12 tax tips for 2012

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Minimum wage increased in eight states but workers probably still EITC eligible

Tax Carnival #94: Happy New Tax Year

12 tax tips for 2012

Monday, January 02, 2012

It's the start of a new year and you know what that means: resolutions and numbered lists.

My 12 Tempting Tax Tips For 2012 story at Bankrate combines those traditions. Here are the high points:

Remember Roth IRA conversion taxes
Claim your American Opportunity
Note health care info on W-2
Pay attention to Form 1099-K
Be ready for basis reporting
Accelerate income
Cash in winning stocks
Plan for the added Medicare tax
Assess AMT danger
Give gifts
Evaluate estate tax implications
Hire a registered tax pro

Some of these are 2012 specific. Others are tax move perennials. Check out the full story for details on each.

You also might find these items of interest:

Posted on Monday, January 02, 2012 at 11:19 AM in Bankrate Tax Guide, Tax Tip, Taxes | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Bankrate, New Year tax tips, tax, taxes

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Weekly Tax Tip

Form 1040X gives you a filing do-over — Made a mistake on your 1040? Found a tax break you overlooked? Then Uncle Sam's X file, aka Form 1040X that lets you amend prior filings, can help you get the truth about your taxes to the Internal Revenue Service. (May 17, 2019)
Check out all the latest post-Tax Day tax advice in the 2019 edition of Weekly Tax Tips. Many of these once-a-week tips will focus on planning moves to cut your 2020 tax bill. If, however, you're working on a filing extension for your 2018 return, you can get a refresher of the 2019 Filing Season Tax Tips at their respective monthly pages: January, February, March and April.

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 2019 continues!
Are you among the almost 15 million taxpayers the IRS estimates are now on extension to file their 2018 tax returns? That new Oct. 15 tax filing deadline will be here before you know it. The countdown clock below will help you track the days until that absolutely final filing due date arrives. Maybe in the next six months, we'll have a better handle on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act changes!
Note: I'm in the Central Time Zone, so adjust accordingly for where you live.

Time for Tax Tasks

May 1: Happy May Day!

via GIPHY

This isn't a big holiday in the United States, but globally the first day of May is a time for celebrating workers' contributions. But it is the perfect day to take care of employment-related tax tasks, such as doing a paycheck check-up to see if you need to adjust your payroll withholding.

It's always a good idea when you get a big refund or owe a lot. But such a review is especially important this year for folks surprised by the size (or lack thereof) of their tax refunds in this first filing season where the full effects of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act came into play.

May 5: ¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

!

Before you raise a margarita to this Mexican holiday that tends to be a bigger celebration here than south of the border, consider making one or more of these five tax-smart tax moves:

1) File your 2018 tax return ASAP if you missed the April filing deadline. Remember, Free File is still open for qualifying taxpayers.
2) Get professional help with that late filing or extension by hiring a tax pro.
3) Contribute as much as you can to your retirements plan(s), be they an IRA (Roth or traditional version) and/or a workplace account.
4) Rebalance your portfolio. Long-term appreciated assets are taxed at lower capital gains tax rates.
5) Tune up or establish your tax record keeping system for your 2018 tax documents and in preparation for the 2019 tax year.

May 10: Does your job include tips? Did you receive $20 worth of gratuities in April? Then use Form 4070 to report them today to your employer.

May 12: Happy Mother's Day!

Make it a special one for the moms in your life, from those just now discovering the joys, tax and otherwise, of parenthood to the gracefully aging mom that you're helping maneuver through her golden years.

May 17: Before spring slips into summer, take care of your spring tax cleaning. Give away clothing and household goods you no longer use. Your philanthropy could provide you a charitable tax deduction if you itemize your 2018 taxes.

May 24: Kick spring cleaning up a notch. Go beyond housekeeping and house clearing and make those home repairs you've been putting off. Many home improvements, including landscaping, could pay off in by increasing your home's basis, which means your profit for tax purposes will be smaller and stay under the amount that's tax-free when you eventually sell your home.

May 24: If you're heading out early for the long Memorial Day weekend that traditionally kicks off summer, be aware of the many travel related taxes, such as excise taxes on airfare and an increasing number of local taxes added to short-term home rentals.

May 25: What's that? Instead of taking a Memorial Day trip, you're staying home to work on your 2018 tax return that's on extension. If you qualify, the IRS-tax software industry partnership known as Free File is waiting for you. As noted earlier, this IRS/tax software industry partnership, now in its 17th year of providing eligible taxpayers the opportunity to prepare and e-file their taxes, as the name says, at no cost, is still open for procrastinating filers.

This year, qualifying taxpayers — that's those with income of $66,000 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.

May 31: You filed weeks ago, but were hoping to have your refund to spend on your holiday trip. It hasn't shown up yet. Find out what's happened to it by using the IRS' "Where's My Refund?" online tracking tool.

Small Business Tax Calendar: Important filing, deposit and record keeping dates throughout the year that your company needs to know. You also can view the full year's important business 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.

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.

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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.

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