Don't Mess With Taxes

Photo by Jess Bailey Designs The only thing worse than getting a surprising high property tax appraisal — which, as one of April's tax tips advises, you definitely should protest for venting, as well as potential lower tax, purposes — is having your local tax collector tell you that your tax payment is overdue. That happened to 2,400 homeowners in upstate New York, according to LocalSYR.com. Tax rebate endangered: Technically, the property owners in Onondaga County didn't get a past due bill. Instead, they incorrectly received notice from the Empire State's Department of Taxation and Finance that they could lose... Read more →

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels It's been a week since Tax Day 2022. Those who submitted tax returns have been enjoying being done with the Internal Revenue Service for another year. But maybe it's time to give Uncle Sam's tax collector a little more thought. Here are 5 tax matters to consider so that you can completely clear your 2021 tax year decks. 1. Review your payroll withholding: The IRS reminds us every year that most taxpayers get refunds. That's because a lot of filers plan it that way. They overwithhold taxes from their paychecks as a forced savings account.... Read more →

Every Tax Day, millions of Americans complain about how much money they hand over to the U.S. government and how Uncle Sam spends it. OK, that's every day. But seeing the actual personal numbers on Form 1040 tends get people to focus. That's why the National Priorities Project (NPP), a Northampton, Massachusetts-based nonprofit that for almost 40 years has analyzed federal revenue and spending data, issues an annual receipt of where our tax dollars, primarily from individual income taxes, go. Source: NPP and White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Coronavirus shift: The military usually commands a major portion... Read more →

via GIPHY So, you missed Tax Day. It happens. Don't panic. But don't dawdle. The Internal Revenue Service is serious about wanting your tax forms and, of course, any taxes you owe. If you miss the annual deadline, regardless of exactly when it falls, then you'll likely end up facing filing-related penalties, the harshest of which is for not filing at all. Below are four things you need to do now to get out of that penalty jam with as little damage as possible. Plus, there's a fifth tax move that could pay off for folks who aren't legally required... Read more →

Tax things are sort of back to normal. It's April, the traditional month in which our returns are due. And while today's Tax Day is a few a few days late thanks to the Emancipation Day holiday, it's here. So now what? Here are some things to do to take care of your 2021 tax return, and more, on Tax Day 2022. Ultimate tax procrastinators: It's not unusual for millions to wait to file. Last year, more than 21 percent of people who ultimately filed a return did so in the last week before Tax Day, which was delayed until... Read more →

Yeah, this image is (sadly) amusing, but a quick, real tax payment note. Make your check or money order, as long as it's not for an astronomical amount, payable to U.S. Treasury, not the Internal Revenue Service. Are you going to have to pay Uncle Sam tomorrow? Is your due tax a lot? A whole lot? If your tax bill is very — and I mean VERY — big, you won't be able to send the U.S. Treasury a check. Specifically, the Internal Revenue Service warns those who are extraordinarily deep in tax debt that it can't take a single... Read more →

The time left until Tax Day 2022 is tick, tick, ticking away. If you're feeling like silent movie legend Harold Lloyd, hanging on by your fingernails as you try to finish your Form 1040 by Monday, April 18, rescue yourself by filing instead for a six-month extension. Most of us are procrastinators at some point in our lives. This tendency to hold back tends to show up when we're facing particularly difficult decisions or tasks. Tax filing time is one of those times. But waiting until the last minute can be costly. If we get in a hurry to meet... Read more →

If you've put off your tax filing until this last week before Tax Day, don't panic. You've still got time to do the tax job right. Tax Day is one week away! Yeah, I know. Not really a reason for celebrating, especially if you're just now tackling your taxes. There's no way to make this final tax filing week festive. However, these 10 last-minute filing tips can help you get the job done by the April 18 deadline. 1. Determine whether you need to file. Most Americans who earn money, be it through full-time jobs or self-employment or investment income,... Read more →

If you are a U.S. taxpayer living outside the country and frantically working to meet this year's April 18 tax-filing deadline, take a breath. Then mark your calendar for June 15. The Internal Revenue Service grants taxpayers who are overseas, including members of the armed forces stationed abroad, and automatic two-month extension to file. You don't have to send in Form 4868 to get it the extra filing time. Note, however, that this automatic extension to file is just that, an extension to file. If you owe tax for the 2021 tax year, you must pay it by this year's... Read more →

I understand not filing until the absolutely latest minute. Been there, done that. I also get why some people delay the inevitable: they owe taxes. Been there, done that, too. Sometimes, that amount due the U.S. Treasury seems impossible to pay. Thankfully, I've never quite been at this stage, but it happens to many filers. The first thing to do if you find yourself in this situation is to not panic. Then look at your options. The Internal Revenue Service offers taxpayers a variety of ways to pay their unexpectedly large tax debts. Pay something — and file — to... Read more →

Tax payments have come a long way since this 1939 painted window suggestion. (New York Public Library image) Tax Day 2022 is less than a month away. Most of us think of it as the day our tax returns must be filed, and that's true. But it's also the day that any tax you owe must be paid. If you miss either task, the Internal Revenue Service will slap penalties and interest onto your tax bill. The easiest way to do both is electronically. Here are five ways the IRS will accept your e-payment. 1. Electronic Federal Tax Payment System... Read more →

When folks call the IRS for help, they often get the feeling that this 1914 switchboard is how the agency is operating its telephone hot lines. Now, however, the IRS has integrated voice and chat bots in the hopes it will help both taxpayers and IRS staff. (Photo courtesy Library of Congress) Would you rather wait on hold to talk to an Internal Revenue Service representative, or use an automated service? Most of us already deal with online apps and phone menus instead of human contact for much of our financial lives. The IRS is counting on that familiarly to... Read more →

IRS via Twitter The millions of taxpayers who must make estimated tax payments this month get a few more days to come up with the money. Since the usual Jan. 15 deadline is Saturday, and the next business day is Monday's MLK Day federal holiday, the fourth estimated deadline for 2021 payments is Tuesday, Jan. 18. Taxes on self-employment earnings: More than 20 million individuals make these extra tax payments each year. They generally total four, with the payment amounts reflecting earnings that aren't subject to withholding received during four segments of the tax year. Estimated taxes typically are paid... Read more →

I hope your 2022 welcoming plans are on track this New Year's Eve eve. But as the time tick tocks away, some folks need to think a few days further into the fast-approaching New Year. Specifically, their focus should be on Monday, Jan. 3, 2022. That's the day that some California residents whose lives and/or businesses were impacted by wildfires need to file certain 2020 returns. The first workday of the New Year also is the deadline for employers and self-employed individuals who deferred paying part of their 2020 Social Security taxes. California disaster delay: Mother Nature was not kind... Read more →

As the battle over how to pay for the Biden Administration budget continues on Capitol Hill, much of the focus has been on the wealthy. A new annual tax on billionaires' unrealized capital gains is the latest suggestion to help pay for the nearly $2 trillion bill. Under current law, every property owner, regardless of income, pays tax on assets when they realize a gain from them, usually by selling them. This so-called wealth tax, however, would force the ultra-wealthy to pay tax on the value or their holdings, stocks as well as real estate, before realizing the gains. It... Read more →

The Internal Revenue Service has signed new contracts with three private tax debt collection agencies. (Image via Giphy) When the Internal Revenue Service four years ago reinstituted, per Congressional mandate, the latest private tax collection program, it signed four collection companies. Today, the IRS announced new deals with three collection agencies. The private collection agency (PCA) contracts take effect tomorrow, following today's expiration of the old contracts. So starting Thursday, Sept. 23, taxpayers with unpaid tax bills may be contacted by one of the following agencies: CBE Group, Inc. P.O. Box 2217 Waterloo, IA 50704 800-910-5837 Coast Professional, Inc. P.O.... Read more →

via GIPHY On a visceral financial level, we all hate paying taxes. But what we hate almost as much is that the tax laws often seem overly complicated or just plain goofy. Take estimated taxes. These are four extra payments that the Internal Revenue Service and many states require taxpayers to make to cover the taxes due on earnings that aren't subject to paycheck tax withholding. Straightforward enough, right? Until it comes to payment deadlines. Even though there are, in most cases, four of them and they're called quarterly estimated tax payments, the IRS uses a calendar that's a bit... Read more →

IRS image Last fall, the Internal Revenue Service announced that it was adding QR, or Quick Response, codes to some of the notices it sends taxpayers. Specifically, the codes are going on tax due notices. The goal, says the IRS, is to make it easier for taxpayers to deal with the notices. Recipients of the QR coded correspondence can use their smartphones to scan it and go directly to IRS website. From there, they can access their taxpayer account, set up a payment plan, or contact the Taxpayer Advocate Service. Basically, the digital option eliminates the tax middleman or woman.... Read more →

Thoreau's Cove, circa 1908, on Walden Pond near Concord, Massachusetts. (Photo from the U.S. Library of Congress via Wikimedia Commons) Nature is a healing touchstone for many. That was especially evident when we reduced our socializing due to COVID-19. A walk in a park was a way to get out of our self-imposed lockdowns and stay safely distant from others while embracing the environment. Many people went further as the coronavirus pandemic continued, moving from crowded cities to suburban or urban retreats where they could work from home. They found, in a fashion, their own modern day Walden Ponds. At... Read more →

July 15 is a big day for the Internal Revenue Service and taxpayers. Millions of families will start getting Advance Child Tax Credit payments this Thursday. It's also the day the IRS resumes additional collection and enforcement actions that, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, had been suspended. "The majority of compliance operations are already running normally after being suspended to provide pandemic-related relief during the People First Initiative April 1, 2020, through July 15, 2020," notes the IRS on a recent update to its mission critical functions web page. However, says the agency, it kept its systemic and automated lien... Read more →