In addition to working on federal tax returns for the 2020 tax year, taxpayers in most of the United States also must file state taxes. I used to do that when we lived in Maryland. But I've also spent most of my combined taxpaying life in Florida and my native and current home in Texas, two states without personal income taxes. Still, I remember the hassle, both of filing and paying from my days in the Old Line State. And I feel for all y'all dealing with dual — or more, thanks to changed 2020 work situations due to COVID-19... Read more →
Tax rates
President Joe Biden, flanked by Vice President Kamala Harris, addresses the Department of Defense. (White House Facebook page photo) It's a new tax year, a new filing season belatedly underway and a new Administration with some ideas on tax changes. Every time a new president moves into the Oval Office, especially one of the opposite party, political wags try to make pithy observations. Personally, I bow to some esteemed wits of the past, like Will Rogers, who said, "The difference between death and taxes is death doesn't get worse every time Congress meets." Rogers' sardonic comment came to mind because... Read more →
A GameStop store in an Alaska mall, circa 2013. (Photo by Bentley Mall via Wikipedia Commons) GameStop is a struggling brick-and-mortar enterprise that sells video games, gaming merchandise and consumer electronics through its, for now, more than 5,000 retail stores across the United States. The Grapevine, Texas-based company has been the focus recently of stock market moves that have intertwined day traders, stock buying apps, novice and naïve investors, Wall Street hedge funds and lots of rich guys with social media accounts who can afford to fan the overheated investing flames. I'm a Boglehead buy-and-hold type of investor, so I'll... Read more →
UPDATE, Jan. 10, 2023: The two national lottery jackpots are huge. The next Powerball drawing on Wednesday, Jan. 11, will be at least $360 million ($188.7 million lump sum). Mega Millions is now mega billion-plus. The drawing Tuesday, Jan. 10 (that's tonight!) will pay out more than $1.1 billion ($568.7 million cash) to a single winner. If your numbers do come up, congratulations! After you recover from the shock and elation, check out these tips to help you cope with being a sudden millionaire. Picking lucky numbers from a lottery game dispenser. Benjamin Franklin wasn't wrong, but he was pre-national... Read more →
Photo by Emanuel Kluge via Flickr CC Could the COVID-19 pandemic produce changes in tax systems worldwide? That's what one global economic group thinks could and should happen. There's no argument about the revenue problems caused by the coronavirus in 2020. They are being felt acutely as we head into the heart of the year's holiday season. In addition to the coronavirus' disruption of traditional get-togethers due to health concerns, there's the pandemic's financial component. COVID-19 business cutbacks and closures have left too many with reduced, or no, paychecks. Businesses that are open are seeing fewer customers because of those... Read more →
We need to follow Santa Claus' example this month. Just as he checks his naughty or nice list, we need to check on tax moves to make by Dec. 31. It's December. 2020 and its craziness is almost over! Are you ready? Specifically, are you ready for the holidays? For those of us still committed to pandemic precautions, it's going to be a different, and yes, a bit less jolly, season. But one thing is the same as in previous Decembers. We still need to make some tax moves before Jan. 1. Some December tax moves will demand a little... Read more →
Welcome to Part 6 of the ol' blog's series on 2021 tax inflation adjustments. We started with a look at next year's income tax brackets and rates. That first item also has a directory, at the end of the post, of all of next year's tax-related inflation updates. In today's post, we look at how the annual changes help investors, high-earners and, eventually, estate heirs. Note: The 2021 figures in this post apply to that tax year's returns to be filed in 2022. For comparison purposes, you'll also find 2020 amounts that apply to this year's taxes, due April 15,... Read more →
Whether you'll be on the road this holiday season or staying home, you still need to map out some year-end tax moves. (Photo by Mohan Reddy Atalu via Pexels.com) It's November, a month most of us welcome because of its cooler temperatures and annual holiday festivities. However, there's even more to think about in November 2020. The presidential election is just a few days away. Then there's the coronavirus pandemic, which means Thanksgiving plans for most of us are modified if not scrapped. If you find you're staying home this year as a health precaution, don't despair. Remember that it's... Read more →
It's that time of the tax year when things start coming at us fast. We just wrapped up the 2019 tax return filing season, giving us around two months to focus on tax moves to make before year's end to lessen the 2020 tax-year bite. Then each fall the Internal Revenue Service throws a ton of numbers at us that change things for the soon-to-arrive next tax year. C'mon, taxman! Sure, we've all learned to multitask, but really? Now? Do we really need this huge 2021 data dump at the end of a crazy COVID-19 tax year where we already... Read more →
Photo by Antonio Quagliata via Pexels.com The presidential election countdown clock it quietly ticking. In most national election years, the tax plans of the candidates get a lot of attention. Obviously, 2020 is not most years. Other things — OK, one thing, COVID-19 — have been the focus on the campaign trail. But it's still worth looking at the tax implications of a possible change in the Oval Office. GOP vs. Democratic plans: The Trump Administration will look to make permanent at least some of the Republicans' 2017 tax reform measure. The White House also has hinted at expanding some... Read more →
Photo by Pixabay via Pexels.com Ah, election years. They're always, uh, fun. Yeah, let's go with fun. Competing candidates with usually diametrically opposed policy positions go at each other, trying to convince voters that their proposals will better benefit them. That's why we tend to see, even in more usual presidential campaigns, a lot of ideas tossed out, including tax proposals. That's the case in the Trump Administration's suggestion this week to lower capital gains tax rates. Taxing investment timing payoffs: Capital gains are the profits made when you sell assets. We generally think of them in terms of financial... Read more →
Yes, that a 20-something me in that photo, lighting up a cigarette. I was a smoker for way too many years when I was a young adult. I finally quit cold turkey as a birthday gift to my husband during our first year of marriage. And despite nicotine's addictive properties and a 2½-pack-a-day habit, I never suffered any withdrawal symptoms. I smoked back then not because my body or brain demanded it, but because I enjoyed it. That and, as I revealed in a social media conversation with some #TaxTwitter pals that started as a discussion about coffee, it was... Read more →
Yes, I bought a ticket for the Jan. 29 Powerball. I always do when the jackpot of that and the other national lottery, Mega Millions, gets into the, well, mega million-dollar range. No, I didn't win. Again. Last night's Powerball payout, which had climbed to $396.9 million, is going to the lucky person who bought the winning ticket in Florida. Yes, I am contacting my Sunshine State friends and relatives! In addition to the one big winner, three other Powerball tickets worth $1 million each went to ticket holders in Ohio, Virginia and, again, Florida. If you're one of the... Read more →
Supporters of a minimum wage increase at rally in Chicago last year. (Photo: Charles Edward Miller licensed under CC by SA 2.0; cover of the National Employment Law Project 2020 report) New tax laws aren't the only ones that went into effect on New Year's Day across the United States. A record number of states, cities and counties have or will boost their minimum wages in 2020. On or around this Jan. 1st, the minimum wage increased in 21 states. Another 26 cities and counties also hiked their baseline pay at the start of this year. In the coming months,... Read more →
How Texans see the United States. Each new year brings hope. A flip of the calendar pages, and the suddenly clean slate, at least metaphorically, means better things ahead are possible for us personally, professionally, financially and, of course, on the tax front (taxically, which spellcheck wants to change to toxically…). When it comes to taxes, the goal every year is to pay less. While we're still working under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) changes at the federal level, we still see some changes in 2020. Notably, especially when it comes to our always hoped for lower tax... Read more →
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) this month will mark its 2nd birthday. After two full years of dealing with its provisions, the most tax code changes in 30-plus years, there's still debate over how much it's helped both taxpayers and the economy. One thing is clear, however. The TCJA's focus on lowering tax rates for big business has transformed the United States' global tax ranking. Since the TCJA took effect, the U.S. of A. has gone from a high-tax nation to one of the lowest-taxed countries in the world, according to the latest global tax report from the... Read more →
The men and women hoping to win the Democratic presidential nomination have gotten a lot of attention for their proposals to tax the wealthy. That's obviously an area to watch, as the money could help pay for some other tax and public policy pitches. But most of us aren't wealthy. So what is really important to us is how much of a tax bite the Internal Revenue Service would take out of our average Jane and Joe Taxpayer income under Democratic plans. The Tax Foundation has looked at the tax proposals from the four Democratic White House wannabes who, at... Read more →
Welcome to Part 6 of the ol' blog's 2020 series on tax inflation adjustments. We started on Nov. 6 with a look at next year's income tax brackets and rates. Today we look at how the annual changes help investors their families and eventual heirs. Note: The 2020 figures in this post apply to 2020 returns to be filed in 2021. For comparison purposes, you'll also find 2019 amounts to be used in filing 2019 returns due April 15, 2020. OK, maybe the rich don't literally burn money. But as the saying goes, the very wealthy really are different from... Read more →
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay This is the first in a 10-part series on how major tax provisions are affected by inflation. The Internal Revenue Service released all these figures today, Nov. 6, 2019. True, the figures are key in 2020 tax planning, which you should be doing now along with making 2019 year-end tax moves. But since they are for next year, there's not a lot of urgency to get them all out all at once. Patience, I've discovered over the years, works well with taxes as it does most things in life. Plus, I've always viewed our... Read more →
Taxpayers and tax professionals alike are breathing a sigh this week. The final tax extension Oct. 15 filing deadline has come and gone. Sure, there's some cleanup left. The storing of files. The adjusting of withholding where tax bills were larger or smaller than expected. And, yes, the waiting for refunds by procrastinating filers who weren't in a hurry to get their tax cash. It does happen. Chances are, however, that the Internal Revenue Service isn't sending out many refunds this month. I'm not just saying that because most October filers don't get refunds. I'm basing my expectation on recently... Read more →