Welcome to Don't Mess With Taxes®. I'm Kay Bell, a journalist by training and trade; a tax geek by choice. You can learn more about me at, well, About Me.
But here are some highlights, including links to some popular pages and features as well as, last but definitely not least, the ol' blog's privacy policy.
I began this blog in 2005 (Nov. 14, 2005, to be precise if you'd like to mark your calendar so you can send a birthday and/or anniversary card) after moving back home to Texas and starting my own writing business.
Soon after I began blogging those many years ago, I trademarked the ol' blog's title. Yep, used a lawyer and registered it with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Hence the ® after the name in the first paragraph above.
The registered trademark icon also is noted in the trademark and copyright notice near the bottom of the right column.
However, for visual clarity, I tend not to include the elevated ® in most copy and posts.
What's here
OK, the reason you clicked here. All the stuff!
Over the years, I've covered a ton — OK, tons — of tax stuff.
Sometimes even I get lost trying to track down a past post.
So I've created this index/table of contents. It should help all of us find what we're looking for as quickly and easily as possible.
Take a look around. Peruse a few topics. And let me know if there's something not here you'd like to see.
Year-round Tax Tips and Money Moves, which includes Daily, Weekly, Specially Themed and General Tax Tips
Tax Rates
Tax Rates and Income Brackets Through the Years
Tax Terms aka Glossary, which like all language is continually evolving
Tax Help (general)
Tax Preparers
Natural Disasters Resources
Eye on the IRS, Congress and others making and administering tax laws
By the Numbers: Fun and quirky tax data
By the Numbers 2020 (coming soon!)
By the Numbers 2019
By the Numbers 2018
By the Numbers 2017
By the Numbers 2016
By the Numbers 2015
By the Numbers 2014
By the Numbers 2013
By the Numbers 2012
By the Numbers 2011
Shout Out Saturday or Sunday: Hat tips to other tax sources
to free up at least part of my weekends!
Shout Outs 2020 (coming soon!)
Shout Outs 2019
Shout Outs 2018
Shout Outs 2017
Archive of posts, by month posted and categories
It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year: My first ever blog post!
Past features (which may or may not be revived)
Tax Carnivals
Tax Carnival Guidelines
Following Follow-up Friday: Updates to previous posts
What I said at Bankrate Taxes Blog
Last Week at My Other Tax Blog 2016
Last Week at My Other Tax Blog 2015
Last Week at My Other Tax Blog 2014
Last Week at My Other Tax Blog 2013
Last Week at My Other Tax Blog 2012 & 2011
Beyond the Ol' Blog
The following links are more tax and financial sites that I contribute (or contributed) to, as well as some things I do to occupy my non-blogging time.
About Me (again, although I swear I am not usually this narcissistic),
as well as more personal info at About.Me and Google, and a look
at some kudos I've received (again, really not this usually self-absorbed!).
Kay on Social Media
Welcome Twitterers | @taxtweet
Facebook
LinkedIn
Google+
Pinterest
Tumbling Taxes at Tumblr
Books Kay wrote as sole author or as a contributor
The Truth About Paying Fewer Taxes: I wrote this book in 2009 as part of the popular FT Press "truth about" series. It covers just what the title says.
Personal Finance: An Encyclopedia of Modern Money Management: This reference book, published by ABC-CLIO in 2015, is designed for high school and college students and the educators who teach those subjects. I contributed chapters on an overview of the federal tax system, tax returns, tax deferral, online personal finance options, and flexible spending accounts.
Future Millionaires' Guidebook: I joined several of my Bankrate colleagues to produce this Book Baby ebook in 2012. My chapters? Taxes of course! I provided a comprehensive (but succinct) look at everything from payroll withholding to deduction options to saving for retirement. In addition, I wrote the estate planning chapter, which included, you guessed it, the tax component of this important financial step and cited the wise words of the great Canadian rock bank Rush.
The Gambler's Guide To Taxes: How to Keep More of What You Win: Several of my Bankrate.com tax articles are included in this handbook, published by Lyle Stuart in 2003, for bettors looking to protect more of their winnings from the IRS.
Other writings by Kay
Bankrate Taxes as former contributing tax editor
Last Week at My Other Tax Blog for some of my tax bloggy thoughts at Bankrate
Worth: A look at personal finance from the pages of Austin Woman magazine
Crazy Woman Driver: Kay's auto racing rants and raves from the pages of Randall-Reilly truckers' magazines
As time goes on, I'll be tweaking this index, adding new features, refining what's here.
If you're looking for something not listed here, try the search feature over in the right column under the "What are you looking for?" header.
Don't forget the Archives page, which compiles all my posts chronologically by month, as well as alphabetically lists the categories for my blog posts.
Finally, you can always contact me — via email or send a 140-character Twitter message (I'm @taxtweet) or jot a wall note at the ol' blog's Facebook page — if you have questions about a tax topic you think/know I blogged about but can't find.
If you want to get the ol' blog's tax news and information on a regular basis, you can subscribe via RSS, email or social media.
Privacy Policy
As for those subscriptions and other interactions on the ol' blog, a few words about your privacy.
I take your privacy seriously. Long-time readers know I don't even identify my better half; he's simply known on the intrawebz as the hubby. I want to give all readers of the ol' blog the same consideration.
So I assure you that I won't use your contact and/or subscription info for any purposes — not humorous, not illustrative and definitely not anything nefarious.
I also want all y'all to feel comfortable coming here and sharing what you choose to share in posts' comments sections. Even then, if I see something that has a bit TMI and makes me a bit uncomfortable (since I must OK all comments), I'll edit it so that I, and therefore you, are confident that your privacy is respected and protected.
I must note, however, that Don't Mess With Taxes is hosted on Typepad, a blogging service owned by Endurance International Group. As such, your visits to Don't Mess With Taxes, either via my Typepad subdomain or directly at Don't Mess With Taxes, also are covered by Endurance's privacy policy.
The Endurance International Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries and brands, including Typepad and by extension Don't Mess With Taxes, care about protecting the personal information of customers and visitors who use its websites, products or services. This privacy notice provides details about how your personal information is collected, shared and used by us.
Endurance's Privacy Notice was updated Dec. 12, 2019, to provide you with more information about the additional rights California residents have under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which takes effect Jan. 1, 2020. If you are a California resident, you can read about these additional rights here.
For the purposes of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679, or GDPR, The Endurance International Group, Inc. and each of its brands local European representative is AppMachine B.V., located at Sophialaan 32, 8911 AE Leeuwarden, Nederland.
If Typepad/Endurance is involved in a merger, acquisition, a sale of all or a substantial portion of our assets, or other similar sale transaction, your information will be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you by email and/or a prominent notice on our website of any such transfer and any choices you may have regarding your information.
You can find highlights of Don't Mess With Taxes/Typepad/Endurance's privacy policy here.