Don't Mess With Taxes

Photo by Jill Wellington

Summer doesn't officially start until the solstice a bit later this month, but that doesn't stop us from celebrating the unofficial arrival of lazy, hazy days today, June 1.

But before heading out to the beach, a cool mountain retreat, your favorite amusement park, or distant family members you haven't seen in ages, it's tax time.

Yes, Tax Day was six weeks ago for most of us. But even if you got an extension to file your 2021 return, there still are some tax moves you should make or at least consider this month.

I know you're eager to get to your long-awaiting seasonal celebrations, so I won't keep you. Here's a quick look at June tax matters that you can get out of the way and then be on your way to summer fun.

1. File your 2021 tax return. I know, I know. I just said most of us were done with taxes on April 18. But most isn't all.

This month, specifically June 15, is Tax Day for U.S. taxpayers who live and work outside the United States and Puerto Rico.

That automatically delayed due date also applies to members of the military who are posted outside the United States and its nearby island territory, and who don't qualify for a longer combat zone extension.

Speaking of Puerto Rico, some of its residents also face filing by June 15. They were given the extra time due to major flooding in February.

If you're one of these taxpayers facing the upcoming filing deadline, don't panic. You can get even more time by sending the Internal Revenue Service an extension request, otherwise known as Form 4868. That will give you until Oct. 17 (the 15th this year is on a Saturday, so it moved to the next Monday) to finish filling out the forms.

But if you think you'll owe when you do eventually file, you need to send that amount along with your extension paperwork.

In fact, expat taxpayers and service personnel abroad should have paid any tax due by this year's April 18 deadline. The IRS gave y'all a longer time to file your forms, not pay what you owe.

If you didn't pay your tax due in April, penalties and interest have been adding up. So get your return and that money, or your extension and that money, to the IRS as soon as possible, but definitely by June 15.

2. Pay your estimated taxes. June 15 also is another Tax Day for millions of folks who get income that isn't subject to withholding taxes. This mid-June deadline is for the second payment due on such income received in April and May.

Yes, the IRS calendar is, like a lot of tax-related things, a bit different. My post prior to the first 2022 payment due date answers some common estimated tax questions and answers. You also can get more the scoop on estimated taxes and timetables in my estimated tax primer.

3. Take care of work-related taxes. Many folks are making estimated tax payments because they picked up some gig work to make up for salary lost or job changes made during the lingering coronavirus pandemic. This second payment time is a good opportunity to make sure your estimates are accurate. You also might want to check into using the annualized income calculation method for your estimated taxes if your non-withheld earnings fluctuate dramatically during the year.

Even if your job didn't change, June is a good time to re-evaluate the amount of income taxes that are coming out of your regular paychecks. This is especially important to do if you got a big refund or were surprised by a tax bill when you filed. Adjusting your payroll withholding now will ensure your withheld amounts are closer to your actual tax liability.

And by doing so now, the changes will be spread over six+ months. The IRS' online estimator can help you determine your appropriate withholding information to give your payroll office via a new W-4 form.

4. Vow to get your newlywed taxes correct. If you got married this year or will in this traditional wedding month, then you'll also want to say "I do" to the IRS online withholding calculator. It will help you determine proper withholding from your and your spouse's paychecks now that you'll most likely be filing one joint Form 1040.

If you don't coordinate your taxes, specifically how much is taken out of each of your paychecks, then you could end up owing at filing time. Even if only one of you has a job outside your new shared abode, the change in your filing status and possible new dependents will affect your withholding.

Again, getting it right now means that changes to your paycheck(s) won't be so dramatic because they'll be spread over more pay periods.

5. Prepare for a possibly mean Mother Nature. There already have been eight deadly tornadoes in 2022, but June 1 marks the start of another potentially disastrous season. Weather watchers marked the official beginning today of the Atlantic (and Gulf of Mexico) hurricane season.

Those of us who track the tropical systems approaching from the east were given a bit of a break. This is the first time in eight years that the Atlantic hurricane season didn't start well before June.

The storm's Pacific-based systems, however, are making up for that. Category 2 Hurricane Agatha hit Mexico over Memorial Day weekend as the strongest storm to make landfall in Mexico this early in the season. Officials are attributing at least 11 deaths to Agatha's winds and flooding rains, with 20 more missing.

Agatha's remnants also are a concern for the United States. National Hurricane Center meteorologists say the residue of the storm could drift east and spark a new tropical storm that could threaten Florida by this weekend.

If you live in Florida or the many other U.S. coastal areas (and inland, too, as systems move ashore), now is the time to get ready for when Mother Nature turns into Mommy Dearest. Check out the storm preparation suggestions in my post-Agatha post.

Even if you think you're safe, myriad other natural disasters strike any time, any place. Those same storm prep tips also can help in those unfortunate instances.

More June tax moves: OK, you've checked out these five June Tax Moves and followed through or made a note to take care of them when you get back from your vacation.

And if you're not heading out for an early summer adventure and want more tax tips to take care of your free time — hey, it could happen! — you can find more suggestions over in the ol' blog's usual place, the right-hand column.

The list starts under the red Tax Moves image, which itself is just below the countdown clock ticking off the days and hours left until arrival of the Oct. 17 filing extension deadline.

Here's to a happy new summer and its tax-saving tips.

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