Don't Mess With Taxes

Thanks to Emancipation Day falling on April 15 this year, the filing deadline for 2010 returns is bumped to Monday, April 18.

And thanks to Congress agreeing to another continuing resolution to keep federal offices open through Sept. 30, all procrastinating taxpayers, whether they e-file or send in paper returns, don't have to worry about any interruption of IRS processing of tax returns.

All we, and yes, I'm one of those who still hasn't finished filling in my forms, have to worry about is getting the job done correctly.

And filing our first estimated tax payment of the 2011 tax year.

And, oh yeah, filing a 2007 tax return if we didn't do so three years ago and have a refund from that year languishing in the U.S. Treasury account.

That's a lot of stuff to work on over the next three days.

To help you meet all the deadlines, check out:

• Tax tips for January, February, March and April
• Common tax-filing errors to avoid
• Deductions without itemizing, aka above-the-line deductions
• Charitable donation deduction rules
• Free filing of federal and state tax returns
• Free tax help

Remember retirement: You also have until Monday to make a deductible traditional Roth IRA contribution for 2010.

You also can put money for last tax year into a Roth IRA; while it won't get you a tax deduction now, it will help build this account, distributions from which will be tax-free when you take them out in retirement.

Self-employed folks also can contribute to a SEP-IRA by Monday. If you don't have an account yet, you also have until the tax filing deadline to establish one.

Or if you work for yourself (like me), you can get an extension to file (like me; more on this in a minute), and make your SEP-IRA contribution as late as the Oct. 17 extended filing deadline.

That contribution deferment is not only a handy time saver, it's also a good cash-flow tool for self-employed workers.

Since we're already having to come up with cash for our first 2011 estimated tax payment by April 18, it will give us a few months to come up with our 2010 retirement account contribution.

And my fellow Schedule C filers, don't forget to deduct that SEP-IRA amount, along with half your self-employment income, as above-the-line deductions on your 1040.

Get six more months: Of course, if you're feeling overwhelmed or just don't want to spend your weekend finsihing up your taxes, get the added time to file that I mentioned a few paragraphs ago.

This gives you (us) until Oct. 17 to get our tax forms to the IRS.

Just remember that when you file Form 4868 to get the automatic extension, it's for the paperwork only.

If you owe taxes, you need to send in the amount or a good approximation of what you owe by April 18 or you'll be hit with late-payment penalty charges and interest.

Have a great weekend!

Related posts:

• Figuring your estimated tax payment amount
• IRA time!
• Save on taxes with a self-employed retirement account
• Patriots' Day extends Massachusetts, Maine state tax deadline
• States that don't conform to the federal filing deadline
• State Tax Departments
• Some final tax tips and warnings
• Tax cheating young mean and other potential tax audit red flags

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