No April Foolingaround this year, please.
COVID-19 is hanging on and we definitely are
not in the mood.
I know, some folks like the 4/1 jokes, especially since April usually is a serious tax month. But with the persistent pandemic, even with more of us getting vaccines, things still are truly life and death. The U.S. tax world, like the rest of the literal planet, continues to deal with the changes this virus has wrought.
When it comes to taxes, one of the major COVID-19 changes is, once again, a delay of Tax Day. It's not April 15 this year. The IRS moved it to
May 17.
But other tax tasks remain, including an important April one, so let's get to this month's tax moves.
April 1: Another April change is a holdover from last year, when
required minimum distributions (RMDs) were waived. No 2020 RMDs meant none were pushed back to this April 1.
But get ready, these mandated withdrawals from tax-deferred retirement accounts are
back for 2021. Note, though, that the
RMD trigger age now is 72 instead of 70½.
April 6: Looking for tax help? During a normal April, it would be way too deep into the filing season to find a tax preparer. That's likely still true, even with more than a month left in this filing season. But some tax preparers have finished up with early filers, so you might be able to find a
tax pro willing to take on new clients.
If you're looking for free help and are older or don't make a ton of money, check into
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs in your area. These IRS-trained volunteers are working around COVID-19 limitations to help eligible taxpayers fill out and file returns, all at no- or low-cost.
And, of course, there's 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.
April 12: Coronavirus vaccines are rolling out, albeit slowly in some places (yes, looking at you Texas), and some pandemic precautions are being lifted. That means some restaurants are opening for a limited number of diners. Other eateries are continuing with curbside pickup meals and deliveries. Whether you're able to enjoy table service or still relying on 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 are still on the job, remember that your
tips are taxable income. If you at least $20 in job-related gratuities in March, you need to account for them today by using
Form 4070 to report your tips today to your employer.
April 15: Your 2020 tax year return and any payment if you owe tax aren't due today, but 4/15 is still the deadline for the first quarter of 2021
estimated taxes.
April 20: You filed your 2020 return early, in part to get the tax refund you're due, as well as to get all your COVID economic impact payments, including the amount you claimed on your Form 1040 as the
Recovery Rebate Tax Credit. So where's your money? You can use the IRS' online
Where's My Refund? tracker for that amount or the agency's
Get My Payment search tool to find out the status of that money.
April 25: The 93rd Academy Awards will be presented tonight. I'll be watching because I love movies and also because there's a tax connection. Many of this year's nominees, like always, were made using
state tax credits, exemptions, rebates and/or grants.
April 30: In filling out your return, you realized you could get a tax break by making a
2020 tax year contribution to your traditional IRA. Good news. The May 17 deadline also applies to this retirement saving and tax cutting opportunity. The new May Tax Day also is the
new deadline to put that prior-tax-year money into a Roth IRA, health savings account (HSA), Archer Medical Savings Accounts (Archer MSAs), and Coverdell education savings accounts (Coverdell ESAs). Start looking now at where to get the cash to put into any of these accounts that affect your tax situation (and savings!).
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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