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.

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

10 overlooked medical tax deductions — Got medical expenses? Enough of them could make itemizing worthwhile. Here are 10 often overlooked deductible health care costs that could help bulk up your Schedule A and cut your tax bill. (May 4, 2021)
The 2021 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. While we're waiting for the 2021 calendar pages to flip and fill up with timely tax tidbits, check out 2020 (and earlier) tax years' advice.

COVID-19 & Taxes

Coronavirus has wreaked havoc
on the 2020 tax season.
These three Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Taxes pages have details:
March-July 2020,
August-December 2020, and
January-… 2021

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 2021 is here!
Happy New Tax Year! Are you ready to file your 2020 tax return? Me neither. With all the delays last year due to COVID-19, it seems like that prior tax season just finished. But time and taxes wait for no taxpayer … unless we're still dealing with a global pandemic. Yep, COVID-19 is still hanging on, so the Internal Revenue Service, which started 2021 by delivering more coronavirus economic relief payments, says it's once again giving taxpayers (and the agency itself) more time to deal with 2020 returns. Tax Day 2021 has been moved from April 15 to May 17. The monthly tips and reminders a little further down this column should help us focus on our now-delayed filing and other tax moves and hopefully make things go a bit more smoothly. Also keep an eye on the countdown clock just below. It will help us keep track of how much more time we now have until Tax Day on May 17, just in case some of us want to put things off until the final hours. .
Note: I'm in the Central Time Zone, so adjust accordingly for where you live.

Time for Tax Tasks

May 1: Happy May Day!
Or is it mayday?

via GIPHY

May Day globally is a time for celebrating workers' contributions. Mayday, as one word, is a universal distress signal. With the coronavirus pandemic not quite under total control, both meanings continue to apply as we head into 2021's fifth month.

More people are being vaccinated, and some businesses are open again. But many workers are still out of jobs and dealing with continuing COVID-19 financial stress.

The third COVID economic impact payment provides some relief. And President Joe Biden, just wrapping up the first 100 days of his administration, is proposing some tax law changes that could help. Those, however, are down the road a-ways. So let's look at tax tasks that are on the books and need attention this month, like the delayed Tax Day 2021 coming up on May 17. Don't worry. I'll remind you when we get even closer to the filing deadline.

May 5: ¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

2021 definitely is a year when we can use a little celebration, even if it's a Mexican holiday that tends to spur more festivities here north of the border. So raise that margarita during your fiesta, either at a still COVID-conscious real-life party or virtually. Your state tax collector will thank you, since during the pandemic, sin taxes were a lone revenue bright spot for many states.

May 9: Happy Mother's Day!

Now that you and your mom both have been vaccinated, make up for last year's missed Mother's Day. All the love and best to every mom, 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 10: More restaurants across the country are opening up table service. Folks who are so done with coronavirus take-out and deliver are happy to be served in person again. And those servers are especially thrilled to see the diners, especially the ones who are good tippers. If you're comfortable going out to eat, be sure to reward your server. The same tipping reminder applies for food delivery people if you're still self-isolating.

If a tip isn't included in your restaurant check or food delivery charge, click the image above to calculate how much to tip.

Those of you getting the tips, remember that your tips are taxable income. If you got such added financial thanks that came to a total of at least $20 last month, whether as a waiter/waitress or hair stylist or valet or whatever job where gratuities are common, you need to account for them today. Report your tips to your employer on Form 4070.

May 10: The deadline to file your tax return is just a week away. If you're still working on or finishing up your 2020 Form 1040, check out the filing pieces of advice in the ol blog's monthly tax tips pages. You'll find links near the top of this column, right under the Tax Tip yellow No. 2 pencil tip image.

May 14: The last weekend before Tax Day 2021 is here. Time to finally finish that return. If you haven't already, find all those tax documents that you shoved in a drawer when you learned nothing would be due in April. For most of us, claiming the standard deduction is the way to go. You'll need just your W-2 and possibly some 1099 forms. If you still itemize, this checklist details the additional data you'll need to file.

May 17: It's finally Tax Day 2021. Stop cheering (or crying) and get your return on its way to the Internal Revenue Service.

.
You've got until midnight tonight (your local time) to electronically file your 1040. You can do that and possibly save some money by using Free File, the online no-cost tax preparation and e-filing partnership between the IRS and Free File Alliance.

The official Free File site at IRS.gov this season offers nine participating tax software options if your adjusted gross income is $72,000 or less, regardless of filing status. If you make too much to use the online software, look into using Free File's fillable forms.

And if you just can't finish your 1040 by today, send the IRS instead Form 4868 to get until Oct. 15 to file your return. Remember though, you must pay any due tax with your extension request.

May 21: Whew! Now that filing is done (except for us procrastinators on extension) and you've had a few days to get settled, it's time to take care of your tax records. You need to hang onto some filing paperwork just in case the IRS has follow-up questions.

May 25: Part of the emergence from COVID-19 lockdown is the return of summer camps. If you were able to get your kiddos into a day camp, be sure to hang on to the receipts. The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit has been expanded for the 2021 tax year, making it even more valuable when you file your taxes next year.

May 29-31: Happy Memorial Day long weekend! If you and yours are vaccinated and taking advantage of that to welcome the unofficial beginning of summer with a road trip, enjoy. After months of lockdown, a change of scenery definitely will be nice. And if you have a second home that you're leasing to other gotta-get-away travelers, stay on top of all the short-term rental rules, at both the possibly tax-free federal income and more-local occupancy tax levels.

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 Forms Fiesta! page.

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Taxes are all about the numbers.
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Kudos Et Cetera

National Association
for Women in Communications
Winner, Best Personal Blog
2012, 2014 & 2017
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.

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May 2021

Tell it to the Hill

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, use the federal legislator locator above to find just who on Capitol Hill should hear your concerns. And for matters tax or otherwise closer to home, you can find info on your state and local elected officials at USA Gov.

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