Don't Mess With Taxes

Next week is a big one for taxpayers.

The 2013 federal tax filing season begins, finally, on Jan. 30.

And the very next day is a deadline for several tax situations.

Jan. 31 is the day that employers are required to send out the prior year's W-2 forms.

If you employed household help last year, this deadline also applies to you.

Yes, the so-called nanny tax applies to regular folks, too, not just political appointees. Find out more in January Daily Tax Tip #17.

The last day of this month also is the mailing deadline for all those wonderful 1099s. More on the possible tax statements that soon should be showing up in your snail mail or email box can be found in Tax Tip #12.

Then there's this year's special option for some older taxpayers to turn their December 2012 retirement account's required minimum distribution (RMD) into a qualified charitable distribution (QCD). That's a BFD that must be taken care of by Jan. 31 and more info is found in Tax Tip #18.

Did you decide not to make your final 2012 estimated tax payment on Jan. 15? Most individual taxpayers can avoid possible underpayment penalties by filing their tax returns and paying any due tax in full by Jan. 31.

The end of January also could be important to you if you sold a poorly performing stock in December so that you could use the loss to offset any capital gains or some of your ordinary income.

Now you've reassessed your portfolio and have determined that the asset you sold or one that is substantially similar to it should be added back to your holdings. But before you call your broker, check the date you sold that dog.

If you repurchase the stock or one very much like it within 30 days, you'll lose that tax loss you plan to claim on your 2012 return. More on this wash sale rule governing stock losses is in Tax Tip #19.

So pay attention to your calendar. January 2013 is winding down.

If any of these circumstances apply to you, don't let them slip by these next few days or you could pay the tax costs. 

You also might find these items of interest:

• Tax filing preparation checklist
• The 1040 is ready! The 1040 is ready!
• IRS washes out IRA wash sale work-around