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

2019 tax year inflation adjustments — It's already 2019, at least from the Internal Revenue Service's perspective. The agency has released its annual collection of tax amounts affected by inflation. This first of the annual 10-part series looks at how inflation impacts 2019's income tax brackets and has a directory with links (some still in-the-works) to the other nine posts. (Nov. 16, 2018)
Check out all the latest post-Tax Day tax advice in the 2018 edition of Weekly Tax Tips. Many of the once-a-week tax tips will focus on planning moves to cut your 2017 tax bill. If, however, you're working on a filing extension for your 2016 return, you can get a refresher of this year's Daily Tax Tips at their respective filing season 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 Year 2018 Countdown
It's over! The final 2017 tax year extended filing deadline has passed, unless you get more time because your filing was affected by a natural disaster like Hurricanes Florence and Michael. For most of us, that means it's time to focus on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act changes and the new (and old) year-end moves we need to make to reduce our already accruing 2018 tax bill. Most of the tax actions must be made by Dec. 31, which this year also is the last business day of the year. This countdown clock will make sure you don't miss these crucial tax deadlines.
Note: I'm in the Central Time Zone, so adjust accordingly for where you live.

Time for Tax Tasks

Welcome November! We love your cooler weather, the family gatherings and all that good food (yay pumpkin pies!) and, of course, the extra hour we get from the return to Standard Time to work on ways to cut our tax bills.

Nov. 1: This 11th month starts with Affordable Care Act open enrollment, which runs through Dec. 15. Yes, despite Republican efforts last year to repeal and replace it, Obamacare is still the law. So is the tax help via the premium tax credit.

Nov. 4: Daylight Saving Time ends at 2 a.m. today, as we fall back an hour to Standard Time.

Sure you can spend the extra 60 minutes sleeping. Or you use the time to review and adjust your adjust your payroll withholding. The goal is to avoid owing a lot or getting a refund next filing season. A paycheck check-up is an especially good idea because of the income tax changes under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Nov. 6: It's Election Day, with all 435 U.S. House and 35 Senate seats to be determined by voters. In addition, there are ballot initiatives, many of them tax-related, in 37 states.

Nov. 11-12: Veterans Day is Nov. 11. That date marks the official, formal end of World War I at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. It eventually evolved into a day to recognize veterans of all armed conflicts. Since the 11th is on Sunday this year, the federal holiday is Monday, Nov. 12. Honor veterans however you feel is appropriate. If one way is donating to a charity that helps vets. Although the new tax law makes itemizing less appealing for most filers, if you still fill out a Schedule A you can count your patriotic gift as a tax deduction.

Nov. 13: Does your job include tips? If so and you received $20 in tips in October, use Form 4070 to report them today to your employer. This report usually is due on the 10th of each month, but that fell on Saturday so it get pushed to the next business day, which is today since Monday was the official federal holiday for Veterans' Day.

Nov. 19: Speaking of income, if you're looking for or have already landed a seasonal job to make a little extra holiday spending cash, pay attention to how you're paid. It makes a difference in your taxes. If you're an independent contractor instead of an employee, you're responsible for paying self-employment taxes, as well as the income taxes that are usually withheld from employees' paychecks.

Nov. 22: Happy Thanksgiving! Take a break from taxes for turkey, football and time with your family. If you also happen to have a little cash on some fantasy football games, remember that while the teams might be fake, the taxes are real. If you opt to gamble on real match-ups, thanks to a Supreme Court decision earlier this year, states now can accept wagers on sporting events. In those cases, the betting establishment that hands over your winnings will make sure the Internal Revenue Service also knows of your good fortune, so don't ignore it when you file next year.

Nov. 26: California residents who sustained losses in one of the state's devastating wildfires, your extended deadline to meet tax deadlines is Nov. 30. You also might be able to claim those major disaster losses as an itemized casualty tax deduction.

Nov. 30: Finally! The Atlantic hurricane season officially ends today.

It's been a terrible summer and early fall for folks in the Southeast.

But weather disasters can happen at any time of the year. Whenever Mother Nature decides she wants to take a shot, be sure you are prepared both physically and financially. The ol' blog's special Storm Warnings page can help.

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.

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
© 2005-2018 S. Kay Bell
dba Write Here, a division of
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And a bit of housekeeping.
Note 1: Some of the links on this site
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If you discover dead links, please e-mail me the details. Thanks.

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November 2018

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