Don't Mess With Taxes

Shopping with your true love can be fun, but you'll probably have to make a separate, solo trip so you can surprise your partner. And if you want to buy any or all of the true love gifts in "The 12 Days of Christmas" carol, you also will want to make sure you have lots of cash or a large credit card limit. (Photo via Unsplash+ in collaboration with Getty Images) Even though inflation has slowed this year, Americans are still grumbling about prices. But it hasn't slowed holiday shopping. More than 200 million people went in search of perfect... Read more →

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash Yes, it's that day that millions of refund ready taxpayers have been anxiously awaiting. The Internal Revenue Service today begins processing 2022 tax year returns. I don't want to interrupt your calculating, but I ran across the Elaine May and Mike Nichols video below where the improv duo discusses filing taxes. The vignettes were public service announcement commissioned by The National and State Organizations of Certified Public Accountants, and now are part of the Academy Film Archive. Being a fan of the legendary comedy couple (and their later, separate film work), I had to... Read more →

via GIPHY Seven days from now, many of us will be opening Christmas presents. Hanukkah is underway. Regardless of what or how you celebrate December holidays, your purchases probably increase this month. And this year, inflation, even though it's abated a bit recently, means you have or will pay more for all those gifts, food, and other festive trimmings of the season. Every year, PNC financial services issues its Christmas Price Index, or CPI. It measures, using a methodology similar to Uncle Sam's official CPI, or consumer price index, the current costs of the gifts given in the classic holiday... Read more →

One of my favorite yard displays in my neighborhood. I love the multicolor wig on the swinging skeleton. (Photo by Kay Bell) Happy Halloween! Most of my neighborhood goes all out with outdoor decoration for this traditionally spooky night. All Hallows' Eve isn't my favorite holiday. I do, however, get a kick out of seeing what the youngsters dress as to trick or treat. Some of their parents get into the spirit, too. If you're still trying to decide what you'll wear tonight, an internet search will provide lots of last-minute suggestions. Social media also is full of a create-your-own... Read more →

Photo by Kindel Media I am not a fan of camping. Bugs. Sleeping on the ground (see bugs). But I do love campfires, especially when they're used to char marshmallows for s'mores. Apparently so do millions of other people worldwide. And thanks to a United Kingdom tax ruling, that country's fans of this graham cracker-chocolate-marshmallow treat can continue to enjoy the gooey goodies across the pond sans some VAT, or value added tax, charges. A U.K. tax tribunal recently ruled that a British food wholesaler of American snacks is not liable for VAT on its product Mega Marshmallows, which are... Read more →

Merry Christmas! If you're checking out a tax blog post on Dec. 25, that can mean only one thing. You've managed to escape momentarily from a contentious family gathering. Been there, hated that. It's never fun tip-toeing around politics and, with COVID still raging, polarizing health topics. That tension goes double during the holidays. Maybe this will help. Here are some festive factoids you can use to redirect the conversations to a merrier destination. Plus, as an internet present for you, there are some tax links in this post's copy. Hey, you're the one who clicked over to the ol'... Read more →

This lord a-leaping and his nine other colleagues will cost you a hefty sum this year if you give them and the 11 other gifts inspired by the "12 Days of Christmas" carol to your true love. (Photo by Yogendra Singh from Pexels) Did you survive Black Friday shopping? More to the point, did your bank account survive? The crowds this year apparently were smaller, but the freedom to shop in real life didn't offer as many savings. Plus, there was inflation. As everyone knows by now, prices have been rising. That definitely is true for the annual PNC Financial... Read more →

It's fitting that I just learned today, late in the day, that Aug. 10 is National Lazy Day. I definitely will note this date on next year's calendar, if I can muster the energy, so I make the most of it in 2022. National Day Calendar, which keeps track of the myriad special designations for our 365 (plus one in a Leap Year), doesn't have much information on National Lazy Day. That would require some work, which is antithetical to the day's commemoration. But it does say that Aug. 10 is the day where we are given permission to relax... Read more →

Crayons aren't just for kids any more. Adult coloring books abound, including one created just for accountants. With Tax Day 2017 just days away, perhaps no one is feeling the pressure more than tax professionals. Tax preparers, for the second consecutive filing season, are dealing not only with the regular rush of taxes, but also with new COVID-19 pandemic prompted laws. Multiply that by how many clients they have, add what's happening in their (and their clients') lives, and the solution equals, among other things, stress that's off the charts. Helpful timeouts: While it might seem counter intuitive to those... Read more →

OK, I can't confirm that the Greek dramatist Sophocles said this. But it's on the internet, so…. What is irrefutable is that bad advice is too often given and worse followed, especially when it comes to taxes. (Image by Quote Coyote) That cheering you hear is, well, everyone as 2020 finally is winding down. This mess of a year can't end too soon for most of us. But in our enthusiastic anticipation of the Year of COVID-19, we still must get ready for the upcoming tax season. At the start of the month, I offered some year-end tax moves that... Read more →

Add "The 12 Days of Christmas" to the list of things that were affected by the coronavirus pandemic this year. No, not the iconic holiday song. That's still around. But some of the lyrics took a hit when they were evaluated in 2020 for the annual PNC Christmas Price Index (PNC CPI). For this 37th look at the Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) Consumer Price Index and how it applies to procuring the song's 12 gifts from a True Love, The PNC Financial Services Group had to make some hard choices. Notably, the 2020 PNC CPI had to adjust for... Read more →

For those of us of a certain age, and with a skewed sense of humor, one of the best Thanksgiving-themed programs ever was the 1978 "Turkeys Away" episode of WKRP in Cincinnati. The sitcom that brought us memorable characters like radio DJs Dr. Johnny Fever and Venus Flytrap, good-intentioned but inept newsman Les Nessman and 1970s fashion plate sales manager Herb Tarlek, also gave us, in the episode's words, the greatest turkey event in Thanksgiving history. No turkeys were harmed in the making of the show. In fact, we never see what happened outside the Ohio shopping center. Instead, in... Read more →

OK, this is a bit of tax inside baseball, but I couldn't resist. There are The New Yorker tax cartoon face masks! The Condé Nast publication is selling 17 different tax-related versions of COVID-19 personal protective equipment (PPE). A few are New Yorker cover images, but most are cartoons. My favorite, even though I am more of a feline fan, is the dog accountant one by M.E. McNair. Close behind on my list is Roz Chast's 1040-FI, the form for the financially incompetent, and Bernard Schoenbaum's fatherly tax advice. I can't vouch for their coronavirus pandemic precaution effectiveness. And no,... Read more →

Mickey and Minnie Mouse in Hong Kong Disneyland, which features the internationally iconic Sleeping Beauty Castle. (Photo by PoonKaMing via Wikipedia Commons) Tax offices often are derided for being Mickey Mouse operations. Rhode Island's Office of the General Treasurer actually went there. The Ocean State's financial office late last month issued 176 business tax refund checks that were signed by Mickey Mouse and Walt Disney. Rhode Island's Department of Revenue said the entertainment industry signatures, which went where state treasurer Seth Magaziner and state controller Peter Keenan should have signed, were due to a technical glitch. This should have been... Read more →

Some of the Christmas cookies the hubby and I make and decorate. Yes, we over-bake. And yes, we slather on the sugary icing and decorations because the mainly sugar and butter cookies themselves are not fattening enough. Gotta keep Santa (and friends, family and ourselves) happy! Was Santa apparently full by the time he got to your house, leaving you with some extra Christmas cookies? No worries, even if you're low on milk … or are lactose intolerant. All the adults in your household can loosen their belts and finish off those goodies with a brew or two. Sugar and... Read more →

If you moved this year and rely on the U.S. Postal Service for your interactions with the Internal Revenue Service, make sure that agency (among others) is on your list of those who are informed of your new address. I've always been a fan a snail mail. I know. OK, boomer. And December is my favorite month for good old U.S. Postal Service deliveries. I like thumbing through the colorful holiday catalogs, even if I do order online when I find a gift that would be perfect for a friend, family member or myself. I also love the annul batch... Read more →

Yo ho, all ye salty sea dogs and scalawags. Just a quick reminder on this annual Talk Like a Pirate Day that the Internal Revenue Service wants its cut of your ill-gotten gains, be they pillaged pirate loot or otherwise criminally obtained. Click image to watch the ESPN ad. I know Andrew McCutchen is no longer a Pittsburgh Pirate, but the daring attack the former MLB National League MVP and his crew of sports team buccaneer mascots launched on an ESPN meeting back in 2013 still is one of my favorite television ads. And while Cutch, who's now plays for... Read more →

Tax working out this week in front of Churchill Downs' iconic Twin Spires. (Photo courtesy @DeanDorton via Twitter) The first time I bet on a horse I was just 9. My family was vacationing in Ruidoso, New Mexico, and my dad put $2 on the quarter horse I selected the day we visited Ruidoso Downs. I can't remember why I chose that horse in that race, but I do remember it won. I also remember the last time I bet on a horse. It didn't win, but I do remember why I picked it. It had the same name as... Read more →

You didn't file your taxes by the April deadline but you had a really good reason. Or did you? Excuses people make for not filing their taxes are right up there with rationalizations for claiming weird deductions. Both are creative exercises par excellence. And both will get you in bit trouble with the Internal Revenue Service. What won't fly: The Internal Revenue Code as we know it has been around since 1913. That means that for more than a century, Uncle Sam has heard just about every excuse for not getting a Form 1040 in on time or at all.... Read more →

Hey, Uncle Sam, one of the funniest actresses out there is not feeling very cheerful right now and it's your fault. Tiffany Haddish is looking for a little gratitude from your tax collector. In a recent Instagram video, the award-winning star of the just-released "Night School" asked the Internal Revenue Service why, even though she pays her taxes "on time every year all the time," she never gets any thanks for her efforts. She doesn't let her state tax officials, the California State Franchise Tax Board, off the hook either for their similar lack of tax love. Shout outs all... Read more →