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Don't Mess With Taxes

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Last week at my other tax blog (2014)

It's that time again. Another new tax year has rolled around.

2014 came in with less fanfare than 2013's fiscal cliff falderal. But that doesn't mean that the tax world was calm.

The House and Senate left with much tax business undone. And although Congress agreed to a two-year federal budget so we won't have a repeat of last fall's government shutdown, there's still that pesky matter of the debt ceiling hanging out there.

Bankrate Taxes Blog icom As has been my practice, I'll be recapping what happened last week at my Bankrate Taxes Blog here at Don't Mess With Taxes each weekend (mostly Saturdays ... I hope!).

If you happen to miss those roundups, you can find the synopses posts listed here in this directory.

So without further ado, here's how my 2014 Bankrate tax blogging is going.

  • Dec. 30, 2014: 5 tax-saving moves you can make by Dec. 31, plus preparing for 2015 filing season
  • Dec. 24, 2014: Charitable gifts: a present for those in need and you at tax time
  • Dec. 17, 2014: Tax filing projections for the 2015 season and beyond
  • Dec. 14, 2014: Cutting IRS budget is a bad idea for taxpayers, U.S. Treasury
  • Dec. 5, 2014: Taxpayers, IRS await Senate action on 2014's tax extenders
  • Nov. 28, 2014: Factor sales and use taxes into your holiday shopping budget
  • Nov. 23, 2014: Tax crimes, in the U.S. and internationally
  • Nov. 14, 2014: Tax help for fire, ice and other disasters
  • Nov. 9, 20914: IRS taxpayer service outlook, short- and long-term, is bleak
  • Nov. 1, 2014: Best states for business tend to have no or low taxes
  • Oct. 26, 2014: IRS seizes honest taxpayers' assets under forfeiture program
  • Oct. 18, 2014: Payroll tax unnoticed by workers, but welcomed by Treasury
  • Oct. 12, 2014: Taxes account for a large part of cellular phone bills
  • Oct. 5, 2014: How do states tax the cloud? There's no consensus ... yet.
  • Sept. 27, 2014: Lying to your tax pro could result in a bad tax situation
  • Sept. 21, 2014: Getting old sucks. We can't stop Father Time, but we can prepare physically, emotionally and financially
  • Sept. 14, 2014: What do workers want? At some offices, it's tax-free lunches
  • Sept. 6, 2014: Georgia, Indiana and Uncle Sam work to stop tax refund fraud
  • Aug. 31, 2014: Checking out charities before you give
  • Aug. 22, 2014: Massachusetts unemployment overpayment calls are legit, but other telephone contacts across the country are tax scams
  • Aug. 18, 2014: Pot tourism's potential tax payoff for states with legal weed
  • Aug. 9, 2014: Both sides of Obamacare tax subsidy fight appeal earlier court rulings, one all the way to the Supreme Court
  • Aug. 3, 2014: States see electronic cigarettes as a new tax source
  • July 25, 2014: Obama says corporate tax inversions are 'gaming the system'
  • July 17, 2014: Tax preparer oversight goes to court again: AICPA vs. IRS
  • July 12, 2014: IRS employee suspended for Obama reelection effort
  • July 4, 2014: Fireworks, flags and taxes for July 4th
  • June 28, 2014: Congress wants to consolidate the many education tax breaks
  • June 22, 2014: Save space and trees: Digitize your tax records
  • June 14, 2014: More taxpayer rights, fewer tax haven company contracts
  • June 7, 2014: Highest property tax bill in the U.S. comes to $1.275 million
  • June 1, 2014: Debate continues about tax havens and punishment fairness
  • May 23, 2014: Tax holidays on tap for hurricane prep, Energy Star appliances
  • May 18, 2014: Rich, poor, middle class: Where are you on the income scale?
  • May 12, 2014: IRS getting sneakier in tracking tax cheats
  • May 2, 2014: Representatives, Senators fall over each other in rush to ban bonuses to IRS employees who owe federal taxes 
  • April 27, 2014: Property taxes pose burdens, predatory loan possibilities
  • April 19, 2014: Some of VP Joe Biden's Social Security is taxed. Is yours?
  • April 12, 2014: State taxpayers are big e-filing fans, too
  • April 6, 2014: 3 popular refundable tax credits: Are they worth it?
  • March 29, 2014: Tax scams ramp up as filing deadline nears
  • March 21, 2014: Bet on it, IRS missing out on many NCAA basketball wagers
  • March 18, 2014: College bowl tax audits and Colorado pot taxes
  • March 10, 2014: Filing season 2014: Death, taxes, root canals and refunds
  • Feb. 28, 2014: Ways and Means chair says his tax reform plan not DOA 
  • Feb. 22, 2014: Olympic tax break effort in Illinois
  • Feb. 15, 2014: Don't call us, says the IRS. Go online instead for tax help
  • Feb. 8, 2014: Are tax refunds at risk as we teeter on debt ceiling ledge?
  • Feb. 3, 2014:  Bitcoin taxes and winter weather write-offs
  • Jan. 25, 2014: Don't miss out on the tax deduction for charitable donations
  • Jan. 18, 2014: Obamacare tax credit e tax credit upheld by court.
    How much can you get?
  • Jan. 12, 2014: Important January tax dates, deadlines
  • Jan. 4, 2014: Amazon now collecting sales taxes in 19 states

You also can find links to the most recent Bankrate posts (and the RSS feed) over there in the right column of the ol' blog. Just scroll down a bit.

If you are really hankering for more tax bloggings, you can peruse the archive of 2011, 2012 and 2013 posts at my other tax blog. Wow, I have been rambling on all over the place for quite a while!

There's also a link to my original Bankrate tax blog, Eye on the IRS, as well as one to Don't Mess With Taxes posts in which I reference my other tax blog(s).

Thanks again for reading, here and there!

Today's Tax Tip

  • Summer's arrival brings sales tax holidays in Florida and Texas — Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer. The long weekend also is the start of sales tax holiday season. Texas has three days of no taxes on certain energy- and water-saving products, starting May 27. In Florida, shoppers will start the holiday weekend with sales tax exemptions on hurricane preparedness products, followed season the Sunshine State's wide-ranging no-tax Freedom Summer. (May 27, 2023)

  • Tax Tip; click pencil for all tax tip links

  • The 2023 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!

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.
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Tick ... Tick ... Tick

  • Tax Season 2023 Continues!

    Tax Day 2023 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 2022 tax year return. That's fine. In fact, the Internal Revenue Service appreciates some of us spreading out our filings, especially when it means we are taking the time to submit a complete and correct return.

    This tax focus shift means the ol' blog will continue to provide filing tips through the Oct. 16 extension deadline. Yep, it's a day later this year, since 10/15 is on Sunday. But I haven't forgotten my organized taxpayer readers, who are looking for ways to reduce their 2023 tax year bills. Yep, that amount already 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 now is in your sights.

    Those on extension should also 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. They'll speed by quickly when you're having tax fun, and aren't we always having tax fun?!?
    Note: I'm in the Central Time Zone, so adjust accordingly for where you live.


Time for Tax Tasks


  • monthly tax moves


  • 💐 May 💐 is 💐 here!!! 💐

    Those exclamation marks and emoji bouquets are sincere and deserved. I don't know about you, but I'm more than ready for May flowers.
    Plus, you've got to love a month that starts with a celebration.

    May Pole Dance via GIPHY


    After the May Day dances are done, the commemorative days just keep coming. There are well-known ones, like Cinco de Mayo, Mother's Day, and Memorial Day, as well as some more obscure ones, like Pick Strawberries Day, Be Millionaire Day (if only!), and my favorite, Eat What You Want Day.

    But even with all these (and more!) celebrations, there's still time to make some money-saving May tax moves. Let's get to it!

    May 1: While May Day isn't a big holiday in the United States, globally the first day of May is a time for celebrating workers' contributions. But that can apply here, too, in connection with some employment-related tax tasks. If you got a big refund or owed more tax than you expected when you filed (or got an extension) last month, today's the perfect time to do adjust your paycheck withholding.

    May 5: ¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

    Feliz Cinco de Mayo

    Fiestas are always en vogue in Tejas, but the epitome of them is this Mexican holiday. No, it is NOT Mexican Independence Day, and May 5 tends to spur more festivities here north of the border, especially when it comes to imbibing margaritas. With every Cinco toast, remember that the cost of state and federal alcohol taxes are included in the mixing. Your state tax collector also will raise a glass to your fiscal contribution, since sin taxes usually are a revenue bright spot for many states.

    May 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, especially from those Cinco celebrants. But don't forget that those tips are taxable income.

    restaurant check tip iStock
    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.

    And you, as the server or delivery person, must account for those tips. If you got at least $20 in gratuities in April, you must report the amount by today by using Form 4070 to let your employer the total of the tips you took in last month.

    May 14: Happy Mother's Day!

    Happy Mother's Day

    If you're just this year making up for pandemic paused family visits (side note: May 18 is Visit Your Relatives Day), give your mom a longer hug on her special day. Love, flowers, and the best of health and happiness to every mother, from the new ones just discovering the joys, tax and otherwise, of new parenthood to those gracefully maneuvering their Golden Years while getting some tax-advantaged help from their families.

    May 22: Just because you got an extension to file your 2022 tax return doesn't mean you have to wait until the Oct. 16 deadline to finish it. And you might be able to complete all those forms at no cost. Free File, the online preparation and electronic filing web page for eligible taxpayers created by the IRS' partnership with the Free File Alliance is still operational for, as its name says, free.

    This year, the income threshold is adjusted gross income (AGI) of $73,000 or less, regardless of your filing status. You should be able to find a software that works for you from the seven tax prep companies that are participating.

    IRS Free File; click image for details


    May 26: If you're heading out early today to further extend the already long Memorial Day weekend, be sure to plan for added costs, like the price of getting to your holiday destination. Most travelers this weekend that marks the unofficial start of summer will hit the highways, so even though gasoline prices are at the exorbitant levels they were this time last year, pump prices still will take a bite of travel budgets. Maybe that will get you to look more closely at getting an electric vehicle (EV) before your next road trip. Check out the tax rules to see if your new EV comes with a $7,500 tax credit

    May 29: This Memorial Day as you honor the military personnel who made the ultimate sacrifice, don't forget about their families. There are some tax considerations offered survivors of lost soldiers, sailors, and air crew.

    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 Tax Forms 2023 page.

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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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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-December 2022
    You can find medical coronavirus resource links in the next section.

COVID-19 Resources

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    or TTY 1-888-720-7489.
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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.

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