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.

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.

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Today's Tax Tip

Employee benefits that offer tax savings — It's workplace benefits enrollment season for many workers, the chance to make any changes to workplace enticements such as health insurance, child care, and more. Take time to assess what your company offers. Many popular office benefits have tax advantages, too. Asking these open enrollment questions can help you make better benefits choices. (Oct. 20, 2021)
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. Remember, tax tasks and tips don't stop after you file your annual return!

COVID-19 & Taxes

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
You can find medical coronavirus resource links further down this column.

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 Year 2021 Countdown
It's over! We cleared the final 2020 tax year extended filing deadline, unless you get more time because your filing deadline was affected by a major natural disaster or military service. You can find which areas of the United States got delayed due dates in this further-extended extended filing deadline post. For most of us, though, the passage of Oct. 15 means it's now time to focus on the Form 1040 that we must file next year.

In most cases, we have until Dec. 31, 2021, to make moves that will reduce our already accruing tax bills. The countdown clock below will make sure we don't miss that deadline.

And the calendar-keyed Tax Tasks below the counter will highlight some tax-saving actions to take in each of the remaining months of the year.
Note: I'm in the Central Time Zone, so adjust accordingly for where you live.

Time for Tax Tasks

BOO!

Halloween, of course, is one reason that October is the scariest month of the year. But there's also Oct. 15, the tax filing deadline for folks who got an extension to complete their annual returns. And again in 2021, we're still dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. But these tips should help ease at least your tax fears this month.

Read about the history of jack o'lanterns

Oct. 1: In addition to medically masked adults and costumed child-size Halloween goblins and ghouls descending on your neighborhood at the end of this month, one of the scariest October items is that countdown clock a little higher up in this column. As noted at the top of this tax tasks column, the clicking clock is a stark reminder for millions of ultimate procrastinators that their deadline to file those 2020 Internal Revenue Service forms they shoved aside back in May must be done by mid-month. Don't worry. I'll remind you again as Oct. 15 nears.

But why push the deadline? Gather all the documents you need to file your Form 1040, like your W-2 and all the otherstatements, forms, and receipts you need to finish up your taxes.

And if job upheaval during the coronavirus pandemic prompted you to go to work for yourself, either via many gigs or a full-time business of your own, don't overlook the tax responsibilities and breaks associated with self-employment.

Oct. 5: OK. You're ready to finally file that Form 1040 before the 15th. Great! Now make sure you don't overspend to do so. Check out Free File, the online no-cost tax preparation and e-filing partnership between the IRS and the Free File Alliance.

The official Free File site at IRS.gov this season offers nine participating tax software options if your adjusted gross income is $72,000 or less, regardless of filing status. If you make too much to use the online software, look into using Free File's fillable forms. Both are available through Oct. 15 … if you want to wait a few more days.

Oct. 11: So another week slipped by without you filing your taxes. No judging. I've been there. The good news is that today is the federal Columbus Day holiday or, in many states and cities, now designated Indigenous People's Day. If you don't have to head into the office or check in on some work from home Zoom calls, this is a great day to deal with your extended taxes. In addition to the filing tips offered earlier in this list, as well as the monthly tax tip collection links under the pencil image at the top of this page, the IRS has some suggestions on getting the job done.

Oct. 12: Until the Delta variant showed up, many had resumed Before Days events, like eating at favorite restaurants. Some eateries are still offering table service. If you're comfortable going to them, be sure to share your happiness about being served in person again with your waiters. If you're still a bit hesitant about going to a packed diner, also tip the food delivery folks still bringing meals to your door.

If a tip isn't included in your restaurant check or food delivery charge, click the image above to calculate how much to tip.

Those of you getting the tips, remember that your tips are taxable income. If you got such added financial thanks that came to a total of at least $20 last month, whether as a waiter/waitress or hair stylist or valet or whatever job where gratuities are common, you need to account for them today. Report them to your employer on Form 4070.

Oct. 15: It's here! The absolutely, positively final filing deadline for your 2019 return. Get to it! You have until midnight your time to electronically file. But I suggest you don't push that deadline to hit the send button on your computer keyboard. A late technical problem, either by the IRS or your software provider, could turn into a costly late-filing issue.

Or if you're old-school and mailing a paper return, get to your local U.S. Postal Service branch in time to have your envelope postmarked today. That's proof that your paper filing was on time.

Oct. 20: Now that your 2020 return is finally done, it's time to work on reducing your 2020 tax bill. One easy step to take now is to review your payroll withholding. If you find, whether you filed this month or back in May, that you owed a lot or got a big refund, you should use the IRS' online withholding tool to make sure a more appropriate amount of income tax comes out of each of 2021's remaining paychecks. If your withholding tweak gets you more money each payday, consider putting some of it into your retirement savings, either your workplace 401(k) or a traditional or Roth IRA .

Oct. 26: Many folks' retirement money is in that just mentioned 401(k) plan. That's just one of the employer-provided benefits that companies offer their workers. And October is open enrollment season at many companies. Take time to carefully review what's offered before enrollment ends.

Oct. 31: Sure, it's Halloween. But even scarier than the ghosts and monsters wandering your neighborhood tonight is the knowledge that we still have another month of hurricane season ahead of us. If your area hasn't been hit by any tropical system so far, good for you. But your luck might not hold, as the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico hurricane season runs through November. The countdown clock below lets you know how many more days you have to worry about tracking tropical systems.

So that you're ready for another Hurricane Ida, which made landfall in Louisiana and moved on to New York, or, hopefully, a less severe storm, prepare now if you haven't already.

The ol' blog's special Storm Warnings section can help. The multi-page collections of posts offer tax advice on preparing for, recovering from and helping those who sustain damages from the many ways that that weather goes wild. That includes claiming uninsured losses from a major natural disaster as on itemized tax deduction. And remember, your prep can pay off any time, since all types of disasters occur year-round.

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 Publication 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

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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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.

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 and 2013
Lifetime Achievement Nominee 2020

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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is a registered trademark
of S. Kay Bell.

All content on this site is
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And a bit of housekeeping.
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If you discover dead links, please e-mail me the details. Thanks.

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COVID-19 Resources

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Call 1-800-232-0233
or TTY 1-888-720-7489.
More information and resources at:
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USA.Gov COVID Info

October 2021

Tell it to the Hill

While it's easy to rail at the IRS, for the most part we can thank — or blame — our tax laws on Congress and the White House. 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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Table of Contents