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Daily Tax Tips April 2016

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It's here! Uncle Sam's favorite month, no April fooling, since it's the home to the Internal Revenue Service's annual mid-month filing deadline.

This year we get a few extra days, until April 18, thanks to the relatively unknown Emancipation Day federal holiday falling on April 15. Since that's on a Friday this year, it pushes the due date for our 2015 Form 1040s and any owed tax money to the following Monday.

The millions of us who put off filing -- or asking for an extension to file -- until the very last minute are very grateful for those three extra days. They give us more time to gather all our filing data, make sure we haven't missed any possible tax breaks and contribute to our retirement accounts, be they traditional or Roth IRAs or, if you're self-employed like me, a SEP or other similar account.

Actually, those retirement tips were offered last week while we still were in March. But no worries. There still are plenty of tax tips to get us through April 18.

Let's get started! 

  1. Don't make these 5 foolish tax mistakes -- Don't be an April Tax Fool. Here are some tax errors you should avoid as the IRS deadline nears, and really any month. (April 1, 2016)
  2. Take tax care with your 1040 -- It's two weeks until our 2015 tax returns are due. As you wrap up your annual 1040 task, make sure you don't make any common filing mistakes or miss out on any possible tax breaks. (April 4, 2016)
  3. The many capital gains tax rates -- If you've been a patient investor, Uncle Sam gives you a break at tax time. Most investors are familiar with the 15 percent long-term capital gains rate, but there are many more. Wealthier folks pay 20 percent and those at the other end of the earnings scale can sell assets and owe no tax. Here's more on those three rates and a couple of special capital gains rates in-between. (April 5, 2016)
  4. Don't tempt the tax auditor -- Few taxpayers are audited nowadays, but your chances increase if your return tempts the tax auditor. Be especially careful about waving audit red flags. And remember, the burden of proof in an IRS examination is always on you to show your claims are legitimate. (April 6, 2016)
  5. Tax deductions for nonitemizers -- If you don't itemize, don't worry. There are still plenty of tax breaks, known as above-the-line deductions, that you can claim directly on Form 1040 (and a few on the 1040A, too). (April 7, 2016)
  6. Educators' deduction now permanent -- Teachers and certain other school employees who spend their own money for classroom projects can claim some of those costs without having to itemize. Even better, this deduction is now permanent and indexed for inflation. (April 8, 2016)
  7. Don't dare deduct these expenses! -- Taxpayers are always searching for every last penny to write off at tax-filing time. Here are some expenses that are close, but not deductible. Try to claim them, and you'll hear from an IRS auditor. (April 11, 2016)
  8. Alternative Minimum Tax alert -- The only thing worse than doing your taxes is doing them twice and owing Uncle Sam more. This happens to some taxpayers who, because of legitimate tax breaks they claim to lower their tax bills, end up owing the Alternative Minimum Tax, or AMT. Find out if you're in danger of being hit by this parallel tax system. (April 12, 2016)
  9. Private mortgage insurance still deductible -- If you don't make a large enough down payment when you buy your house, your lender could require you buy private mortgage insurance, or PMI. This is coverage that you, the home buyer, pay for, but it protects your lender in case you default on your loan. But at least through the 2016 tax year, some PMI payers can deduct those payments on Schedule A. (April 13, 2016)
  10. 6 tax e-payment options -- If you don't want to mail the IRS a check, Uncle Sam offers six ways to electronically pay your tax bill. You can use a credit card, debit card, the Direct Pay option, electronic funds withdrawal (EFW), Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) and, new in 2016, by cash at some 7-Eleven stores. (April 14, 2016)
  11. Ways to pay a big IRS bill -- If you discover you owe Uncle Sam more money than you can get your hands on in one fell swoop, then what? Don't worry. The Internal Revenue Service (and others) offer some alternative payment options. (April 15, 2016)
  12. Tax Day last-minute filing tips -- Tax Day 2016 is finally here. It's time to file something, either your tax return or an extension to file. Either way, be sure to pay any tax you owe, or at least as much as you can. (April 18, 2016)

To ensure that your filing is complete and correct, feel free to check out the Daily Tax Tips posted during the first three months of the 2016 filing season.

January 2016 Daily Tax Tips

February 2106 Daily Tax Tips

March 2016 Dail Tax Tips

And don't worry about the tip parade ending. The Weekly Tax Tips for 2016 will start on Wednesday, April 20.

If you just can't get enough tax tips, you also can check out Don't Mess With Taxes' continually expanding collection of year-round tax tips and money moves.

Today's Tax Tip

  • What the one big tax bill could mean for you — It’s official. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act is law, signed at a White House July 4th ceremony. Taxes are a major part of the nearly 1,000-page measure. Here’s a collection of articles on what the new tax (and more) law could mean for your tax planning and ultimate Internal Revenue Service bill. (July 5, 2025)


  • Tax Tip; click pencil for all tax tip links

  • The 2025 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. Remember, tax tasks and tips don't stop after you file your annual return!

All About Kay

  • OK, some about Kay
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    Kay Bell — Native Texan
    (the blog title totally makes sense now, right?). Professional journalist. Tax geek.
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  • Tax Year 2025 Continues!

    We made it. Tax Day 2025 is finally over. For most of us. When the filing season started on Jan. 27, the IRS said it expected more than 140 million individual tax returns for tax year 2024 to be filed by April 15. When the month started, the agency was around 39 million short of that number. While many taxpayers no doubt got their 1040s in by Tax Day, million every year get an extension to file. That's fine.

    In fact, the Internal Revenue Service appreciates some of us spreading out our tax submissions. It gives the agency time to process the surge of returns that arrive en masse on April 15.

    But enough about Uncle Sam's tax collection issues. The focus now is on all y'all who filed for extensions, giving you another six months to complete your return. Let's get started on meeting that new Oct. 15 deadline. It will be here before you know it.

    The monthly tips and reminders a little further down this column can help you finish up your extended Form 1040. There also will be tax tidbits each month that make sure you meet other tax deadlines. And, of course, you'll find advice on ways to cut your 2025 tax bill.

    The monthly tips and reminders a little further down this column can help you finish up your extended Form 1040. There also will be tax tidbits each month that make sure you meet other tax deadlines. And, of course, you'll find advice on ways to cut your 2025 tax bill.
    Note: I'm in the Central Time Zone, so adjust accordingly for where you live.


Time for Tax Tasks


  • monthly tax moves


  • Welcome July!
    🗽 USA 🎆 Birthday 🎉 Time! 🦅


    This first full month of summer really knows how to get the season started: Fireworks across the country on July 4!
    Or, if your neighborhood is annoyingly like mine, fireworks from July 1 through July whenever the pyrotechnics are all boomed!

    Even more exciting, tax-related sparklers continue through the month. In fact, as the calendar of tax tasks below notes, they started before the wicks on any official Independence Day firecrackers were lit.

    toddler with flag background
    Click on the image for some fireworks safety tips and warnings from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

    I know, you're feeling like the youngster above, not quite ready yet to hear about taxes. But when you do take your hands off your ears to hear — or rather, scroll down to read — you’ll find some tax information to note and tax moves to make in July.

  • July 1: The majority of state individual and corporate income tax policy changes follow the calendar year and take effect each Jan. 1. But, notes the Tax Foundation, many sales and excise tax changes take effect today, July 1, which is the beginning of the fiscal year for all states except Alabama, Michigan, New York, and Texas. That’s why that notable tax changes will take effect in several states today.

    July 4: Happy 249th Birthday, America!

    Most of us will never be totally independent of taxes, but we can celebrate fewer tax hassles by paying attention to what we might owe and how we can reduce that amount throughout the year. As for that owed amount, if you meet most of your annual tax federal obligation via paycheck withholding, now is a good time to review that amount. If you need to adjust your withholding, the amounts will be less noticeable by being spread across 2025’s remaining six months.

    July 10: If your job is as a server at a restaurant or at any other establishment where gratuities from customers are part of your compensation, I hope you get all the tips you deserve for doing your job well. Remember, though, that those tips are taxable income.

    restaurant check tip iStock
    Whether you're dining at your favorite eatery or getting food, groceries and/or prepared meals, delivered to your home, if a tip isn't included on your restaurant or delivery bill, click the image above to calculate how much to tip the person who brought it to you.

    If you got at least $20 in gratuities in June for your extraordinary services as a food server or hair stylist or parking valet or whatever job where tipping is common, you must report that amount by today. Use Form 4070 to let your employer know the total tips you took in last month.

    July 11: Today kicks off the first of the annual summer state sales tax holidays. During these special shopping events, usually touted as back-to-school tax holidays, certain items are exempt from the states’ and usually the local sales taxes. Announced July sales tax holidays are (so far) in —
    Mississippi from July 11 to 13;
    Alabama from July 18 to 20;
    New Mexico from July 25 to 27, and
    Tennessee from July 25 to 27.

    July 18: If back in April you got an extension to file your 2025 tax return, you don’t have to wait until the final Oct. 15 deadline to do so. You can get this tax task out of the way so you don’t have to think about it for the rest of the summer. You also might be able to file electronically at no cost if your adjusted gross income (AGI), regardless of your filing status, is $84,000 or less by using the official IRS.gov Free File website.

    IRS Free File; click image for details

    Eight software companies are part of this year’s IRS-Free File Alliance partnership option at IRS.gov. They will be available through the Oct. 15 extension deadline, but again, you don’t have to wait. And if your income is too high, you still can file for free by using Free File's Fillable Forms option.

    July 24: Millions of us head to the beach to beat summer’s heat. But when the waters heat up, too, they can feed tropical systems. So far, the 2025 Atlantic (and Gulf of Mexico) hurricane season, which runs through Nov.  30, hasn’t been that bad. But federal forecasters say just wait. They once again are forecasting a more active than usual hurricane season. Before another tropical system forms, now is the time to get ready.

    Hurricane satellite image

    Uncle Sam's official forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center say we could get 13 to 19 total named storms, which are those with winds of 39 mph or higher. Of those, six to 10 are forecast to become hurricanes, meaning winds of 74 mph or higher. Three to five of the storms this season could become major hurricanes; that’s category 3, 4 or 5, with winds of 111 mph or higher.



    The countdown clock above can help you keep track of how many more days you have to worry about tracking any size or type of tropical storms. You also might want to check out the ol' blog's Storm Warnings collection of special pages with posts offer tax advice on preparing for, recovering from and helping those who sustain damages from the many ways that that weather goes wild.

    July 31: Summer is a great time to make home improvements. And there’s some added urgency this year if you’re relying on tax credits to help cover the cost of energy-efficient residential upgrades. Congress has targeted green energy tax breaks in its massive One Big Beautiful Bill. Many of the tax breaks will expire sooner than originally scheduled, so get your home improvements — and other environmentally friendly moves, like buying an electric vehicle — in under the tax law change wire.

    Small Business Tax Calendar: If you run your own company, you know there are myriad important filing, deposit, and record keeping dates throughout the year that your company needs to meet. You also can track key business and individual tax deadlines in IRS Pub. 509.

State Tax Help

  • Don't forget your state taxes!
    Forty-two states and D.C. collect personal income taxes. But even if you live in of the eight states without any 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 2025 page.

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    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 interpretation and 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. While I work to ensure each post's accuracy, the items are not recommendations of any specific tax action(s) you should or should not take. Similarly, mentions of commercial tax products or services are not endorsements.

    In other words, my ramblings on the ol' tax blog are free advice, and you know what they say about getting what you pay for. That's why when it is time for you to file your own taxes, I urge you to get additional, professional, paid-for guidance from an accountant, Enrolled Agent, or other reputable, qualified tax preparer who is familiar with your individual tax circumstances.

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COVID-19 & Taxes

  • COVID-19
    Coronavirus has wreaked havoc
    on the 2020 and 2021 tax seasons.
    These five Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Taxes pages have details:
    March-July 2020
    August-December 2020
    January-December 2021
    January-December 2022
    …and so it continues into 2023
    …and, alas, into 2024
    It is 2025 and, yes, it's still an issue
    You can find medical coronavirus resource links in the next section.

COVID-19 Resources

  • COVID-19
    Need help finding a coronavirus vaccine in the United States?
    Call 1-800-232-0233
    or TTY 1-888-720-7489.
    More information and resources at:
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  • Uncle Sam representation on vintage postcard
    Uncle Sam on vintage postcard.
    ...............................................

Tell it to the Hill

  • DMWT Politics Posts
  • While it's easy to rail at the IRS, for the most part we can thank — or blame — Congress and the White House for our tax laws. So if you have an issue with tax legislation or want a tax bill passed, you need to let your federal legislators and the White House occupant know of your concerns. You can find out who in Washington, D.C., to contact (and how), as well as get information on your local lawmakers for matters, tax or otherwise, closer to home, at USA Gov.
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