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Don't Mess With Taxes

Translating taxes into money-saving English

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Tax Carnival Time!

While you can have too many taxes, you can never have enough information, or ways to access it, about taxes.

And so was born, on June 5, 2006, the Carnival of Taxes. And as you can see from our archives, we've been going strong ever since.

C'mon. Admit it. A tax carnival is a natural. By the time you finish filing your forms, you feel kind of queasy, like you just got off a Tilt-A-Whirl. Sometimes it's a full-blown nausea, reminiscent of too many hot dogs or cotton candy consumed as you strolled the carnival grounds.

And when it comes to taxes, we too often empty out our wallets, handing our money over to the IRS like the agency was one of the game operators lining the midway.

Carnival_duck_hunting_players_2 At a carnival, though, when you play one of the games, you at least have a chance to win a prize. The Carnival of Taxes aims to offer you the same opportunity.

But instead of handing out stuffed animals, this carnival will be distributing tax saving tips, tax planning strategies, commentary and humor (hey, carnivals are supposed to be fun!) from throughout the blogosphere.

Below you'll find some general information on and guidelines for the Tax Carnival. If you're a frequent participant in blog carnivals, most of this info probably will sound a bit familiar, but please give it a look before submitting an item.

What is a blog carnival? It's a community of like-minded bloggers who share their insights on a particular topic. In the financial area alone, you'll find many valuable blogs (several of them listed in my left nav bar). I hope these folks will see fit to send their tax-relevant offerings this way.

When is the Carnival of Taxes published? During tax season -- which I have deemed to begin in December when folks are making some frantic year-end tax moves and run through April -- we will post a Tax Carnival every other Monday.

During the off season, May through November, we will go to once a month.

This schedule, of course, is subject to change depending upon myriad variables, the most important being my workload! When an edition publication date is changed, I'll announce the change as a regular post in Don't Mess With Taxes.

In addition, you can check upcoming Tax Carnival dates in the "future hosts" tab at our Blog Carnival page. More on this page in a minute.

What will go in the Tax Carnival? Any and all items of tax interest. It will be a continuing compendium of tax-related postings, ranging from tax news updates to commentary on taxes (and the politics and politicos who create them) to tips to tax-filing and tax-saving strategies to paying, and paying less of, them.

What won't go in the Tax Carnival? While I want to have a pretty big carnival tent, I do ask that submissions be primarily tax-focused. For example, a thorough look at an investment strategy that then throws in the sentence "Of course, you'll owe taxes on the earnings." at the end won't cut it. How much of a tax bill? Can you reduce or avoid them (preferably legally)? If you don't want to address that tax aspect, then you won't make it into the Carnival of Taxes.

And while opinion pieces aren't expressly excluded, I do ask that you send reasoned ones and stick with facts that can be supported and rationally argued. We all have our personal and political perspectives on tax policy and those who create it, but this carnival isn't designed to be a rampant tax and/or politician slamfest. When someone or some tax deserves a tougher look, even castigation, we'll let you at them, as long as you show why such criticism is warranted.

Other content not deemed appropriate, either because of its content and/or presentation, also won't make it into the Carnival. Carnies, cyber and terrestrial, have a tough enough rep without adding questionable content into the mix. I consider myself a pretty easygoing sort and liberal in most senses of the word, but sometimes holds need to be barred. You know the standard: I can't tell you what won't make the cut, but I'll know it when I see it. And in that case, Carnival readers won't see it.

Who decides what goes in the Carnival? The host, who usually is moi. Some fellow tax bloggers have hosted past editions and I'm always open to guest hosts. So if you'd like to be Lord of the Tax Midway for one or several carnivals, just let me know.

What's the deadline for submissions? To make it into a Carnival, please submit your blog item by 11 p.m. host time (that's Central for me) the Saturday before the scheduled posting date. That will give me all day Sunday to sort through the many submissions and pull them into the carnival they deserve.

How many items may I submit? So that we get as much participation as possible but also keep the Carnival from getting out of control, please submit only one item per person and/or per carnival. When a blog has multiple members/contributors, exceptions can be made at the discretion of the carnival host (usually me). If I get more than one, I'll make the call as to which one gets in what particular carnival. If you submit an item, then find you have one later that is more timely, send the time-sensitive one and note that it needs to go sooner rather than later. I'll bump the evergreen item to a later carnival.

Where do I send my submissions? You can e-mail me at taxcarnival@gmail.com or via the Carnival of Taxes page.

Finally, there's one thing that can't be repeated enough: this is a Tax Carnival. Don't even think of trying to slip a nontax item past me. I will spot it and reject it and if you persist on such carnival spam, you will make my [fill in your expletive of choice] list. Once you get on that, I'll automatically delete your submission even if you finally get it through your head that I'm looking for tax posts only and send one my way.

I think that's all you ever wanted to know about Tax Carnivals but were afraid to ask … for now! These guidelines, publication schedule, etc., may be revised as necessary, or at my whim; it is, after all, my Tax Carnival!

For the complete and continuing list of Tax Carnivals, check out our Archives.

To see the dates of upcoming Tax Carnivals check the "future hosts" tab at our Blog Carnival page.

If you have any comments, suggestions or questions that I didn't address here, drop me a line at taxcarnival@gmail.com. The same goes if you just want to chat about taxes or are interested in hosting an edition.

Thanks for your interest in the Tax Carnival. I'm looking forward to hearing from you and getting your contributions to festivities where, to paraphrase Prince (and 007), we  party like its 1040, Form 1040!

Today's Tax Tip

  • Tax software enhances sign-on security — When you log on to your tax software this filing season, expect it to take a tad longer. Many tax software programs now are requiring multifactor authentication. (Jan. 16, 2021)

  • Tax Tip; click pencil for all tax tip links

  • 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

  • COVID-19
    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
    Open sign
    Kay Bell — Native Texan (the blog title totally makes sense now, right?). Professional journalist. Tax geek.

My Other Accounts

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  • 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. The Internal Revenue Service, which started 2021 by delivering more coronavirus economic relief payments, says it will be ready for our returns. So let's get prepared, too. The monthly tips and reminders a little further down this column should help us focus on our taxes and make the filing of them by go more smoothly. 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 15, 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


  • monthly tax moves

  • Oh, 2021. I cannot tell you how happy we are to see you. You will be better than 2020, right? Right?!?

    via GIPHY

    And just so there's no confusion, that's a question New Year 2021, not a challenge. So don't you dare try to outdo the just-past Year of COVID-19 and its many, many complications, including in the tax world.

    Jan. 1: While there's some good news with vaccines going out to fight the coronavirus pandemic, we'll still be dealing with it for a while. The Internal Revenue Service is delivering the second round of relief payments and the commissioner promises that the agency will start the 2021 filing season as usual later this month. I hope that's correct, but we shall see.

    Jan. 4: If your job made it through the tough last year, 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. This is particularly applicable true for federal employees, including members of the military and even IRS personnel, whose withholding was suspended that last few months of 2020. That money must be paid to Uncle Sam, but a new late-year law says the repayment isn't due until the end of 2021. Adjustment withholding now will give you 52 weeks to spread it across, making the per-paycheck bite less painful.

    Jan. 7: The IRS' online withholding assistant or your tax pro can help you with your withholding amount and other tax numbers, but it's also a good idea going into a New Year to have an idea of your tax bracket and income tax rate. The rates tend to hold steady (until Congress starts fiddling!), but the brackets are adjusted annually for inflation. You can check out the 2021 income brackets (and 2020's for comparison) in the first post in the ol' blog's annual inflation series. At the end of that item, you'll find a directly to the other nine inflation items.

    Jan. 11: Continuing coronavirus precautions mean some restaurants are still closed for in-house dining. Other eateries are managing with take-out meals and deliveries. Whether you're able to enjoy table service in or getting food brought to your house, 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 are still on the job, remember that your tips are taxable income. If you at least $20 in job-related gratuities last December, you need to account for them today by using Form 4070 to report your tips today to your employer.

    Jan. 13: Did some of those tips come from a side hustle? That's just one of the tax matters to think about when you are part of the gig economy. In these freelance or contractor situations, you'll need to pay estimated taxes.

    Jan. 15: The final estimated tax payment for the prior year, 2020 in this case, is due today. The other three payments are for earnings in 2021 that aren't subject to withholding and are due on April 15, June 15 and Sept. 15. And be sure to account for your self-employment tax in figuring your estimated amounts.

    Jan. 18: Many people spend
    Martin Luther King Jr. Day each year as a day of service.

     MLK Day 2020 logo
    Click image to find out ways
    you can volunteer on MLK Day.

    Taking time on 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 2020 return, you can claim up to $300 in donations directly on your Form 1040. In 2021, the $300 amount remains, but is doubled for couples who file jointly.

    Jan. 21: If the IRS meets its usual timetable, the annual tax-filing season will start soon. If you can get your tax material together, then there are several good reasons to file your return early.

    Jan. 25: Millions of filers find electronic tax options are great ways to get returns to the IRS as soon as possible. The tax agency agrees. In fact, for almost two decades, the IRS has partnered with the Free File Alliance to offer eligible taxpayers access to online tax software and e-filing through the aptly named Free File site at IRS.gov.

    IRS Free File; click image for details

    Free File companies started preparing returns for eligible filers on Jan. 15. This filing season, that's taxpayers with adjusted gross income of $72,000 or less, regardless of filing status. While the nine participating tax software companies will help you complete your 2020 return starting in mid-January, they will hold the returns for actual filing until the IRS officially starts accepting the 1040s on Feb. 12.

    Jan. 29: Of course, regardless of how you file your taxes, you can't do so until you all the necessary documents, such as W-2 and 1099 forms. Employers have until the end of the month (or Feb. 1 this year since Jan. 31 falls on Sunday) to get the to you, so be on the lookout for all the documents you need to file.

    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 Fiesta! 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
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Mapping Your Tax Route

  • Do you get lost doing your taxes? Check out the Taxpayer Advocate Service's Taxpayer Roadmap.

    Taxpayer Advocate Taxpayer Maps 2019

    This publication, designed along the lines of a subway map, shows the many routes and detours of a taxpayer's journey through our elaborate Internal Revenue Code and the Internal Revenue Service's enforcement of our tax collection system.

Sponsored Links

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  • 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,
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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.

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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
    © 2005-2021 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.

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