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Natural Disasters: More disaster resources

No place in the world is disaster proof. Mother Nature unleashes her horrors globally and year round via hurricanes, tornadoes, wild fires, floods, blizzards and more.

This special Natural Disasters Additional Resources Page, part of the overall Storm Warnings collection of Don't Mess With Taxes blog posts about disasters and the associated tax implications, provides information beyond my posts on the previous pages on how to cope with Mother Nature when she turns into Mommy Dearest.

Storm-Warning-Severe-Weather-Warning

So, since time is of the essence when you're looking for natural disaster data, here goes with some added links to sites in the wide weather internet that can help us deal with the various natural disasters that most of us will face at some point in our lives.

 

Other Resources

The Atlantic/Gulf of Mexico hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30, but the storms don't have calendars and have popped up before and after those dates.

Hurricanes are the only officially named storms, the Weather Channel's broader moniker efforts notwithstanding. The National Weather Service's National Hurricane Center, or NHC, assigns storm names when a tropical system reaches tropical storm strength, that is, it has sustained winds of 39 miles per hour.

For the 2021 hurricane season, which started early for the 7th straight year, the storms will be named Ana, Bill, Claudette, Danny, Elsa, Fred, Grace, Henri, Ida, Julian, Kate, Larry, Mindy, Nicholas, Odette, Peter, Rose, Sam, Teresa, Victor, and Wanda.

You can track tropical storm and hurricane alerts at the NHC. The South Florida Water Management District also provides a "spaghetti runs" page of the various paths projected for each storm. If you don't have computer access, check out the National Weather Service's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather radios.

With any type of natural disaster, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, gets involved. You can check FEMA's running list of disaster declarations to see if your storm damages are eligible for federal help.

Other federal disaster information and help is available at DisasterAssistance.gov, Ready.gov, Benefits.gov and the Small Business Administration. Ready.gov also has special pages for each of the many types of natural disasters.

The American Red Cross is major provider of help for disaster survivors. Its online disaster newsroom keeps track of areas in need. The nonprofit also has online resources for those needing assistance or looking for family or friends in threatened areas.

Finally, there is, of course, the Internal Revenue Service. The agency has a wide variety of disaster-related tax information, including its continually updated list of states where special tax disaster relief is available.

The IRS' Around the Nation page also provides tax-specific news to local areas, primarily on disaster relief or tax provisions that affect certain states.

Also be sure to check out IRS Publication 547, with details on tax aspects of all casualties, thefts and losses.

And if the Don't Mess With Taxes links above just aren't enough for you, you can read more of my posts that have tax-related disaster and/or weather information.

Looking for more or other disaster info? Check out the separate Storm Warning pages on preparing for a disaster, steps to make your recovery smoother and quicker, how to donate to groups that help disaster survivors and general storm stories and information. 

 

 

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Today's Tax Tip

  • IRS paying billions in late refund interest — If you're waiting for your IRS refund, there's not much that can help ease your frustration. But if Uncle Sam takes more than 45 days, you could at least get a bit of interest added to your delayed tax cash. So far, the agency has paid $3.3 billion in such interest amounts. And the amount could grow, since on July 1 the quarterly adjustment to the interest rate goes up a percentage point. (May 20, 2022)

  • Tax Tip; click pencil for all tax tip links

  • The 2022 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!

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-… 2022
    You can find medical coronavirus resource links further down this column.

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.

My Other Accounts

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Tick ... Tick ... Tick

  • Tax Season 2022 continues!

    Tax Day 2022 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 2021 tax year return. That's fine. In fact, the Internal Revenue Service appreciates some of us spreading out our filings, especially when we and the agency still are dealing with all the complications of COVID-19 and taxes.

    That's why the ol' blog's focus now is on all y'all still working on returns. But I haven't forgotten my organized taxpayer readers, who are already looking for ways to reduce their 2022 tax year bills. Yep, that amount 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 you're working on.

    Those on extension should 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 of Oct. 17. Yep, it's a few days later this year.
    Note: I'm in the Central Time Zone, so adjust accordingly for where you live.


Time for Tax Tasks


  • monthly tax moves


  • May has arrived!
    That exclamation mark is sincere and deserved. 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 Visit Your Relatives Day, National Smile Day, 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 paycheck check-up to determine how you should adjust your withholding.

    May 5: ¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

    Feliz Cinco de Mayo

    Fiestas are back this year, as more of us have been taken advantage of COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters. Still, be careful out there celebrating this Mexican holiday (and no, it's NOT Mexican Independence Day) that tends to spur more festivities here north of the border. Party responsibly, both when it come to the lingering pandemic and imbibing your favorite adult beverage, likely a margarita, which included the cost of state and federal alcohol taxes. Your state tax collector also will raise a glass to your fiscal contribution, since during the pandemic, sin taxes were a revenue bright spot for many states.

    May 8: Happy Mother's Day!

    Happy Mother's Day

    If you're just this year making up for pandemic paused family visits, 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 10: Eateries are still recovering from the challenges of operating during a national health crisis. Restaurants closed, then opened, then closed again. Others relied on and have stuck with take-out and deliveries. Whether you're dining in or still getting food brought to your house, remember to tip your server or delivery person.

    restaurant check tip iStock
    If a tip isn't included in your food delivery charge, click the image above to calculate how much to tip the person who brought it to you.

    As for servers who now are back on the job, remember that your tips are taxable income. If you worked at least some of March at a job where you got gratuities, you need to account for them today if they came to at least $20 last month. Use Form 4070 to report your tips today to your employer.

    May 16: Before the seasonal shift into summer, take care of spring tax cleaning. Give away clothing and household goods you no longer use. Your philanthropy could provide you a charitable tax deduction.

    May 23: Kick spring cleaning up a notch. Go beyond housekeeping and house clearing and make those home repairs you've been putting off. Many home improvements, including landscaping, could pay off in by increasing your home's basis, which means your profit for tax purposes will be smaller and stay under the amount that's tax-free when you eventually sell your home.

    May 27: If you're heading out early for the long Memorial Day weekend that traditionally kicks off summer, be sure to plan for added costs, like the price of getting to your holiday destination. Most of us will hit the highways, so even though gasoline prices have come down a bit, they still will take a bite of our travel budgets. Sorry, it's not enough to get Congress to create a federal gas tax holiday. And if you're renting your home to incoming tourists, be sure to pay the state and/or local taxes added to short-term home rentals.

    May 30: As you honor military personnel this Memorial Day 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 Talking Tax Forms page.

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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.

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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:
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May 2022

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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.

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