Some of my fellow Texans every Memorial Day weekend head to appliance stores instead of the beach. They are taking advantage of the Lone Star State’s annual Energy Star Sales Tax Holiday. It runs from the long holiday’s Saturday through Memorial Day Monday, exempting certain energy saving products from the state’s 6.25 percent sales tax, as well as the added 2 percent most cities also tack on to purchases. But this might be the last such sales tax holiday for Texans and shoppers in three other states. Energy Star tax breaks also are the hook for sales tax holidays in... Read more →
Energy
House Speaker Rep. Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) on the phone as he and staff walk through the U.S. Capitol’s Statuary Hall. (Credit: Mike Johnson Facebook) The Republicans’ consolidated measure to enact Donald J. Trump’s tax, immigration, energy, and more policies eked through the House early this morning. The original Ways and Means Committee version of the legislation, dubbed the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) per Trump’s not so subtle suggestion, was tweaked just enough this week to pass by a 215 to 214 vote. Only two GOP members, Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio and Thomas Massie of Kentucky, defected. The pair... Read more →
Photo by Los Muertos Crew This week in Austin is hot, and I'm not talking about one of the state capital's many music or technology or film or other festivals. It's going to be weather hot. Like sunny and 105 degrees hot tomorrow, according to forecasters. If that happens, it will break by a degree the record for May heat. I know, lots of places deal with extreme heat. Those residents also tend to face utility issues, like brown- or blackouts, when the temperatures put pressure on the electric grids. That’s why many across the nation have opted for their... Read more →
Electric vehicle charging in a suburban Austin, Texas, garage. Texas in 2023 joined the growing ranks of states that collect a special registration fee from EV drivers. (Photo by Kay Bell) A federal fee of $250 a year for electric vehicle owners is part of the transportation component of the Republican budget reconciliation bill. The new revenue would supplement the Highway Trust Fund, which currently is primarily funded by traditional fuel excise taxes which are added to pump prices. The financial requirement would ensure that electric vehicles (EVs) “begin paying for their use of the highway system just like other... Read more →
Photo by Josh Willink Hello, lovers of the great outdoors! We have just the commemoration for you. National Park Week started April 19 and runs to April 27. This year, as often happens, Earth Day — that’s today, April 22 — falls during this annual week celebrating the more than 400 national parks across the United States. Sixty-three National Park Service (NPS) sites include the words “National Park” in their official names, but our national park system also encompasses monuments, memorials, battlefields, recreation areas, preserves, and historical sites. Each is a testament to our country’s natural and manmade diversity, beauty,... Read more →
Photo by Pixabay The 2025 federal tax filing season officially starts Monday, Jan. 27. Millions of taxpayers already are working on their returns. Some have even completed them. Most of these folks are in a hurry to get their Form 1040 to the Internal Revenue Service because they are expecting a refund. Many also don’t have very complicated tax situations. Or they think they don’t. But something may have changed in their personal lives that could affect their filings, for better or worse. So before they — or you — hit send on their tax year 2024 filing, it’s a... Read more →
Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay Even in those few years when Congress mercifully stays out of major messing with the Internal Revenue Code, we taxpayers still encounter some changes at return filing time. Here are some highlights of what you might find as you file your taxes this year. Standard deduction amount increased. Around 90 percent of taxpayers claim the standard deduction. The choice was always the favorite, in large part because it’s easy. The numbers are show directly on Form 1040. But the number of standard deduction claims increased when the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 essentially... Read more →
I love Santa Claus, but even the Jolly Old Elf isn’t magical enough to provide the tax solutions you asked for in your letter to him. You’re going to have to make some tax moves, like the 10 below, yourself. (Photo by Kaboompics.com) Ho, Ho, Holy Moly! December sure got here quickly! Thanks to the 2024 calendar, we (or at least I) haven't even had time to sufficiently recover from Thanksgiving. But time, and taxes, march on, meaning we’ll just have to deal with a compressed holiday schedule as best we can. I hate to be the Tax Grinch adding... Read more →
Unsplash+ in collaboration with Getty Images I haven’t yet seen any of those holiday car commercials with big red bows atop the gifted vehicles. But is a good time to start thinking of new transportation, particularly if you’re considering an electric vehicle (EV). That’s because under the second Trump Administration, and with the support of a Republican-led House and Senate, the $7,500 EV tax credit soon could be history. Trump's tax credit aversion: While Donald J. Trump has vacillated between loving or hating electric vehicles, he’s more consistently been opposed to them, or at least the associated tax breaks. "Tax... Read more →
Photo by Brett Jordan Here’s a subject line you never want to see in your email box: There’s a problem with your tax return. But that is what’s happening to some taxpayers. No, it wasn’t from the Internal Revenue Service. Uncle Sam snail mails you a tax notice with questions about your filing. Rather, it was an email from TurboTax to its users with the subject line — CRITICAL NOTICE: Regarding your 2023 TurboTax return And here’s the message — Hi there, We’re contacting you because there might be an issue with the accuracy of your 2023 tax return. Due... Read more →
Election results, however, could change that. Here's how to claim the alternative fuel vehicle tax credit now, just in case things change after the Nov. 5 results. Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump has softened his stance on electric vehicles, likely because of his burgeoning personal relationship with Tesla CEO Elon Musk. But even though Trump says he’s now “totally for” EVs, he also says he would consider eliminating a $7,500 tax credit for some of the vehicles. “Tax credits and tax incentives are not generally a very good thing,” Trump told Reuters after a campaign event Monday, Aug. 19,... Read more →
For most U.S. families, summer vacation involves a road trip. Taking to the country’s highways is a chance to enjoy new landscapes, listen to (and sing along with) favorite playlists, and share time with the family. Road trips also mean stops for fuel, both for auto occupants and the vehicle. The good news for summer 2024 drivers is that the cost of gasoline isn’t that bad. AAA data show that the average price of gas as of mid-July is just more than $3.50 a gallon. That’s the same as the average price per gallon in 2023. Motorists in seven states,... Read more →
Photo by Leeloo The First Tax scams tend to slow down after the main federal return filing season, but they never go entirely away. That’s still true as we head into the heart of summer 2024. The Internal Revenue Service is warning taxpayers there is a new scam involving the purchase of clean energy tax credits. This latest scheme, like so many, is based on a real tax break. Legal credit, but limited: The Inflation Reduction Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law on Aug. 16, 2022, contained provisions that dramatically changed federal clean energy tax credits. The law... Read more →
Unsplash+ in collaboration with Getty Images Tax credits are better than deductions because credits provide a dollar-for-dollar reduction of tax you owe. But sometimes, getting a credit’s benefit in a real-life cash-flow situation is better than the financial results at tax filing time. That’s the case, for example, in making a major consumer purchase, like a car. And that’s why the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service last year issued guidance on the Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act clean vehicle provisions to help buyers of qualifying energy-efficient autos get immediate use of the credit. Under the rules, eligible vehicle buyers... Read more →
The coming Memorial Day break is seen as the unofficial start of summer in the United States. It’s also usually been the start of higher summer gasoline prices. That’s not the case this year. So far. Pump prices rose nationwide this spring, but actually have fallen a tad recently. Today’s AAA national average of a gallon of regular gasoline was $3.598. That was up a smidge (0.008) from yesterday, May 20, but less than the $3.612 recorded a week ago. Record road trips: Will the lower gas prices hold? An expected record number of drivers hope so, at least until... Read more →
Earth Day 2024 is tomorrow, April 22. But today is so nice — we finally got some rain, and the butterflies and hummingbirds are taking over our backyard — that I decided to celebrate a day early. This special day dedicated to the ecological issues facing our planet was first held on April 22, 1970. Back then, San Francisco activist John McConnell and Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson came up with the idea separately. But they agreed that Americans should join en masse in grassroots demonstrations to highlight environmental threats. McConnell wanted Earth Day events to happen on March 20, which... Read more →
Most states hold sales tax holidays in late summer, pegging he events to the resumption of the school year. But there are a few tax holiday over-achievers. They supplement their back-to-school tax-free events with additional sales tax savings. The standard bearer of late has been Florida. The Sunshine State in 2022 and 2023 enacted a variety of tax holidays, some of which extended into this year. Florida also kicked off 2024 with a semester break back-to-school tax holiday in January. Other states' special shopping events will include no taxes on emergency supplies, energy efficient products, food, and even firearm-related purchases.... Read more →
Most taxpayers will never be as chill as this tabby, especially now that the annual tax filing season is here. But these tips could make the tax task a little easier. (Photo by Jacalyn Beales on Unsplash) If you've already got your 2023 tax return ready to send to the Internal Revenue Service tomorrow, Jan. 29, when the agency starts processing filings, you can peruse other items on the ol' blog. (Thank you!) If, however, you're not quite ready yet to tackle Form 1040, I got you. Even when your taxes aren't complicated, many of us dread filling out tax... Read more →
Unsplash+ in collaboration with Getty Images Tax season 2024 officially starts Monday, Jan. 29. Lots of taxpayers have already filled out their 1040 forms and are just waiting for the Internal Revenue Service to start processing them next week. Most of these early filers are expecting tax refunds. They also likely have relatively simple tax lives. Lucky them. Others, however, have more complicated tax and financial circumstances. These folks have more tax documents with details that must be transferred to their return forms and schedules. They also need to consider how their situations might affect their tax returns. Below is... Read more →
Unsplash+ in collaboration with Getty Images Electric vehicles (EVs) are supposed to be one way to cut fossil fuel emissions and help slow, if not stop, climate change. But the best laid plans often go awry when lawmakers get involved. A $7,500 EV tax credit was part of the climate-related tax provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act achieve change. But it came with limits, with the full amount applying only to EVs and plug-in hybrids assembled in North America. Then this week, the Treasury Department further tightened the EV credit rules. Now a certain percentage of the components and minerals... Read more →