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Don't Mess With Taxes

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By the Numbers 2017

We finally are in 2017. Thank goodness. I am so jazzed for the start of the 2020 presidential campaign in a few weeks!

Numbers via 123BFOK, that's a joke. No more White House wannabes for a while, please, especially since we have an incoming president and Congress from the same political party. That means that for the first time in ages, we have the possibility of tax reform.

While we're waiting for a new and improved tax code -- and even after (or if) it really, truly happens -- I'll keep count of tax related stuff in By the Numbers.

2017 is the seventh year of this numerical tradition here at the ol' blog.

And in keeping with the numeric posts of 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016, I'll select a new figure -- ranging from tax rate percentages to dollar amounts to titles of tax legislation to raw numbers and much, much more -- that has even a remote tax connection to be featured.

Again as in past years, I'll try to get the relevant figures up each weekend. But, one final (I swear!) again, sometimes stuff happens, meaning the number goes up early or, more usually, late.

Regardless of the timing, you can always find the new number on the ol' blog's home page under the multicolored numbers box (pictured on this page, too!), as well as on this special page. The newest post each week will go at the top of the list.

So welcome 2017. Here are your numbers!

  • $1.07
    Beer, wine and liquor get savings under new tax law (Dec. 31, 2017)
  • $34,558.65
    Cost of 12 days of Christmas cheer comes to $34,558.65 (Dec. 24, 2017)
  • 1,097
    Highlights of the GOP tax bill that's about to become law (Dec. 16, 2017)
  • $2.5 million
    Feds bust $2.5 million football survivor betting pool (Dec. 10, 2017)
  • 11
    The tax writing's on the bill, some of it possibly from more than 6,200 lobbyists (Dec. 3, 2017)
  • £3.3 million
    F1 champ Hamilton avoided millions in private jet taxes (Nov. 26, 2017)
  • $1 
    Mnuchin money meme arises from currency photo shoot (Nov. 18, 2017)
  • 13
    GOP tax plans would rub SALT in some Red State tax wounds (Nov. 12, 2017)
  • $13 billion
    Tax reform could cost charities $13 billion a year (Nov. 5, 2017)
  • $214.6 billion
    Tax evasion is a side hustle side effect (Oct. 28, 2017)
  • 2018
    Retirement plan inflation adjustments for 2018 (Oct. 21, 2017)
  • Jan. 31, 2018 (yes, again)
    California, U.S. territory taxpayers get disaster tax relief (Oct. 14, 2017)
  • 8
    Family businesses get estate tax break thanks to Treasury decision to revoke tax regulation (Oct. 8, 2017)
  • Nov. 13, 2017
    Tax reform details to be submitted by Nov. 13 (Oct. 1, 2017)
  • 41 percent
    Tax reform is top concern for small businesses (Sept. 23, 2017)
  • 802
    Countries' takes on Bitcoin and taxes vary widely (Sept. 15, 2017)
  • 143 million
    Protecting your financial & tax data from Equifax hackers (Sept. 9, 2017)
  • 30,000
    U.S. economy could take a big hit if DACA is revoked (Sept. 2, 2017)
  • Jan. 31, 2018
    IRS grants tax relief to Texans hard hit by Hurricane Harvey
     (Aug. 29, 2017)
  • 1,140
    U.S. & U.K. share similar tax law complexity problems (Aug. 20, 2017)
  • 2.25 percent
    Seattle bucks Washington State's no-income-tax rule, choosing to tax earnings of the city's wealthier residents (Aug. 13, 2017)
  • 3,500
    New IRS Criminal Investigation chief announces goals (Aug. 6, 2017)
  • $3 billion
    Foxconn promised $3B in tax breaks to build Wisconsin plant (July 29, 2017)
  • 8
    Treasury cites 8 burdensome tax regs that might be axed
     (July 23, 2017)
  • $1.7 million
    Rapper DMX accused of cheating IRS out of $1.7 million (July 15, 2017)
  • $300 million
    Mayweather files suit against IRS to avoid tax bill KO (July 9, 2017)
  • 2 cents
    Soda taxes will up holiday cookout costs in a few cities (July 2, 2017)
  • 0
    Tax professionals are target of yet another ID theft scam (June 25, 2017)
  • $19.4 billion
    Thanking dad on Father's Day for all of his support (June 18, 2017)
  • $68.3 million
    IRS joining lottery players in hoping for Powerball win (June 10, 2017)
  • 66 percent
    American expatriates don't like paying U.S. taxes (June 4, 2017)
  • ฿3 billion, £69 million and $88 million
    Joint Thai-British investigation breaks alleged auto export scheme that evaded billions in customs duties and taxes (May 28, 2017)
  • 10
    Armed Forces Day thanks to our military via celebrations, military-related tax breaks and tax-rewarded jobs (May 20, 2017)
  • 23.3 percent
    State sales taxes will add to your Mother's Day gift price (May 13, 2017)
  • 65 percent
    Many Americans oppose Trump's tax plan and want to see the president's tax returns first (May 6, 2017)
  • $303,717
    Sparsely populated Texas county is fracking richest in U.S. (April 30, 2017)
  • 113
    Tax Freedom Day 2017 has arrived! (April 23, 2017)
  • 4
    The scoop on paying estimated taxes (April 15, 2017)
  • 12,000
    Free tax prep, e-filing help at VITA & TCE sites nationwide (April 9, 2017)
  • $2
    California's cigarette tax jumped $2 on April 1 (April 2, 2017)
  • $1.5 billion
    Amazon wins $1.5 billion tax fight with the IRS (March 25, 2017)
  • 666
    When it came to tax filing, the Devil made him not do it (March 18, 2017)
  • 8.5 percent
    Thoughts on why the 2017 tax filing season is off to a curiously slow start (March 11, 2017)
  • $3,071
    Tax refund recipients say they'll save, pay off debt (March 5, 2017)
  • 60 percent
    Coloradans hate the state's new 'tattletale' sales tax law, but it will take effect this summer (Feb. 26, 2017)
  • 12
    Watch out for the Dirty Dozen tax scams of 2017 (Feb. 19, 2017)
  • 0.1 percent
    Mnuchin tax rule looks like it was made to be broken (Feb. 12, 2017)
  • $4.5 billion
    Americans expected to bet $4.7 billion on Super Bowl LI (Feb. 5, 2017)
  • $2,917
    Californians file most EITC claims; Mississippi taxpayers get biggest average check (Jan. 28, 2017)
  • 173,241
    1st White House petition of Trump era seeks peek at 45th president's tax returns (Jan. 21, 2017)
  • 418
    More tax whistleblowers were rewarded last year, but they got less money (Jan. 15, 2017)
  • 8
    8 tax bills already introduced in the 115th Congress (Jan. 08, 2017)

Happy tax counting!

Today's Tax Tip

  • Tax software enhances sign-on security — When you log on to your tax software this filing season, expect it to take a tad longer. Many tax software programs now are requiring multifactor authentication. (Jan. 16, 2021)

  • Tax Tip; click pencil for all tax tip links

  • The 2021 Tax Tips offer ways to file your annual return, along with post-filing advice, important tax news and, of course, ways to cut your current tax year bill. You'll find the monthly assemblages on their own respective pages: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December. While we're waiting for the 2021 calendar pages to flip and fill up with timely tax tidbits, check out 2020 (and earlier) tax years' advice.

COVID-19 & Taxes

  • COVID-19
    Coronavirus has wreaked havoc
    on the 2020 tax season.
    These three Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Taxes pages have details:
    March-July 2020,
    August-December 2020, and
    January-… 2021

All About Kay

  • OK, some about Kay
    Open sign
    Kay Bell — Native Texan (the blog title totally makes sense now, right?). Professional journalist. Tax geek.

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  • Tax Season 2021 is here!
    Happy New Tax Year! Are you ready to file your 2020 tax return? Me neither. With all the delays last year due to COVID-19, it seems like that prior tax season just finished. But time and taxes wait for no taxpayer. The Internal Revenue Service, which started 2021 by delivering more coronavirus economic relief payments, says it will be ready for our returns. So let's get prepared, too. The monthly tips and reminders a little further down this column should help us focus on our taxes and make the filing of them by go more smoothly. Also keep an eye on the countdown clock just below. It will help us keep track of how much time we have until Tax Day on April 15, just in case some of us want to put things off until the final hours. .
    Note: I'm in the Central Time Zone, so adjust accordingly for where you live.


Time for Tax Tasks


  • monthly tax moves

  • Oh, 2021. I cannot tell you how happy we are to see you. You will be better than 2020, right? Right?!?

    via GIPHY

    And just so there's no confusion, that's a question New Year 2021, not a challenge. So don't you dare try to outdo the just-past Year of COVID-19 and its many, many complications, including in the tax world.

    Jan. 1: While there's some good news with vaccines going out to fight the coronavirus pandemic, we'll still be dealing with it for a while. The Internal Revenue Service is delivering the second round of relief payments and the commissioner promises that the agency will start the 2021 filing season as usual later this month. I hope that's correct, but we shall see.

    Jan. 4: If your job made it through the tough last year, good for you and your company and welcome to the New Year's first work week. It's the perfect time to refine your payroll withholding. This is particularly applicable true for federal employees, including members of the military and even IRS personnel, whose withholding was suspended that last few months of 2020. That money must be paid to Uncle Sam, but a new late-year law says the repayment isn't due until the end of 2021. Adjustment withholding now will give you 52 weeks to spread it across, making the per-paycheck bite less painful.

    Jan. 7: The IRS' online withholding assistant or your tax pro can help you with your withholding amount and other tax numbers, but it's also a good idea going into a New Year to have an idea of your tax bracket and income tax rate. The rates tend to hold steady (until Congress starts fiddling!), but the brackets are adjusted annually for inflation. You can check out the 2021 income brackets (and 2020's for comparison) in the first post in the ol' blog's annual inflation series. At the end of that item, you'll find a directly to the other nine inflation items.

    Jan. 11: Continuing coronavirus precautions mean some restaurants are still closed for in-house dining. Other eateries are managing with take-out meals and deliveries. Whether you're able to enjoy table service in or getting food brought to your house, remember to tip your server or delivery person.

    restaurant check tip iStock
    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 last December, you need to account for them today by using Form 4070 to report your tips today to your employer.

    Jan. 13: Did some of those tips come from a side hustle? That's just one of the tax matters to think about when you are part of the gig economy. In these freelance or contractor situations, you'll need to pay estimated taxes.

    Jan. 15: The final estimated tax payment for the prior year, 2020 in this case, is due today. The other three payments are for earnings in 2021 that aren't subject to withholding and are due on April 15, June 15 and Sept. 15. And be sure to account for your self-employment tax in figuring your estimated amounts.

    Jan. 18: Many people spend
    Martin Luther King Jr. Day each year as a day of service.

     MLK Day 2020 logo
    Click image to find out ways
    you can volunteer on MLK Day.

    Taking time on Dr. King's holiday to volunteer at a charity isn't tax deductible, but some costs associated with volunteering could help reduce your tax bill if you itemize. Most filers, however, claim the standard deduction and a new tax law gives them a tax break, too. On your 2020 return, you can claim up to $300 in donations directly on your Form 1040. In 2021, the $300 amount remains, but is doubled for couples who file jointly.

    Jan. 21: If the IRS meets its usual timetable, the annual tax-filing season will start soon. If you can get your tax material together, then there are several good reasons to file your return early.

    Jan. 25: Millions of filers find electronic tax options are great ways to get returns to the IRS as soon as possible. The tax agency agrees. In fact, for almost two decades, the IRS has partnered with the Free File Alliance to offer eligible taxpayers access to online tax software and e-filing through the aptly named Free File site at IRS.gov.

    IRS Free File; click image for details

    Free File companies started preparing returns for eligible filers on Jan. 15. This filing season, that's taxpayers with adjusted gross income of $72,000 or less, regardless of filing status. While the nine participating tax software companies will help you complete your 2020 return starting in mid-January, they will hold the returns for actual filing until the IRS officially starts accepting the 1040s on Feb. 12.

    Jan. 29: Of course, regardless of how you file your taxes, you can't do so until you all the necessary documents, such as W-2 and 1099 forms. Employers have until the end of the month (or Feb. 1 this year since Jan. 31 falls on Sunday) to get the to you, so be on the lookout for all the documents you need to file.

    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.

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.

Tax Forms

  • Tax Forms
    Thanks to our increased use of tax preparers and computer software, many of us don't see our tax forms until we sign and file them. But knowing what's on these documents, either in paper or digital form, and why the IRS wants it is key to understanding our tax system. And knowledge definitely is power, especially when it comes to tax savings. Find this valuable information in the ol' blog's special Tax Forms Fiesta! page.

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Mapping Your Tax Route

  • Do you get lost doing your taxes? Check out the Taxpayer Advocate Service's Taxpayer Roadmap.

    Taxpayer Advocate Taxpayer Maps 2019

    This publication, designed along the lines of a subway map, shows the many routes and detours of a taxpayer's journey through our elaborate Internal Revenue Code and the Internal Revenue Service's enforcement of our tax collection system.

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    Look for it on bookstore shelves
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  • You can read more
    of Kay's tax insights in ...


  • Kay Bell helps you build
    a solid tax foundation in
    "Personal Finance: An Encyclopedia
    of Modern Money Management"




    Kay Bell breaks down taxes and
    estate planning for millennials in
    "Future Millionaires' Guidebook"



    A collection of Kay Bell stories
    is included in
    "The Gambler's Guide to Taxes:
    How to Keep More
    of What You Win"




  • Tax Reading Room

    You also might enjoy these other tax tips from some of my tax-writing colleagues:




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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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