Books Kay wrote as sole author or as a contributor
The Truth About Paying Fewer Taxes: I wrote this book in 2009 as part of the popular FT Press "truth about" series. It covers just what the title says.

Personal Finance: An Encyclopedia of Modern Money Management: This reference book, published by ABC-CLIO in 2015, is designed for high school and college students and the educators who teach those subjects. I contributed chapters on an overview of the federal tax system, tax returns, tax deferral, online personal finance options, and flexible spending accounts.

Future Millionaires' Guidebook: I joined several of my Bankrate colleagues to produce this Book Baby ebook in 2012. My chapters? Taxes of course! I provided a comprehensive (but succinct) look at everything from payroll withholding to deduction options to saving for retirement. In addition, I wrote the estate planning chapter, which included, you guessed it, the tax component of this important financial step and cited the wise words of the great Canadian rock bank Rush.

The Gambler's Guide To Taxes: How to Keep More of What You Win: Several of my Bankrate.com tax articles are included in this handbook, published by Lyle Stuart in 2003, for bettors looking to protect more of their winnings from the IRS.

Other writings by Kay
Bankrate Taxes as former contributing tax editor
Last Week at My Other Tax Blog for some of my tax bloggy thoughts at Bankrate

Worth: A look at personal finance from the pages of Austin Woman magazine

Crazy Woman Driver: Kay's auto racing rants and raves from the pages of Randall-Reilly truckers' magazines

As time goes on, I'll be tweaking this index, adding new features, refining what's here.

If you're looking for something not listed here, try the search feature over in the right column under the "What are you looking for?" header.

Don't forget the Archives page, which compiles all my posts chronologically by month, as well as alphabetically lists the categories for my blog posts.

Finally, you can always contact me — via email or send a 140-character Twitter message (I'm @taxtweet) or jot a wall note at the ol' blog's Facebook page — if you have questions about a tax topic you think/know I blogged about but can't find.

If you want to get the ol' blog's tax news and information on a regular basis, you can subscribe via RSS, email or social media.

Privacy Policy
As for those subscriptions and other interactions on the ol' blog, a few words about your privacy.

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Today's Tax Tip

Volunteering tax rules on MLK Day — If you're celebrating the Dr. Martin Luther King holiday by volunteering at your favorite nonprofit, thank you. The time you give on this day of service won't get you a tax break, but some related charitable acts of assistance could be tax deductible. (Jan. 17, 2022)
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

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

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

My Other Accounts

*************

Tick ... Tick ... Tick

Tax Season 2022 is here!
Happy New Tax Year! Are you ready to file your 2021 tax return? Me neither. With all the delays over the last couple of years due to COVID-19, it seems like we're treading tax water. But the Internal Revenue Service is insistent that we file on time, even if it takes it time in processing and sending out refunds. And this year, at least at the start of it, the agency is looking to get back on a more normal schedule, as least as far as when our annual tax returns are due. April 18 is Tax Day 2022. That's because Friday, April 15, is Emancipation Day. When this Washington, D.C., holiday falls on the day our federal taxes are due, it bumps Tax Day to the next business day. In 2022, that's Monday, April 18.

That gives us a couple of more days to finish our forms and, if we find we owe, come up with the money for Uncle Sam. The monthly tips and reminders a little farther down this column should help all of us reach both those goals. Also keep an eye on the countdown clock just below. It will help us keep track of how much time we have until Tax Day on April 18, 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

Hello 2022!

via GIPHY

Oh, 2022, I cannot tell you how happy we are to see you! I know, I said that about 2021, but last year didn't live up to my — our — expectations, tax or otherwise. So here's crossing fingers and toes that you, New Year 2022, will be much, much better on all fronts.

And just to make it clear, that hope and wish and prayer for 2022 is not a challenge. Don't you dare try to outdo the craziness of the just-passed COVID Continuation Year! We want a healthier, happier, and less tax complicated next 12 months!

Jan. 1: Happy New Year! One way to make things more enjoyable on the tax front is to get organized 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 2021 tax return as soon as the Internal Revenue Service starts accepting them.

Jan. 3: If you're a boss, including a self-employed business operators, who took advantage of the COVID relief option to defer the employer's portion of the Social Security payroll tax (that's 6.2 percent of each worker's wages), then you don't want to miss today's deadline. You must pay half of that deferred amount is due this Jan. 3. Advance tax planning alert: The other half is due by Jan. 3, 2023.

Jan. 6: If your job made it through the tough last couple of years, good for you and your company, and welcome to the New Year's first work week. It's the perfect time to refine your payroll withholding. Adjusting your withholding now will give you 52 weeks to spread it across, making the per-paycheck bite less painful.

The IRS' online withholding assistant or your tax pro can help you with your withholding amount and other tax numbers, but you can get a preview of what your tax bracket is this New Year by checking out the 2022 annual inflation-adjusted amounts. That post is the first of the ol' blog's annual 10-part tax inflation series; you'll find a directory to the other nine items at the end of it.

Jan. 10: The Delta and now Omicron COVID-19 variants have played havoc with eateries. Restaurants closed, then opened, then closed again. Others started and stuck with take-out and deliveries. Whether you're able dining 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 November 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.

Jan. 14: The IRS and its Free File Alliance partners today begin offering no-cost online tax preparation and electronic filing at IRS' Free File web page.

The fully online tax prep and filing option is available this year for taxpayers whose adjusted gross income is $73,000 or less. That income level applies to all filing statuses. Keep an eye on the ol' blog for the annual posting of details about participating companies. Spoiler: Intuit's TurboTax joined H&R Block in leaving the program.

Jan. 17: 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.

Most filers, however, claim the standard deduction and a new tax law gives them a tax break, too. On your 2021 return, you can claim up to $300 in cash donations if you're a single filer, or twice that if married filing jointly, directly on your Form 1040.

Jan. 18: The final estimated tax tax payment for the prior year, 2021 in this case, is due today for most taxpayers. While it's the last one for 2021, you'll face three other estimated tax deadlines this year (in mid-April, June and September). Run your estimated tax calculations carefully, so that you don't underpay and end up owing penalties and interest.

Jan. 24: The IRS starts accepting and, more importantly, processing 2021 tax year returns today. Before you submit yours, make sure you entered all the applicable information, especially all your earnings that the IRS already knows about via copies of tax statements you got. 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 2022 is over? Time really does fly when you're having tax fun. To ensure that fun isn't interrupted by an unhappy IRS, if you didn't make your Jan. 18 estimated tax payment, file your 2021 Form 1040 to avoid any possible penalty from a missed last installment payment.

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 Talking Tax Forms page.

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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.
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 ...

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

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.

©©©©© & ®®®®®

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
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I receive a commission.

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If you discover dead links, please e-mail me the details. Thanks.

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January 2022

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, 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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Table of Contents