Books Kay wrote as sole author or as a contributor
The Truth About Paying Fewer Taxes: I wrote this book in 2009 as part of the popular FT Press "truth about" series. It covers just what the title says.

Personal Finance: An Encyclopedia of Modern Money Management: This reference book, published by ABC-CLIO in 2015, is designed for high school and college students and the educators who teach those subjects. I contributed chapters on an overview of the federal tax system, tax returns, tax deferral, online personal finance options, and flexible spending accounts.

Future Millionaires' Guidebook: I joined several of my Bankrate colleagues to produce this Book Baby ebook in 2012. My chapters? Taxes of course! I provided a comprehensive (but succinct) look at everything from payroll withholding to deduction options to saving for retirement. In addition, I wrote the estate planning chapter, which included, you guessed it, the tax component of this important financial step and cited the wise words of the great Canadian rock bank Rush.

The Gambler's Guide To Taxes: How to Keep More of What You Win: Several of my Bankrate.com tax articles are included in this handbook, published by Lyle Stuart in 2003, for bettors looking to protect more of their winnings from the IRS.

Other writings by Kay
Bankrate Taxes as former contributing tax editor
Last Week at My Other Tax Blog for some of my tax bloggy thoughts at Bankrate

Worth: A look at personal finance from the pages of Austin Woman magazine

Crazy Woman Driver: Kay's auto racing rants and raves from the pages of Randall-Reilly truckers' magazines

As time goes on, I'll be tweaking this index, adding new features, refining what's here.

If you're looking for something not listed here, try the search feature over in the right column under the "What are you looking for?" header.

Don't forget the Archives page, which compiles all my posts chronologically by month, as well as alphabetically lists the categories for my blog posts.

Finally, you can always contact me -- via email or send a 140-character Twitter message (I'm @taxtweet) or jot a wall note at the ol' blog's Facebook page -- if you have questions about a tax topic you think/know I blogged about but can't find.

And if you want to get the ol' blog's tax news and information on a regular basis, you can subscribe via RSS, email or social media.

Thanks for reading!

Weekly Tax Tip

Missed Tax Day? Do this now — Some folks didn't file their federal taxes on April 15 (or 17) April 15 (or 17). If you're among those who missed the deadline and also neglected to get an extension, you need to make these four tax moves ASAP. (April 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

April 1: No fooling, U.S. taxpayers.
Tax Day is just 14 days away.

April Fools! GIF from Aprilfools GIFs

April obviously is Uncle Sam's favorite month because it's when he gets millions more tax returns, most of which are filed by folks who owe.

But the first day of this big tax month also is the deadline for older retirement plan owners. Some face an April 1 deadline to make their first required minimum distribution, or RMD.

Now back to the rest of us, who have a couple more April weeks to get to work on our last-minute filings. If you're part of the procrastinating contingent, then check out these April tax moves. They might be able to help you cut any tax you owe or add to your refund.

April 5: Looking for tax help? This late in the filing season it might be tough to find a tax pro willing to take on new clients. But you still might be able to get some free face-to-face tax help if you qualify for programs such as Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE).

April 7: If you're doing your taxes on your own, make sure you understand out the new tax law affects some previously common tax breaks.

April 10: Yes, Tax Day is just around the corner, but you still have to take care of other tax tasks. If your job includes tips and you received $20 in gratuities in March, use Form 4070 to report them today to your employer.

April 15: OK. This is it! Tax Day 2019.

For most of us, that is. Folks in Maine and Massachusetts get until April 17 due to the celebration of Patriots Day in those states.

You've got until midnight tonight (your local time) to electronically file your 1040. If you qualify, the IRS-tax software industry partnership known as Free File is waiting for you. This IRS/tax software industry partnership is in its 17th year of providing eligible taxpayers the opportunity to prepare and e-file their taxes, as the name says, at no cost.

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.

If you discover that, even with the Free File help, you just can't complete all the necessary tax paperwork, make sure you file Form 4868 to get an automatic six-month extension. Just be sure to pay any tax you owe. The extension only gets your more time file your forms, not extra time to pay your tax bill.

Remember, too, that April 15 also is the deadline for several other tax tasks. They include:

Making your first 2019 tax year estimated tax payment. There's no extension allowed here.

Contributing to contributing to an IRA. Putting money into a traditional IRA by today also could give you an immediate tax deduction on your current return.

You also can contribute to a Roth IRA and have it count toward the prior tax year. While a Roth isn't deductible, when you max out your annual contribution amounts you'll have a bigger retirement nest egg. Plus, your contributions to either retirement account could help you qualify for the Saver's Credit.

And if you didn't file a 2015 tax return back in 2016 and were due a refund three years ago, file that old 1040 by today or kiss your unclaimed refund money goodbye.

April 19: Whew! Now that filing is done (except for us procrastinators on extension) and you've had a few days to get settled, it's time to take care of your tax records. You need to hang onto some filing paperwork just in case the IRS has follow-up questions.

April 24: If you got or are expecting a big refund or ended up owing Uncle Sam a lot when you filed your return, now's the time for a paycheck checkup and possibly adjust your payroll withholding, especially since we're now dealing with new tax laws.

April 30: And about those tax law changes…. Now that you've seen what they meant to your 2018 tax return, start now to make the most of them — and pay less taxes — in 2019. In addition to continuing to read Don't Mess With Taxes, you also might want to consider hiring a tax professional who will work with you year round.

Small Business Tax Calendar: Speaking of business taxes, you'll find important filing, deposit and record keeping dates throughout the year that your company needs to know in the IRS' tax calendar for small businesses and the self-employed. You also can get more tax calendar information 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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Kudos Et Cetera

National Association
for Women in Communications
Winner, Best Personal Blog
2012, 2014 & 2017
Plutus Financial Bloggers Awards
Celebrating the Best
in Personal Finance
Winner, Best Tax Blog
2011 & 2013

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.

©©©©© & ®®®®®

Don't Mess With Taxes®
is a registered trademark
of S. Kay Bell.

All content on this site is
© 2005-2019 S. Kay Bell
dba Write Here, a division of
SKB Editorial Services, LLC
And a bit of housekeeping.
Note 1: Some of the links on this site
are affiliate links. That means that
if you click through from
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If you discover dead links, please e-mail me the details. Thanks.

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April 2019

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