    dba Write Here, a division of
    SKB Editorial Services, LLC

  • And a bit of housekeeping.
  • Note 1: Some of the links on this site
    are affiliate links. That means that
    if you click through from
    a Don't Mess With Taxes link
    and then buy the product,
    I receive a commission.

    Note 2: Links to outside content
    might become inactive due to changes
    at the copy's originating website.
    If you discover dead links, please e-mail me the details. Thanks.

    Note 3: The banner art for the ol' blog
    is courtesy Pictures of Money
    via Flickr Creative Commons.
Blog powered by Typepad
Member since 11/2005

COVID-19 Resources

  • COVID-19
    Need help finding a coronavirus vaccine in the United States?
    Call 1-800-232-0233
    or TTY 1-888-720-7489.
    More information and resources at:
    CDC Vaccines
    CDC Booster Shots
    HHS Combat COVID
    USA.Gov COVID Info

July 2022

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
          1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31            

Tell it to the Hill

  • DMWT Politics Posts
  • While it's easy to rail at the IRS, for the most part we can thank — or blame — our tax laws on Congress and the White House. So if you have an issue with tax legislation or want a tax bill passed, you need to let your federal legislators and the White House occupant know of your concerns. You can find out who in Washington, D.C., to contact (and how), as well as get information on your local lawmakers for matters, tax or otherwise, closer to home, at USA Gov.

..................................................



  • .................................................................
  • Don't Mess With Taxes •
  • Powered by Typepad
Top