Republicans on the House Budget Committee are meeting with their members today to try to come up with changes to the tax portion of the one big beautiful bill (OBBB) that they want to pass to further the White House’s fiscal and immigration goals. Conservative GOP members tanked the tax plan on Friday, complaining that it added to the federal deficit. Fiscal conservatives are holding out for deeper spending cuts or more reductions to tax benefits for low-income households. Meanwhile, another group of Representatives, this one bipartisan by led by Republicans who represent districts with high housing costs, could cause... Read more →
Real Estate Housing
Sure, income taxes are infuriating, but if you ask homeowners what tax they hate most, it’s a good bet that their annual property tax bill tops the list. These real estate taxes are issued by county or parish officials across the United States. And the recipients of property taxes are found in all political parties. That's why a group of Republicans whose congressional districts are full of frustrated suburban homeowners are, right now, standing up against their party's leaders when it comes to the one big beautiful budget and tax bill sought by the White House. They say they won't... 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 →
Photo by cottonbro studio April is federal tax filing time. In case it’s slipped by you, Tax Day is next Tuesday, April 15. (Here are some tips if you’re working on your return this weekend.) For most Americans, this month also is home to state tax filing and paying deadlines. It’s also when the hubby and I get our annual home appraisal that will determine the next property tax bill we’ll get from Austin and Travis County. So, like a lot of U.S. residents, this collection confluence always makes me contemplate whether moving to a state with lower taxes —... Read more →
Photo by Porapak Apichodilok You took that job in Rome and things are working out great. But you discovered that there’s one part of the United States that hitched an international ride with you. The Internal Revenue Code. Thanks to our worldwide tax system for individuals, as a U.S. citizen you remain a U.S. taxpayer, regardless of where you live. That makes you responsible for filing federal tax returns on your overseas earnings. Uncle Sam, however, does provide some tax breaks to his citizens living and working abroad. They get more time to file, with a June 15 deadline. And... Read more →
Devastation in Asheville, North Carolina, caused by Hurricane Helene last September. (Photo by Bill McMannis, CC by 2.0 Wikimedia) I’ll pay our home’s property tax next week, just before the Jan. 31 deadline. It’s an annual tax ritual followed, albeit with differing deadlines, by millions of real estate owners across the United States every year. Some homeowners, however, are more frustrated than usual this year with their current property tax bills. Their homes were destroyed or seriously damaged by a major natural disaster. That’s the case for many property owners in Western North Carolina that were in Hurricane Helene’s path... 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 →
Washington, D.C., is no stranger to severe winter weather, as this photo of snowbound Dupont Circle in 2010 shows. Snow and frigid temperatures are putting a damper on next week's presidential inauguration. (Photo via Wikipedia) Donald J. Trump’s second inauguration is Monday, Jan. 20, but not as originally planned. An Arctic Blast next week across much of the country, including the Washington, D.C. area, means the official swearing in ceremony will be moved indoors, to the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. The change obviously is a disappointment for many of the Trump supporters who traveled to the national capital to witness the... Read more →
The Internal Revenue Service will start processing 2024 tax year returns on Jan. 27. Millions of people will file then, or before, getting their forms into Uncle Sam’s tax queue. But to file a complete and accurate Form 1040, you need all the information that form requests. That’s generally income statements like W-2s and 1999s. But there are many other documents that have tax-filing relevance. And most of those aren’t require by law to be sent to you until the end of January. So, most of us are just going to have to be patient for a couple more weeks.... Read more →
Saying "I do" also means saying hello to some tax changes in your new wedded life. (Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash) The end of each year is a good time to reflect on what happened the previous 12 months. For most of us, that includes some good events, some sad ones, and some still shaking out as we’re about to enter a brand new year. Many of these changes also could affect our taxes. So, as a bit of year-end preplanning, here are six ways that the Internal Revenue Code shows up when we encounter personal and lifestyle changes.... Read more →
Will this higher cost across the country be enough to convince lawmakers to revise the $10,000 state and local tax (SALT) federal tax deduction cap? Before the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 was enacted, I’d spend this time of year deciding whether to pay our home’s annual property tax bill by Dec. 31 or wait until its due date of Jan. 31 the following year got closer. It wasn’t just a cashflow decision. It also affected our tax filing. Or did, as I noted, before the Republican tax reform bill limited the amount of state and local... Read more →
Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash The 2024 general election is over. Finally. Now we sort through the results to try to determine how what we did on Nov. 5 will affect us. The election of Donald J. Trump to a second term, along with Republican control of the Senate and likely the House, will likely simplify a lot of federal tax questions in 2025, the final year of many individual Internal Revenue Code provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. But as noted back on Oct. 26, tax questions, not just candidates, also were on ballots.... 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 →
Photo by Julentto Photography on Unsplash International travel is a dream for many Americans. Some enjoy their jaunts so much, they decide to move instead of just vacation abroad. A foreign relocation means many changes. But one thing doesn’t change. U.S. citizens who live and work abroad still owe U.S. taxes on their income. Thanks to Uncle Sam's reliance on a worldwide tax system at the individual level, the U.S. Treasury gets a piece of your earnings regardless of where in the world you make it. There are, however, some tax provisions that can help U.S. workers in other countries.... Read more →
Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash Tuesday, Nov. 5, is election day. The hubby and I already voted, and if you’re like us, you can’t wait for all the politicking to be over. The incessant calls, emails and snail mail material extends beyond the candidates. In several states, and at local levels, too, voters will decide ballot initiatives. So, this weekend’s Saturday Shout Outs go to recent coverage of the referenda, with, of course, a focus on taxes. The first shout goes to Ballotpedia, which reports that 159 statewide ballot measures were certified as of Oct. 24 to appear on... Read more →
Photo by RDNE Stock project A home of one’s own has long been part of the traditional American Dream. Nowadays, though, some say it’s a nightmare trying to join the homeownership ranks. So, of course, as we head into the last few weeks of the 2024 election, candidates at all levels also are focusing on housing. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, has proposed tax breaks she says will increase the housing supply, which should lead to lower prices. She’s also promoting a first-time buyer tax to help buyers get into those homes. Using the tax code to... Read more →
Americans have always been a peripatetic group. And we relocate for many reasons. Jobs are a big move motivator. Some people want to be closer to (or farther from) their families. Weather also prompts people to relocate. So do taxes. “For many years, policymakers, journalists, and taxpayers have debated the role state tax policy plays in individuals’ and businesses’ location decisions,” writes Andrey Yushkov, a Senior Policy Analyst with the Center for State Tax Policy at the Tax Foundation, at the tax policy nonprofit’s website. The Tax Foundation has analyzed annual data about who is moving — and where —... Read more →
A few years ago, when housing prices here in Austin kept climbing, the hubby and I hired a company to protest our annual real estate appraisal. That assessment is used to calculate just how big our property tax bill will be. Other factors, such as local tax rates and certain exemptions, also come into play. But if your house is deemed to be worth a whole lot of money, and you’re not planning on selling it for or near that amount, then a generous appraisal will cost you property tax dollars. So, we hired a firm with time and experience... Read more →
Vice President Kamala Harris, Democratic presidential nominee, revealed some of her economic plans in a speech Friday, Aug. 16, in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Screenshot of X-Twitter video) Vice President Kamala Harris rolled out her presidential campaign’s economic proposals Friday in a roughly half-hour speech in Raleigh, North Carolina. They included a federal ban on alleged corporate price gouging on food products, ways to help people buy their first home, and financial help for families. Much of Harris’ assistance would come from tax breaks, some of them familiar fiscal tools, both enacted or previously proposed by the Biden Administration. New tax... Read more →
A view of some of the vast acreage of Big Bend National Park in Brewster County, Texas. (Photo by Kay Bell) This summer, millions of people will visit national parks, forests, and wilderness areas. While the folks who live in near those sites appreciate the associated increase in the local economy, they also pay a price. Land owned by the federal government is generally not subject to taxation by state or local governments. But those jurisdictions still cover services for the tax-exempt U.S. acreage within their borders. Much of the expense is borne by counties that pay for road upkeep,... Read more →