This Bruce the Shark diamond pendant is just one of Tekashi 6ix9ine's pieces of jewelry that's on the tax auction block next month. (Photo courtesy Market Auctions) Music plays a big role in my life, from the tunes of my youth to many of today’s artists. In fact, I just ordered another CD last night. Yes, I am old when it comes to my playing (and owning) preference, even when it comes to newer music. And it’s easy to download select tunes to add to digital playlists, a modern version of my old cassette mixtapes. But I’ve got to admit... Read more →
IRS
UPDATE, Monday, Feb. 10, 2025: Yes, that's green font in honor of Philadelphia's Super Bowl LIX win last night. I'm taking solace in that it took a Texan, Houston native Jalen Hurts, to lead the Eagles to the title. Did you place a prop bet on last night's NFL championship game? If it paid off, you owe tax on the winnings. Check out the results of some of the most popular Chiefs-Eagles prop bets. Super Bowl LIX is Sunday. It's a rematch between the Kansas City and Philadelphia. KC is looking to take home a third consecutive Lombardi Trophy. The... Read more →
When you just can't with your taxes, check into getting help from a VITA or TCE volunteer. (Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich) Even simple taxes can be confusing. So it’s a relief when a reputable, knowledgeable person can help you file. But what if you can’t afford a tax professional? The people who staff the thousands of Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and Tax Counseling for the Elderly sites across the United States could be your tax-filing answer. Locally-provided tax help: The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, or VITA, program was created after passage of the Tax Reform Act of 1969 as a... Read more →
When severe weather leads to major disaster declarations, the tax obligations of the residents dealing with the aftermath also are affected. The Internal Revenue Service regularly announces tax relief for those taxpayers, including later filing deadlines. One of those delayed tax due dates is Monday, Feb. 3. Taxpayers in 14 states and two U.S. island territories who were struck by devastating hurricanes, floods, and various other lashings from an irate Mother Nature last year were given more time to file their 2023 tax returns for which they had received an extension. So, instead of having get their 2023 tax year... Read more →
Regular readers of the ol' blog noticed last week that I mentioned tax scams and identity theft in a couple of post last week. If you missed them, they were on added Internal Revenue Service efforts this filing season to detect tax scams and return fraud and about how filing early helps beat tax ID thieves to the stolen refund punch. Well, here’s a third mention. And this time, it’s some good news from the National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA). The IRS is making progress in reducing the time it takes to help people who are victims of tax-related identity theft.... Read more →
The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) turns 50 this year. The official date is March 29, in case you want to throw a party. The Internal Revenue Service isn’t waiting that long. With tax season 2025 underway, the tax agency again is celebrating this tax benefit created to help lower- and moderate-income workers with the annual Jan. 31 EITC Day. Today marks the beginning of efforts to get the word out to eligible taxpayers and encourage them to take advantage of the EITC. The EITC can be worth from hundreds to thousands of dollars for qualifying filers. While the larger... Read more →
Taking things a bit more slowly often is a good idea. For many, that applies to filing their annual tax return. (Photo by Kay Bell) Few people like doing taxes, even when doing so will get them a refund. That’s every year, some people who are due money back from Uncle Sam still put off finishing their taxes. But there are other reasons in addition to plain procrastination to wait to file your taxes. Here are five. 1. To allow for all your tax statements to arrive. We’re almost at the Jan. 31 deadline that most tax statement providers must... Read more →
Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich Beating identity thieves to the punch is one reason to file your tax return as soon as you can. Getting your legitimate Form 1040 to the Internal Revenue Service first will stop crooks who try to file a fake return in your name. But that’s not the only tax fraud increase that the tax agency sees each filing season. So, this year, the IRS and its partners in the Coalition Against Scam and Scheme Threats (CASST) are taking new and additional actions to lessen the threats. The CASST task force, comprised of representatives from federal and... Read more →
Fortune cookie tax filing wisdom (Photo by Kay Bell) We’re into the second official day of the 2025 tax season and millions of taxpayers have already filed their returns. This post is not for you. It’s for folks who haven’t yet even thought about their 2024 tax year returns. That’s okay. We all work at our own pace. But there actually are some good reasons to get to your annual tax filing task sooner rather than later. Here are 10. 1. To get your federal tax refund sooner. This is the main reason early filers get their 1040 forms to... Read more →
Getting something for free is the ultimate bargain. That's true for taxes, too, if you're able to use one the four no-cost tax preparation and filing options available to some taxpayers this filing season. (Photo by Ken Hawkins via Flickr) Tax filing season 2025 officially starts today, Jan. 27. The Internal Revenue Service is now processing the millions of returns filed earlier this month, both electronically and the relatively few still sent via the U.S. Postal Service. These early filers tend to have less complicated tax lives. They also are comfortable doing their taxes themselves, usually using tax software. Some... Read more →
Agents with Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), the tax agency's law enforcement arm, regularly work with other officers to bring financial and tax criminals to justice. IRS-CI agents are responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money-laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft, and more. While we wait to see how things shake out at the Internal Revenue Service under the second Donald J. Trump term, I thought it worth taking a look back at some recent tax agency activity. Notably, the IRS’ law enforcement arm, the IRS Criminal Investigation unit, has over the years... Read more →
Tropical Storm Ernesto's battering of the U.S. Virgin Islands was one of the major disasters last year that led to tax deadlines being postponed until 2025. USVI filers and those in other disaster areas across the country are facing a Feb. 3 deadline. (NOAA-GOES satellite image) If you follow me on social media, thanks. And thanks especially for putting up with my whining about the recent cold spell here in Central Texas. To be honest, it’s nothing like the prolonged freezes of a few years ago. I also realize that other parts of the Lone Star State and the country... Read more →
Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Danny Werfel speaking to students, faculty, and IRS guests at the Kogod Tax Center at American University in Washington, D.C., in March 2024 about the tax agency's digital transformation plan. In addition to tax code changes expected this year, the federal agency charged with enforcing those laws also is getting a shakeup. Donald J. Trump announced in December he wants former Missouri congressman Billy Long to lead the Internal Revenue Service. While Long is expected to be approved given the Republican majority in the Senate, he has some issues that will be raised during his confirmation... Read more →
UPDATE, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025: California officials also are offering taxpayers in Los Angeles County a postponement on filing 2024 state tax returns and making tax payments that would have been due between January 7 and October 15, 2025. The extent and ferocity of the wind-propelled Palisades fire is, in many cases, an insurmountable challenge for Los Angeles, California, firefighters. (Photo by CAL FIRE_Official - Palisades Fire, Public Domain) California firefighters, joined by their brethren from other states and Canada and Mexico, are still struggled to contain the catastrophic wildfires that have engulfed the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Since the... Read more →
That last Monday in January is when the Internal Revenue Service will start processing all 2024 tax year returns, including those filed earlier by taxpayers who qualified to use the already open Free File program. Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich It’s official. Tax season 2025 starts Monday, Jan. 27. The Internal Revenue Service says it expects more than 140 million individual 2024 tax year returns to be filed by the April 15 deadline. IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel, who could be overseeing his final filing season if incoming president Donald J. Trump follows through on his plans for the agency, says the... Read more →
If you used Free File last year to complete your federal taxes, then the 2025 version, which opened today, is mostly déjà vu. The same eight tax software companies are participating. One of them will offer software for Spanish speakers. The main difference this year is that the Internal Revenue Service/Free File Alliance partnership can be used by taxpayers whose adjusted gross income (AGI) is $84,000. That’s five grand more than last year’s AGI threshold, but it still applies to all filers, regardless of filing status. Same 8 software options: The eight returning private-sector tax software companies that are part... Read more →
The Internal Revenue Service this week officially announced Free File will open on Friday, Jan. 10, to eligible taxpayers (those with adjusted gross income of $84,000 or less). In that statement, the agency also indirectly told us the main tax filing season will begin on Monday, Jan. 27. But taxpayers in 24 states are still waiting to hear when in 2025 Direct File, the IRS’ own online tax preparation and e-filing software will be available. The tax agency was so pleased with Direct File’s pilot last year, it expanded not only the software offerings, but also doubled the number of... Read more →
Millions are getting ready to file federal tax returns so they can collect refunds. Crooks are among them. And things get even worse for the taxpayers whose identities were stolen and used to file false returns claiming fraudulent refunds. The average time it took the Internal Revenue Service to resolve identity theft cases and issue refunds to the affected victims in fiscal year 2024 was two years, according the National Taxpayer Advocate’s 2024 annual report to Congress, issued today. These delays impacted nearly half a million taxpayers, noted National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) Erin M. Collins, and were even worse than... Read more →
Updated, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 Millions of taxpayers already are filling out their 2024 tax returns. Now they just need to know when the Internal Revenue Service will start processing them. On Friday, Jan. 10, Free File opens. The no-cost online tax preparation and e-filing option can be used by taxpayers whose adjusted gross income (AGI) is $84,000 or less. Business taxpayers will be able to electronically file their returns on Jan. 15. As for individual filers who make more than the Free File AGI threshold, they can start using Free File's Fillable Forms on Jan. 27. That date follows... Read more →
The first group of taxpayers in 14 states and two U.S. island territories hit by declared major disasters must get their forms to the IRS by Feb. 3. Residents in the other 10 states have until May 1. Photo by Analogue Kid at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 Much of the United States is facing the first weather catastrophe of the new year. A brutal winter storm is forecast to sweep through a 1,300-mile swath of the country, leaving an estimated 62 million people to deal with heavy snow, ice, rain, and severe thunderstorms. This early 2025 burst of anger... Read more →