Welcome 2020! Are we glad to see you! Just in case you think that's a question, the answer is a resounding yes!
Click image to see other canines (and cats, too) decked out in their New Year's Eve finery. Jan. 2: The pup above doesn't look too impressed by the arrival of 2020. Maybe he's remembering the hassles the new tax law created last year, like folks
not getting the refunds they expected or even owing Uncle Sam when they finished their 1040s. If you haven't already adjusted your withholding, do so today, or the first day you're back in the office after the New Year's Day break. The Internal Revenue Service has a new
Form W-4 and online
withholding estimator to help you get the numbers just right.
Jan. 6: 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. The first post in the series shows the
2019 and 2020 tax brackets.
Jan. 10: Does your job include
tips? If so and you received at least $20 in gratuities in December, use
Form 4070 to report them today to your employer.
Click image
to calculate how much to leave your server.
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're part of the
gig economy.
Jan. 15: One of those additional tax considerations self-employed people, whether part- or full-time, and anyone else who gets payments that don't have taxes withheld, is
estimated taxes. These are four extra tax payments a year to cover your untaxed earnings. The last
estimated tax payment for the 2019 tax year is due today.
Jan. 20: Many people spend Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a
day of service.
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. Since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) changes greatly increased
standard deduction amounts, even fewer filers now itemize. But tax breaks aren't the real reason most of us give to our favorite nonprofits, so don't let that stop you from doing good deeds today (or any other).
Jan. 23: Although employers have until the end of January to send you your
W-2 annual earnings statement, many companies and other payors start issuing
tax statements, such as charity receipts, 1098s and the various 1099s, earlier, either by snail mail or electronically. You'll need them to file your return, so start collecting them in one place so they'll be at your fingertips when you're ready to file.
Jan. 27: OK, you're ready to file and you've decided to do it yourself using tax software. Be sure to check out
Free File, which, as its name sounds, offers eligible taxpayers access to tax software and e-filing at no cost and usually opens for business on the IRS website around this time.
This is the 18th year the IRS has partnered with Free File, Inc., the alliance of participating tax software companies. It also reached a
new agreement with the group to help ensure taxpayers searching for tax software can find the appropriate Free
File option.
This year, qualifying taxpayers — that's those with income of $69,000 or less — can use one of the expected dozen or so special commercial tax software programs at IRS.gov's
Free File online page. Even if you make too much to use the online software, you can file using Free File's fillable forms.
Jan. 31: If, however, you're still unsure about doing your taxes yourself, now's the time to find a qualified
tax professional to help you fulfill your tax responsibilities. Make sure you pick the paid preparer who bests
meets your tax needs. And definitely
thoroughly check out the preparer you pick before handing over details of your tax life.
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.
Wow, so if I can come up with a more personal size wind turbine (like those above my cousin and I saw outside of Fort Stockton when we were on our West Texas jaunt), I can cut our property tax bill even more? Cool!
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