• Home
  • Table of Contents
  • Tax Tips
  • Credits
  • Deductions
  • Refunds
  • State Taxes
  • Politics/Laws
  • Tax Terms
  • Archives

Don't Mess With Taxes

Translating taxes into money-saving English

Home Table of Contents Tax Tips Credits Deductions Refunds State Taxes Politics/Laws Tax Terms Archives

Table of Contents

 

Welcome to Don't Mess With Taxes®. I'm Kay Bell, a journalist by training and trade; a tax geek by choice. You can learn more about me at, well, About Me.

But here are some highlights, including links to some popular pages and features as well as, last but definitely not least, the ol' blog's privacy policy.

Table of contents clip art_via clkerI began this blog in 2005 (Nov. 14, 2005, to be precise if you'd like to mark your calendar so you can send a birthday and/or anniversary card) after moving back home to Texas and starting my own writing business.

Soon after I began blogging those many years ago, I trademarked the ol' blog's title. Yep, used a lawyer and registered it with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Hence the ® after the name in the first paragraph above.

The registered trademark icon also is noted in the trademark and copyright notice near the bottom of the right column.

However, for visual clarity, I tend not to include the elevated ® in most copy and posts.

What's here 
OK, the reason you clicked here. All the stuff!

Over the years, I've covered a ton — OK, tons — of tax stuff.

Sometimes even I get lost trying to track down a past post.

So I've created this index/table of contents. It should help all of us find what we're looking for as quickly and easily as possible.

Take a look around. Peruse a few topics. And let me know if there's something not here you'd like to see.

Year-round Tax Tips and Money Moves, which includes Daily, Weekly, Specially Themed and General Tax Tips 

State Tax Information

Tax Deductions

Tax Credits

Tax Forms

Tax Filing

Tax Refunds

Tax Planning

Tax Rates
Tax Rates and Income Brackets Through the Years

Tax Terms aka Glossary, which like all language is continually evolving

Tax Help (general)
Tax Preparers
Natural Disasters Resources

Eye on the IRS, Congress and others making and administering tax laws

By the Numbers: Fun and quirky tax data
    By the Numbers 2020 (coming soon!)
    By the Numbers 2019
    By the Numbers 2018
    By the Numbers 2017
    
By the Numbers 2016
    By the Numbers 2015
    By the Numbers 2014
    By the Numbers 2013
    By the Numbers 2012
    By the Numbers 2011

Shout Out Saturday or Sunday: Hat tips to other tax sources
to free up at least part of my weekends!
    Shout Outs 2020 (coming soon!)
    Shout Outs 2019
    Shout Outs 2018
    Shout Outs 2017

Archive of posts, by month posted and categories

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year: My first ever blog post!

Past features (which may or may not be revived)
    
Tax Carnivals
    
Tax Carnival Guidelines

    Following Follow-up Friday: Updates to previous posts

What I said at Bankrate Taxes Blog
    Last Week at My Other Tax Blog 2016
    Last Week at My Other Tax Blog 2015
   
Last Week at My Other Tax Blog 2014 
   
Last Week at My Other Tax Blog 2013 
   
Last Week at My Other Tax Blog 2012 & 2011

Beyond the Ol' Blog 
The following links are more tax and financial sites that I contribute (or contributed) to, as well as some things I do to occupy my non-blogging time.

      About Me (again, although I swear I am not usually this narcissistic),
        as well as more personal info at About.Me and Google, and a look
        at some kudos I've received (again, really not this usually self-absorbed!). 

      Kay on Social Media
      Welcome Twitterers | @taxtweet
      Facebook
      LinkedIn
      Google+
      Pinterest
      Tumbling Taxes at Tumblr

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.

Privacy Policy
As for those subscriptions and other interactions on the ol' blog, a few words about your privacy.

I take your privacy seriously. Long-time readers know I don't even identify my better half; he's simply known on the intrawebz as the hubby. I want to give all readers of the ol' blog the same consideration.

So I assure you that I won't use your contact and/or subscription info for any purposes — not humorous, not illustrative and definitely not anything nefarious.

I also want all y'all to feel comfortable coming here and sharing what you choose to share in posts' comments sections. Even then, if I see something that has a bit TMI and makes me a bit uncomfortable (since I must OK all comments), I'll edit it so that I, and therefore you, are confident that your privacy is respected and protected.

I must note, however, that Don't Mess With Taxes is hosted on Typepad, a blogging service owned by Endurance International Group. As such, your visits to Don't Mess With Taxes, either via my Typepad subdomain or directly at Don't Mess With Taxes, also are covered by Endurance's privacy policy.

The Endurance International Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries and brands, including Typepad and by extension Don't Mess With Taxes, care about protecting the personal information of customers and visitors who use its websites, products or services. This privacy notice provides details about how your personal information is collected, shared and used by us.

Endurance's Privacy Notice was updated Dec. 12, 2019, to provide you with more information about the additional rights California residents have under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which takes effect Jan. 1, 2020. If you are a California resident, you can read about these additional rights here.

For the purposes of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679, or GDPR, The Endurance International Group, Inc. and each of its brands local European representative is AppMachine B.V., located at Sophialaan 32, 8911 AE Leeuwarden, Nederland.

If Typepad/Endurance is involved in a merger, acquisition, a sale of all or a substantial portion of our assets, or other similar sale transaction, your information will be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you by email and/or a prominent notice on our website of any such transfer and any choices you may have regarding your information.

You can find highlights of Don't Mess With Taxes/Typepad/Endurance's privacy policy here.

 

Today's Tax Tip

  • Summer's arrival brings sales tax holidays in Florida and Texas — Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer. The long weekend also is the start of sales tax holiday season. Texas has three days of no taxes on certain energy- and water-saving products, starting May 27. In Florida, shoppers will start the holiday weekend with sales tax exemptions on hurricane preparedness products, followed season the Sunshine State's wide-ranging no-tax Freedom Summer. (May 27, 2023)

  • Tax Tip; click pencil for all tax tip links

  • The 2023 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
    Open sign
    Kay Bell — Native Texan
    (the blog title totally makes sense now, right?). Professional journalist. Tax geek.
  • LinkTree

My Other Accounts

Advertisements

  • *************

Tick ... Tick ... Tick

  • Tax Season 2023 Continues!

    Tax Day 2023 is finally over … unless you're one of the millions who have more time to file — looking at you taxpayers abroad and those in major disaster areas — or you got an extension to file your 2022 tax year return. That's fine. In fact, the Internal Revenue Service appreciates some of us spreading out our filings, especially when it means we are taking the time to submit a complete and correct return.

    This tax focus shift means the ol' blog will continue to provide filing tips through the Oct. 16 extension deadline. Yep, it's a day later this year, since 10/15 is on Sunday. But I haven't forgotten my organized taxpayer readers, who are looking for ways to reduce their 2023 tax year bills. Yep, that amount already is adding up, but there are moves you can make. The monthly tips and reminders a little further down this column can help everyone, regardless of which tax year now is in your sights.

    Those on extension should also keep a keen eye on the countdown clock below. It will help you track the days tick, tick, ticking off toward that absolutely final fall filing due date. They'll speed by quickly when you're having tax fun, and aren't we always having tax fun?!?
    Note: I'm in the Central Time Zone, so adjust accordingly for where you live.


Time for Tax Tasks


  • monthly tax moves


  • 💐 May 💐 is 💐 here!!! 💐

    Those exclamation marks and emoji bouquets are sincere and deserved. I don't know about you, but I'm more than ready for May flowers.
    Plus, you've got to love a month that starts with a celebration.

    May Pole Dance via GIPHY


    After the May Day dances are done, the commemorative days just keep coming. There are well-known ones, like Cinco de Mayo, Mother's Day, and Memorial Day, as well as some more obscure ones, like Pick Strawberries Day, Be Millionaire Day (if only!), and my favorite, Eat What You Want Day.

    But even with all these (and more!) celebrations, there's still time to make some money-saving May tax moves. Let's get to it!

    May 1: While May Day isn't a big holiday in the United States, globally the first day of May is a time for celebrating workers' contributions. But that can apply here, too, in connection with some employment-related tax tasks. If you got a big refund or owed more tax than you expected when you filed (or got an extension) last month, today's the perfect time to do adjust your paycheck withholding.

    May 5: ¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

    Feliz Cinco de Mayo

    Fiestas are always en vogue in Tejas, but the epitome of them is this Mexican holiday. No, it is NOT Mexican Independence Day, and May 5 tends to spur more festivities here north of the border, especially when it comes to imbibing margaritas. With every Cinco toast, remember that the cost of state and federal alcohol taxes are included in the mixing. Your state tax collector also will raise a glass to your fiscal contribution, since sin taxes usually are a revenue bright spot for many states.

    May 10: Do you work as a server at a restaurant or at any other establishment where gratuities from customers are part of your compensation? I hope you got lots of financial thanks for doing your job well, especially from those Cinco celebrants. But don't forget that those tips are taxable income.

    restaurant check tip iStock
    Whether you're dining in or, still COVID leery and getting food 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.

    And you, as the server or delivery person, must account for those tips. If you got at least $20 in gratuities in April, you must report the amount by today by using Form 4070 to let your employer the total of the tips you took in last month.

    May 14: Happy Mother's Day!

    Happy Mother's Day

    If you're just this year making up for pandemic paused family visits (side note: May 18 is Visit Your Relatives Day), give your mom a longer hug on her special day. Love, flowers, and the best of health and happiness to every mother, from the new ones just discovering the joys, tax and otherwise, of new parenthood to those gracefully maneuvering their Golden Years while getting some tax-advantaged help from their families.

    May 22: Just because you got an extension to file your 2022 tax return doesn't mean you have to wait until the Oct. 16 deadline to finish it. And you might be able to complete all those forms at no cost. Free File, the online preparation and electronic filing web page for eligible taxpayers created by the IRS' partnership with the Free File Alliance is still operational for, as its name says, free.

    This year, the income threshold is adjusted gross income (AGI) of $73,000 or less, regardless of your filing status. You should be able to find a software that works for you from the seven tax prep companies that are participating.

    IRS Free File; click image for details


    May 26: If you're heading out early today to further extend the already long Memorial Day weekend, be sure to plan for added costs, like the price of getting to your holiday destination. Most travelers this weekend that marks the unofficial start of summer will hit the highways, so even though gasoline prices are at the exorbitant levels they were this time last year, pump prices still will take a bite of travel budgets. Maybe that will get you to look more closely at getting an electric vehicle (EV) before your next road trip. Check out the tax rules to see if your new EV comes with a $7,500 tax credit

    May 29: This Memorial Day as you honor the military personnel who made the ultimate sacrifice, don't forget about their families. There are some tax considerations offered survivors of lost soldiers, sailors, and air crew.

    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 2023 page.

What are you looking for?

  • Looking for something in particular? Start with the Table of Contents.
    Or check out the Archives, where you can review posts by month and category. Or enter specific keywords in the box below to search
    Don't Mess With Taxes.

Search

Subscribe:
E-mail, RSS or both!

  • Enter your Email


    Powered by FeedBlitz
  • RSS

Privacy Policy

  • Wondering what happens to your information once you subscribe? Don't worry. Don't Mess With Taxes respects your wish not to be a mere data source. Check the ol' blog's privacy policy at the Table of Contents page, as well as on the separate Privacy Policy page.

Sponsored Products

Affiliate Books

  • The Truth
    About Paying Fewer Taxes
  • Are you a tax geek? Got tax geek friends? Do you or they just want to make sure you don't overpay the IRS? Then my book, "The Truth About Paying Fewer Taxes," is for all y'all.

    Look for it on bookstore shelves
    or order a copy (or two!) from
    Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

  • TruthAboutPayingFewerTaxes
  • Find out more about my book and excerpted chapters at the FT Press
    Truth About Paying
    Fewer Taxes
    Web page
    .

  • 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:

  • JK Lasser 2023 Taxes
    JK Lasser 2023 taxes

  • Dealing With The IRS
    Dealing With the IRS

  • JK Lassers 1001 Deductions
    JK Lasser 1001 Deductions
  • ~~~~~~~
    Don't Mess With Taxes
    is an Amazon Affiliate.
    If you click on the product links above and/or buy the items,
    I will be compensated.

0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 ...

  • Numbers
    Taxes are all about the numbers.
    Check out these (mostly) weekly
    By the Numbers figures.

Kudos Et Cetera

  • Association for Women Clarion Award Winner
    National Association
    for Women in Communications

    Winner, Best Personal Blog
    2012, 2014 & 2017

  • Plutus Award Winner
    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.

©©©©© & ®®®®®

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

    All content on this site is
    © 2005-2023 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
    a Don't Mess With Taxes link
    and then buy the product,
    I receive a commission.

    Note 2: Links to outside content
    might become inactive due to changes
    at the copy's originating website.
    If you discover dead links, please e-mail me the details. Thanks.

    Note 3: The banner art for the ol' blog
    is courtesy Pictures of Money
    via Flickr Creative Commons.
Blog powered by Typepad
Member since 11/2005

COVID-19 & Taxes

  • COVID-19
    Coronavirus has wreaked havoc
    on the 2020 and 2021 tax seasons.
    These three Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Taxes pages have details:
    March-July 2020,
    August-December 2020,
    January-December 2021, and
    January-December 2022
    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:
    CDC Vaccines
    CDC Booster Shots
    HHS Combat COVID
    USA.Gov COVID Info

May 2023

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
  1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30 31      

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 — 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.

..................................................



  • .................................................................
  • Don't Mess With Taxes •
  • Powered by Typepad
Top