Photo by Andy Quezada/Unsplash May typically is the end of high school for millions of students across the United States. After a summer break, a lot of these new graduates will be heading off to college. In addition to the new classroom challenges, these students and their families will face the daunting task of paying for college. Uncle Sam can help a bit. Be they freshmen or returning to university studies, the Internal Revenue Code has a couple of tax breaks, the American Opportunity and Lifetime Learning tax credits, that could help cover some of students’ common college costs. Here’s... Read more →
Tax Tip
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 →
Any small business owner, including this self-employed mechanic, could be a tax scam target. All need to stay alert this Small Business Week and beyond. (Photo by Andrea Piacquadio) Scams are the focus of the Internal Revenue Service on this fourth day of National Small Business Week. The topic, unfortunately, is not new, and isn’t limited to special times of the year. Yes, the IRS has made progress in educating taxpayers about scams, as well as improving the agency’s ability to spot, stop, and in some cases helping prosecute criminal charges against the bad actors. But con artists and scammers... Read more →
The Republican-led Congress insists it is making progress on Donald J. Trump's "one big beautiful bill." But party leaders are facing challenges. In addition to including expiring Tax Cuts and Jobs Act provisions into a combined budget reconciliation package, they must find a way to shoehorn in Trump’s campaign trail promises of no taxes on tips, overtime pay, and Social Security benefits. A House Ways and Means Committee member believes she has a solution to the federal retiree taxation payment issue. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-New York) has introduced H.R. 1129, also known as the Tax Relief Unleashed for Seniors by... Read more →
Thank you teachers! It’s something students and their families should say every day, but today especially. The first full week of May is Teacher Appreciation Week, and Tuesday of that week is designated National Teacher Day. That’s today, May 6, this year. The National Education Association (NEA) says that the whole week, but notably today’s special designation is a time for honoring teachers and recognizing the lasting contributions they make to our lives. Adequate funding for schools and better wages for teachers are among the issues championed by the NEA and other education advocacy groups. While those fiscal decisions generally... Read more →
A health savings account, or HSA, helps high deductible health plan, or HDHP, enrollees cover their larger out-of-pocket medical costs. HDHP plan limits and HSA contribution amounts are adjusted annually for inflation. Here are the 2026 numbers. Sometimes just searching for health insurance can send your blood pressure sky high. (Photo by Thirdman) Health care is a major concern for most Americans. Not only do they want solid coverage for themselves and families, they want it at the most affordable price. For many, the best option is a high deductible health plan, or HDHP. HDHP, HSA costs and savings: A... Read more →
Texas' drought has made for a sparser than usual 2025 wildflower season. But the bees and I thank goodness this May for hardy lantana. (Photo by Kay Bell's hubby) Pardon the interruption of your May merry making, but now that the main tax season is over, you need to think about making some tax moves. I know. You thought you were done when you got your 1040 to the Internal Revenue Service on April 15. Or you thought you didn’t have to think about taxes for six more months when you instead filed for an extension. Sorry, but this brand... Read more →
North Carolina filers originally facing next month's filing deadline now have until Sept. 25 to complete their tax obligations. Hurricane Helene was responsible for extreme flooding last September in Burke County, North Carolina. Taxpayers in the Tar Heel State were among those granted more time by the Internal Revenue Service to file their 2024 tax returns and pay any due tax. (Photo by NCDOTcommunications, CC BY 2.0) Hurricane season 2025 has yet to start, but the effects from last year’s major Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico storms is still being felt by many across the southern and southeastern part of... Read more →
Photo by olia danilevich Tax Day always is illuminating, but not necessarily in a good way. Too often taxpayers discover how little they know about not only our U.S. tax system, but how it affects them personally. That unfamiliarity can be quite costly, which is the subject of this weekend’s Saturday Shout Outs. It's also the headline of the first shout out item, Tax and Financial Illiteracy Are Costing Americans, by Daniel Bunn, who is president and CEO of the Tax Foundation. His post at the Washington, D.C.-based tax policy group’s website points out some alarming findings about our overall... Read more →
Photo by Jan Van Bizar It's been more than a week since the tax documents you gathered helped you file your federal return. Now, what to do with all that tax-related material? In most cases, you want to hang on to it, at least for a while. Just how long, however, depends. The time frame for hanging on to tax-related material generally is determined by the Internal Revenue Service’s statute of limitations. That essentially means that you need to keep some tax material for as long as the IRS has to take a deeper dive into your filing. IRS Publication... Read more →
Photo by Mikhail Nilov We're a week past Tax Day. Have you started working on your 2025 return? I don't mean your actual return, of course. I do mean thinking about what went well or went off the rails this past filing season. Now is the time to consider changes you can make so that the process is smoother next year. Shameless plug alert: You can find some tax planning ideas in my earlier posts Tax Day is done. Now what? Plenty! and Create a tax strategy that utilizes different tax baskets. Income tax brackets and rates: Another good place... Read more →
Spoiler: Tax cheating is not going away, and likely will increase thanks to recent Trump administration/DOGE actions. Roman portraiture fresco of a young man with a papyrus scroll, from Herculaneum, 1st century AD (Image by Olivierw/own work, Public Domain/Wikimedia) Tax cheating is a big topic every filing season. This year it got added attention. Many in the tax world are worried that cuts to the Internal Revenue Service by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), championed by the Trump administration, will hamper the agency’s ability to effectively enforce tax laws. But tax cheating is not new. It’s been around as... Read more →
Happy Easter weekend to all who celebrate. I've always enjoyed the more secular activities, like my neighborhood's annual Easter egg hunt. I always get a kick out of watching the youngsters scramble to fill their baskets with colorful eggs. Today’s hunts feature multi-hued plastic eggs, which is a good change from the targets of my childhood. I still remember finding stinky spoiled real, dyed eggs that were overlooked during the original quest. And yes, in my (geezer alert!) day, parents actually hid the eggs, instead of just scattering them across open areas. I also remember my mother not being thrilled... Read more →
Photo by Belle Co We made it. Tax Day 2025 is finally over for most of the country’s 140 million or so individual tax return filers. Now what? First, take a minute or more to celebrate being done with this annual tax obligation. Then, start thinking about taxes again. Wait! Come back! You did click over here, after all. And to reward your post-Tax Day curiosity, here are seven tasks you should consider. I promise they aren’t that difficult. 1. Adjust your paycheck withholding. Your tax goal each year should be for your paycheck withholding to cover as closely as... Read more →
Emergency workers doing flood salvage. (Photo: FEMA) Millions of taxpayers across the United States on this Tax Day 2025 are finishing up their returns or filing for an extension. But some, including U.S. taxpayers abroad and who live or have businesses in major disaster areas, get more time. That list of delayed filings for disaster victims grew this week. The Internal Revenue Service announced that all taxpayers in Arkansas and Tennessee who were affected by severe storms and accompanying winds, tornadoes, and flooding that began on April 2, and who have not yet filed now can wait until Nov. 3... Read more →
If you've put off your tax filing until the very last minute, don't panic. But get to work on that return or filing extension request. Tax Day is almost here. If you’re a last-minute filer, you’re painfully aware of the dwindling filing time frame. I don’t want to interrupt your work, but if you are looking for some suggestions on how to get the job done, here are six tips to help you finish by tomorrow, April 15. 1. Get an extension. Your wisest move at this point, even if you are close to finishing your Form 1040 and accompanying... Read more →
The April 15 federal income tax filing deadline is Tuesday. For most folks, that’s the only thing they have to worry about on that day. But there are some of us for whom Tax Day means more tax tasks. Here are nine instances — yes, that includes the regular annual filing of tax returns — where some people might need to take additional tax action on April 15. Most of these tax-related moves will ensure you fulfill your tax duties and avoid any additional contact with the Internal Revenue Service. But some also could save you some tax dollars. File... 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 →
Next Tuesday is April 15. If you haven’t filed your 2024 tax return, then you know you have some work to do. You are not alone. Every year, millions of individuals put off their filing until the last minute. If that’s you, and you are committed to finishing your Form 1040 by April 15, here are some tips to make sure it’s not a lost tax weekend. The first tip is get more time. That’s right. Don’t rush to finish by April 15. You’ve gone this long without filing your tax return, so why push yourself into an urgent panic?... Read more →
Photo by Andrey Grushnikov The tax deadline countdown clock is ticking away (literally, there over in the ol’ blog’s right column). With just days to file your Form 1040 slipping away, many of us will determine the best move is to file for an extension. You can do that by Tax Day, April 15, too. Just send the Internal Revenue Service Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. But some taxpayers get a bit more time to ask for more filing time. Already extended disaster area taxpayers: As noted in my Tax... Read more →