Among the flags celebrated on Fun With Flags, the online show within a show in CBS' The Big Bang Theory, was Old Glory. (Photo of Amy Farrah Fowler play by Mayim Bialik and Jim Parsons, who played Sheldon Cooper and Betsy Ross, courtesy Sheldon Cooper presents Fun With Flags Facebook page). Happy Flag Day! Long-time readers of the ol' blog already know that June 14 is an extra special day for me. It was my younger brother's birthday. One of my fondest memories of him was when as a preschooler he thought all the U.S. flags were flying in his... Read more →
State/Local
James Holzhauer's epic winning run on Jeopardy finally came to an end, leaving him with winnings of almost $2.5 million. The take fell just short of the television game show's record winnings, but neither Holzhauer nor the tax collectors who'll get a nice chunk of the cash are complaining. James Holzhauer finally learned you can't win 'em all. It's been a good week for gamblers. For tax collectors, too. A 66-year-old North Carolina retiree came forward to claim the $344.6 million Powerball drawing, which he won thanks to numbers from a fortune cookie. A yet-to-be-announced lottery player in San Diego,... Read more →
Taxes are a pain in the derriere, regardless of what form they take. Most folks tend to focus on — and hate — income taxes more than other types. That's because the majority of workers tend to pay a portion of our earnings to Uncle Sam. Then there are the myriad state and local taxes (SALT). SALT covers income taxes from these lower taxing jurisdictions, as well as real estate and, to some degree, personal property taxes. SALT taxes have come under renewed scrutiny since the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which has limited the amount... Read more →
The Alchemist, an 80-foot motor yacht photographed by D Ramey Logan, would qualify for a substantial sales tax break under a new Texas law awaiting the governor's signature. (Photo via Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0) Texas lawmakers say the property tax reform bill they've sent to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk will slow the increases homeowners have complained about for years. The Texas Property Tax Reform and Transparency Act, which if enacted will require cities, counties and other taxing units to get voters' OK before levying new taxes. We shall see if what's been worked out on paper in Austin's... Read more →
Philadelphia Ritz-Carlton Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer. Millions will begin the annual vacation season this long holiday weekend. Others will wait a few weeks or months before taking a break from work. Regardless of timing, all these travelers will need places to stay. Nowadays, more vacationers are using short-term rentals of private homes or apartments. They like the hominess and feeling like a local. They also often can get good deals. But one thing is the same in most cities and states for local rentals or hotels: taxes. Levies for sleeping over: Yep, when a homeowners lease... Read more →
If you're hitting the road for the long Memorial Day holiday, you'll have lots of company. AAA is predicting the strongest kick-off to the summer travel season since 2005, and the second-largest travel volume on record dating back to 2000. Overall, AAA says nearly 43 million Americans will celebrate the unofficial start of summer away from home. For the 37.6 million Americans that AAA says will travel by automobile during some part of the Memorial Day weekend, today, May 24, is not your travel friend. Neither is Friday, May 25. AAA predicts most drivers will experience the greatest amount of... Read more →
It's that terrible time of year when Mother Nature is on the rampage. In the last few days, at least 19 twisters have touched down in Tornado Alley. That dangerous weather pattern is expected to repeat and expand over the coming days. 3:57 PM - We know have TWIN tornadoes northwest of Crescent in far western Logan county, north of OKC. Both of these are currently on the ground. Storm is moving northeast at 35 mph toward Mulhall. #okwx @NEWS9 pic.twitter.com/fAkqaGemmZ — Matt Mahler (@themahler) May 20, 2019 In addition to spawning twisters that destroyed stretches of property, but luckily... Read more →
Photo by Fisherga via Flickr CC The Preakness, the second leg of horse racing's Triple Crown, is Saturday, May 18. As a former Maryland resident, the 144th running of the race the Black Eyed Susans will be somewhat bittersweet. It could be the last time the legendary race will be held at Baltimore's Pimlico Race Course. It also will not lead to a Triple Crown winner. Preakness problems: Country House, the eventual Kentucky Derby winner after Maximum Security, who crossed the Churchill Downs line first, was disqualified, will not run in this year's Preakness. By opting out of the Baltimore... Read more →
The Internal Revenue Service has formed a working group to look into allegations that some of its Free File members really didn't (don't?) want taxpayers to file for free. State and city officials have launched official investigations into or taken legal steps in connection with allegations that some tax software companies redirected online searches away from their free options on at the IRS website. Now what is being hailed as the first nationwide class-action lawsuit in the matter has been filed against Intuit, the maker of TurboTax. Tax software giant is legal target: It's no surprise that the tax software... Read more →
This is a big week for Lone Star State businesses. The state's franchise tax is due May 15. For my fellow Texas business owners, that's tomorrow. Unless you're a Wolters Kluwer CCH software client. Then you have until May 22. See my prior post for more on the recent CCH malware problems and the filing accommodations being made by the Internal Revenue Service and Texas tax officials. I don't want to bore all y'all that don't live here, but since other states have business levies similar to ours, here's a quick, general take on Texas' tax system. The privilege of... Read more →
At least one state, Texas, joins the Internal Revenue Service in making filing accommodations for those affected by software company's malware troubles. Watch the full classic Roseanne Roseannadana skit at NBC's Saturday Night Live video page. As the wonderful Gilda Radner character Roseanne Roseannadana used to say, "It's always something." That's particularly true in the tax world. Just when we thought we had made it relatively unscathed through the 2019 tax season, which already was crazy since it was the first one in which most of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) changes took real life effect for taxpayers,... Read more →
Photo by vxla via Flickr CC If gratuities are part of your work, then the 10th of the month is an important tax date for you. It's the day — or the next businesses day if the 10th falls on a weekend or holiday — that you must report your tip amount for the previous month when it totals $20 or more. The Internal Revenue Service requires these reports because the tax code considers all types of tips as discretionary, fully taxable income. Wisconsin workers, however, may soon get a break on the state tax level when it comes to... Read more →
Free File is finally getting a lot of attention. Unfortunately for companies involved in the Internal Revenue Service/tax software partnership, it's not the kind of attention they want. The IRS now is following state officials in California and New York in looking into whether potential Free File users were intentionally directed away from the program. Free but not that popular: Free File, as the name indicates, was designed to allow most taxpayers access to no-cost online tax return completion and electronic filing. The 2019 filing season is its 17th. It's still available to taxpayers through the Oct. 15 extended filing... Read more →
In a few hours, we'll find out which thoroughbred will be wearing this year's coveted Garland of Roses. (Photo by Craig L. Duncan via English Wikipedia [CC BY-SA 3.0]) OK Tax and tax fans, have you placed your Kentucky Derby bets yet? By now, you know that tax, in addition to being the main focus of my professional writing life also is the name of a horse entered in today's 145th Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs. Betting basis: Is Tax a good bet? Depends on what you want to get out of it. If you have some spare... Read more →
Happy Earth Day 2019 Earth Day was created in 1969 by environmental activists in response to an oil spill in waters near Santa Barbara, California. Since then, it has expanded each year as a day to emphasize environmental issues and inspire an appreciation of our planet. With this year's celebration falling on a weekday, many folks are looking for ways to incorporate their pro-Mother Earth efforts into their daily lives. Well, nothing is as incorporated into our day-to-day existences as our taxes. So on Earth Day 2019 and every day this year, here are 4 tax-saving environmental options. 1. Electric... Read more →
420 Day celebrant photo by GoToVan via Flickr Happy 420 Day, when marijuana smokers commemorate cannabis. It's not surprising that the origins of this unofficial holiday to celebrate weed are fuzzy. Some say it's based on the California police or penal code number 420 that designates marijuana smoking. Not true. Another theory is that there are 420 active chemicals in marijuana. That count must have been made after a few tokes over the line. There are more than 500 active ingredients in marijuana, with only about 70 or so being cannabinoids unique to the plant. A more likely explanation is... Read more →
How accommodating is your state's tax system? Kiplinger lists the top 10 most tax-friendly states. Most U.S. taxpayers are breathing a sigh of relief as this week winds down. They made it through Tax Day 2019, getting their annual federal return to Uncle Sam. Millions also filed their state returns at the same time. They live in the 43 states and District of Columbia that collect some sort of personal income tax. The majority of those state tax departments follow the Internal Revenue Service's filing time frame. But not all. Five states have return due dates that are a tad... Read more →
Most U.S. taxpayers filed their annual tax returns or got extension on Monday, April 15. But what about folks who missed the Tax Day deadline? Don't panic, but don't procrastinate any longer. The IRS is serious about hearing from you each April. It imposes three main filing-related penalties, the harshest of which is for not filing. Here are four things late-filing steps you need to take ASAP. 1. File a return. Yes, the filing deadline is over. But still get the IRS a return. Now. You need to get something into the IRS system that will show the tax man... Read more →
Tax Day every April is the biggie for individual taxpayers. That's when our annual Form 1040 is due. And yes, I know this year there are two Tax Days, since Patriot Day celebrants in Maine and Massachusetts get until April 17 to send in their federal returns. But most of us must meet the April 15 deadline, so that's what I focus on in this post. Completing a 1040, however, is not the only mid-April tax deadline. It's just one of the 10 tax tasks listed below that many taxpayers also must make by next Monday, April 15. 1. File... Read more →
Driving vacations are much more enjoyable when gasoline is cheap and the person behind the wheel isn't as amped up as this guy! The surest sign that summer is on the way is not temperature changes, but increasing gasoline prices. Oil companies traditionally take advantage of the seasonal shift, as families here in Texas and elsewhere across the country load up their cars — and fill up the gas tanks — to hit the road. Not too long ago, I topped off my tank with regular at $1.89 per gallon. Today the lowest price I've seen in the area is... Read more →