Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 11. Have you bought your mom a present yet? Don't panic. You still have time. And don't stress over finding the perfect gift. In most cases, it’s true that all Mom wants is just to see her children. But if you do want to take some token of thanks for all that your mother has done and sacrificed for you, chances are it will be flowers. Billions spent on Mom: The National Retail Federation’s (NRF’s) annual Mother’s Day survey, conducted in conjunction with Prosper Insights & Analytics, found that, once again, the most popular gift... Read more →
U.S. Holiday
FX/FXX TV's spy-turned-private detective Sterling Archer offers his margarita recipe. If, however, you're looking for a drink that's a bit more elaborate that the basic one preferred by the animated (in so, so many ways!) and self-absorbed bon vivant, check out the Food Network's myriad margarita recipes. Happy Cinco de Mayo! Or as we here in Texas know it, an official reason to enjoy a margarita, the state's unofficial mixed drink. No, today is not Mexican Independence Day. That's Sept. 16, a national holiday in Mexico celebrating the country’s independence from Spain. So mark your calendar for another special celebración... 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 →
Today technically is George Washington's Birthday, but it's popularly referred to as Presidents Day in honor of all our commanders in chief, like these four greats on Mount Rushmore National Memorial. (Image courtesy Mount Rushmore Facebook page) Happy birthday, George! That’s the officially correct take on this Monday federal holiday. Although it’s now popularly known as Presidents (or Presidents' or President's; the apostrophe apparently is optional and mobile) Day, the correct designation for today is Washington’s Birthday. America's first president was born on Feb. 22, 1732, and Washington’s actual birthdate was the holiday until 1968. That’s when the Uniform Monday... Read more →
Photo by Polina Tankilevitch This weekend is bookended by holidays. Today’s Valentine’s Day gift and card exchanges and Presidents Day sales on Monday, Feb. 17. It also marks the peak phone traffic at the Internal Revenue Service, with taxpayers taking advantage of a day off, and finally having their tax statements in hand, to work on their returns. For many callers, however, it also means time on telephone hold. Avoid bad tax-hold tunes: Instead of listening to music that’s not really your taste, the IRS suggests taxpayers with questions this weekend — and beyond — look online for the answers.... Read more →
Photo by RDNE Stock project Valentine's Day is tomorrow. The annual Feb. 14 celebration of love immediately conjures thoughts of hearts, flowers, chocolate, love songs, rom-coms, and taxes. Yes, taxes. I don’t want to interrupt, at least not too much, your efforts if you’re still nailing down events and gifts for tomorrow. But the following tax considerations might have an impact on your choices for Valentine’s Day. In most cases, it will be state taxes that come into play. And since states don’t impose sales taxes on all goods and services in a uniform manner or at a uniform rate,... Read more →
The Internal Revenue Service has its own Groundhog Day, but it's not limited to just one specific 24-hour period. Most often, this re-do of a tax return is when you find you made a mistake on your original Form 1040. The do-over is accomplished by filing Form 1040-X, an excerpt of which is shown below. See more tax forms and more about them at Tax Forms 2024 and Tax Forms 2025. Fix errors: Nobody's perfect, and the annual filing season underscores that for many of us. When we do make a mistake on our taxes, filing an amended return takes... Read more →
Martin Luther King Jr. at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, August 28, 1963, © Robert Adelman Estate, Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery Today is one of those days when two major events coincide. This year, on Monday, Jan. 20, we officially commemorate the birth of Civil Rights leader and icon the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. MLK Day, as it has become known, is a federal holiday across the United States, celebrated under the Monday holiday law on the third Monday of January each year. This day also is the day every four years when the person... Read more →
Updated, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 Millions of taxpayers already are filling out their 2024 tax returns. Now they just need to know when the Internal Revenue Service will start processing them. On Friday, Jan. 10, Free File opens. The no-cost online tax preparation and e-filing option can be used by taxpayers whose adjusted gross income (AGI) is $84,000 or less. Business taxpayers will be able to electronically file their returns on Jan. 15. As for individual filers who make more than the Free File AGI threshold, they can start using Free File's Fillable Forms on Jan. 27. That date follows... Read more →
AARP While we were ringing in 2025, some new tax laws took effect when the clock officially clicked over to Jan. 1. Since I know many of you, and by you I mean me, have hangovers from eating, drinking and/or just plain staying up way past your normal bedtime last night (I'm guilty of all three!), I’m going to ease into the tax news on this first day of the brand New Year. I’m starting with a couple of reminders of tax changes announced as last year was winding down. You got it. The Internal Revenue Service's annual inflation adjustments... Read more →
No tax talk today. Just some personal shots of our Christmas decorations, starting, of course, with the tree, which the hubby so expertly takes care of each year. Then, scattered around the house, wreaths … … and our Texas nativity with a Mexican folk art armadillo getting in on the greeting of the Christ Child … … and me in my traditional Santa sweatshirt! I hope you and yours have a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Read more →
My phone is blowing up today, with every app suggesting that if I’m stumped for a present or two, considering giving a digital gift card from their establishment. Ditto my email. It’s not a bad idea. But the key here is to make sure that the gift card is real. So, on this Christmas Eve I’m harking back not to herald angels, but to my post earlier this month noting that gift cards are for good boys and girls, not to pay IRS tax bills. Avoid gift card scams: That post looks at how crooks tamper with actual plastic gift... Read more →
Our Christmas traditions include hanging on our tree all the U.S. Capitol ornaments we collected during our years in the Washington,D.C., area. (Photo by Kay Bell) Christmas is just days away. As long-time readers of the ol' blog know, I love this holiday. And like millions of others worldwide, the hubby and I enjoy our holiday traditions. One of them is watching Christmas movies. A particular favorite is “A Christmas Carol.” It even has a passing reference to taxes. A classic's tax reference: In the classic Charles Dickens' novella and subsequent cinematic representations, the infamous penny pincher Ebenezer Scrooge rebuffs... Read more →
Prescription copays are a common way to spend flexible spending account (FSA) money, but there are lots of other options to use so you don't lose the tax-favored funds. Your most important list this time of year is the one detailing all the Christmas gifts you’ve got to find by Dec. 25. But you also need to make another for flexible spending account eligible items you need to buy by Dec. 31. A medical flexible spending account, or FSA as it’s usually referred to, is workplace benefit that allows you to set aside some pre-tax money from each paycheck. Then... Read more →
Giving the perfect Christmas gift for your true love can be better than receiving a present. It also can be costly if you use "The 12 Days of Christmas" lyrics as your shopping list! Stubborn inflation means a costlier holiday season. That’s especially true of Christmas gift givers who follow the True Love shopping list in the classic carol The Twelve Days of Christmas. The 41st annual PNC Bank Christmas Price Index® (PNC CPI), which is based on a whimsical tabulation of the price to gift all dozen items in the song, rose 5.4 percent. That’s double last year's 2.7... Read more →
Stumped when it comes to some Christmas presents? It can happen to even the most experienced gift-giver. Here are some tax-related suggestions that might help you be a good Tax Santa this year. Not that anyone is counting, but Christmas is just two weeks away. OK, we’re all counting. And some of us are freaking out a little bit over what to get certain people in our lives. If you, like me, haven’t finished your holiday shopping, here are five financial gifts, some with Internal Revenue Code benefits, that could help you be a great Tax Santa. Open a Roth... Read more →
Okay, one more turkey, but the Thanksgiving dinner version. To go along with the leftovers from this meal, below is a wrap-up (sans foil) of last week’s Five Tax Turkeys to Avoid. (Photo by cottonbro studio) How are you doing this post-Thanksgiving weekend? Still feeling a bit stuffed, and now looking at way too many leftovers? With the 2024 calendar pushing Turkey Day to the end of November, maybe you can repurpose some of the excess food for the Christmas gathering that will be upon us in less than a month. But rather than worry right now about the next... Read more →
Five turkeys might not technically be enough to be classified a rafter or gang or death row of turkeys — and yes, all are among the many collective nouns for a gathering of this particular fowl — but these birds represent today's fifth and final Tax Turkey to Avoid. (Photo by Chris Henry on Unsplash) Are you enjoying your Thanksgiving break? Maybe time off from work this week has you thinking about when you can leave the 9-to-5 completely. Whenever that happens, you’ll want to have enough of a nest egg to enjoy your retirement. That will be possible if... Read more →
In addition to donating cash to your favorite charity, there are other ways to give. Here are three alternative charitable giving options. (Photo by Mark John Hilario) 🦃 Happy 🍗 Thanksgiving! 🦃 Millions of Americans gather today with family and friends to give thanks for all the good things in their lives. This November holiday also is a major fundraising time for charities. Donations to nonprofits that help those in need — shelters, food banks and other meal programs, support services for those needing special services — increase this time of year. Technically, these donations could provide donors a tax... Read more →
You need to get your medical flexible spending account (FSA) expenditures in a row so you don’t lose any of the tax-favored account money. (Photo by Jackie A) Thanksgiving get-togethers can be wonderful. They also can be stressful. And in many cases, literally painful. There are headaches caused by traffic hassles, anxiety prompted by annoying relatives, indigestion from over eating, and back pain from sleeping on that horrid bed in your parent’s guest room. The good news is that you can use your flexible spending account (FSA) funds to pay for the Tums, aspirin, or whatever over-the-counter (OTC) remedies make... Read more →