Image by Tabea from Pixabay June is here. Summer officially arrives in a few weeks. Are you ready? Summer’s supposed to be the peak leisure season, but it takes some work. There are vacation plans to make. If you’ve got children, you’re probably ironing out day camp details. And, of course, you have made your June tax moves list, right? Oh, you don’t have taxes on your June to-do list? Sure, taking care of tax matters definitely isn’t the day at the beach you want. But some summer tax moves can help make next year’s filing easier, and potentially less... Read more →
Withholding
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 →
April 15 is double Tax Day for those of us who must pay estimated taxes. It’s the end of the prior tax year, with returns (and payment) due for those earnings. It’s also the start of tax filing (and paying) for this year. The payment for money made, but not subject to withholding, in the first quarter of 2026 is due on April 15. Extra payments for certain income: The U.S. tax system is pay as earn. For the most part, that's taken care via tax withholding from employees’ paychecks. But even if you have a job where income (federal... Read more →
By the end of last week (March 21), the Internal Revenue Service had sent out just more than 55.7 million refunds. The average check amount was $3,221. The latest refund amount is slightly less — $50 smaller — than the amount I noted on Monday in my post about how to spend your tax refund. But even with a small drop, a lump sum payout from Uncle Sam of more than three grand is welcome. That’s especially the case for many who participated in a recent Intuit Credit Karma survey. Almost half (49 percent) of the survey respondents said they... Read more →
Fortune cookie tax filing wisdom (Photo by Kay Bell) We’re into the second official day of the 2025 tax season and millions of taxpayers have already filed their returns. This post is not for you. It’s for folks who haven’t yet even thought about their 2024 tax year returns. That’s okay. We all work at our own pace. But there actually are some good reasons to get to your annual tax filing task sooner rather than later. Here are 10. 1. To get your federal tax refund sooner. This is the main reason early filers get their 1040 forms to... Read more →
Photo by Matheus Bertelli Happy New Year! I know, we’re well past the Jan. 1 hangover phase, but it is the first full work week of 2025, so I stand by my greeting. And I up it with Happy New Tax Year! On Jan. 20, Republicans who crafted that major tax reform bill will be in control of all three branches of federal government. They plan to keep and, if reports are true, expand the TCJA. As for paying for all those tax breaks, well that's another matter. Like I said, exciting tax times ahead. But while lawmakers on Capitol... Read more →
I love Santa Claus, but even the Jolly Old Elf isn’t magical enough to provide the tax solutions you asked for in your letter to him. You’re going to have to make some tax moves, like the 10 below, yourself. (Photo by Kaboompics.com) Ho, Ho, Holy Moly! December sure got here quickly! Thanks to the 2024 calendar, we (or at least I) haven't even had time to sufficiently recover from Thanksgiving. But time, and taxes, march on, meaning we’ll just have to deal with a compressed holiday schedule as best we can. I hate to be the Tax Grinch adding... 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 →
This showy Texas turkey, not to be confused with music icon Bob Wills' Turkey, Texas, hometown, is a spectacular representation of the ol’ blog’s first tax turkey to avoid this holiday season, or any time of year. It’s Thanksgiving week. Most Americans are looking forward to the upcoming fourth Thursday in November, when they’ll gather to share food and fun with family and friends. A turkey will be the featured food on most tables, a tradition dating from the turn of the 19th century. But turkey also is disparaging slang for loser. Tax turkeys, in addition to being unwanted, can... Read more →
You don't get the World's Best Boss title if you don't understand, and comply with, employment tax requirements. (Photo: Steve Carell as Michael Scott in The Office; NBC Universal Television Studios) Every worker is aware of payroll taxes. These amounts are taken out of paychecks and then sent by your boss to the various appropriate state and federal tax agencies. At the federal level, the primary payroll reductions cover income taxes, as well as Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) amounts that are paid by both employees and employers to fund Social Security and Medicare. While it’s our earnings that are... Read more →
Photo by Jill Wellington Thanksgiving, of course, is the main focus this month. We spend the days leading up to the holiday thinking about what we’re going to cook, or eat if someone else is doing the kitchen heavy lifting. And figuring out a tactful way to deal with that, shall we say, out-there uncle. Good luck! November is also a great month to make sure we don't fall afoul of tax turkeys. To prevent that, there are some tax moves you can make this month. Since it’s already four days into the month — my bad; I got caught... Read more →
NOTE, Sept. 18, 2024: This estimated tax deadline is extended for taxpayers in officially designated major disaster areas. To date, such extensions apply to today's tax due date (and more) in 20 states and two U.S. territories. Millions of taxpayers will be sending Uncle Sam some more money next week. Monday, Sept. 16, is the due date for their third 2024 tax year estimated tax payment. At least we — yes, I’m a long-time payer of estimated taxes — have an extra day to fulfill this tax obligation, since the regular Sept. 15 deadline is on Sunday. But we all... Read more →
So how was your summer? That’s right, it’s that time of year again. The summer break officially ended on Sept. 1 with the arrival of meteorological fall, which runs through Nov. 30. I know, it’s kind of an arcane tidbit, but we have other more recognizable autumnal indicators. Youngsters across the country are back in classrooms. Their parents are back to the 9-to-5 grind after the long Labor Day holiday, with the next extended break not until the holidays. And temperatures here in Central Texas have dropped into the upper 80s! Yes, that’s early fall weather for us. I hope... Read more →
Keeping track of your finances when you're older can alert you to the possibility that you might owe tax on some of your Social Security benefits. Most of us look forward to retirement. Some of us also get a tax shock once we start collecting Social Security. Some of our federal retirement benefits, in some cases as much as 85 percent of our annual payout, could be subject to federal taxation. Not only is that tax an unwelcome surprise to older taxpayers, it also has become part of the current presidential campaign “Seniors should not pay tax on Social Security,”... Read more →
August is the month that brings us the sunsetting of summer. But amid the season's waning days, find some time to take care of some tax tasks. (Photo by Kay Bell) It’s August. Already! How did this final summer month sneak up on us, or at least on me? Maybe it was all the other distractions. The presidential campaign has been unusual, to say the least. The Paris Olympics kicked off with a controversial opening ceremony (I loved it!), and still have more than a week to go. Then there’s the unrelenting heat wave across the United States. And, of... Read more →
Unsplash+ in collaboration with Olivie Strauss Hello, July! We are soooo ready for this first full month of official summer. This first week of July will be a short one for many of us. We’ll be taking advantage of July 4 falling on Thursday, making it an extra-long Independence Day holiday weekend. But once the fireworks are over, it’s back to the regular grind where we never are independent of taxes. That’s why we also need to also make some time in July for tax moves. Here are five to consider. 1. Get ready for disastrous weather. Even though I’m... Read more →
Unsplash+ in collaboration with Getty Images School’s out for the summer. That means many young people are working summer jobs. If it’s your first time in the workplace, congratulations on your earnings effort. And good luck with the tax lessons you’re about to learn. Here’s a quick CliffsNotes on paychecks and taxes. Income Tax Withholding: Getting your first paycheck is reason for celebration. That joy, however, tends to be offset a bit when you realize that Uncle Sam, and probably your state tax collector, too, took some off the top. That’s the income tax withholding that all wage-earning workers face.... Read more →
June is here! Summer officially arrives in a few weeks. And many of us already are making vacation plans. Great! Have fun. But also make some time this month to deal with tax tasks. Really. Taxes definitely aren’t a day at the beach, but some summer tax moves can help make next year’s filing easier, and potentially less costly. Here are five tax moves to make, or at least consider, this June. 1. Pay your estimated taxes. Millions of us must make these extra tax payments each year. The payments cover income we get that’s not subject to withholding, such... Read more →
Photo by Karolina Grabowska Tax Day 2024 is over for most of us. But Tax Day 2021 looms for some this month. No, we are not in some tax time warp. And no, I did not have an adult beverage with my morning cuppa. The tax reality is that this coming May 17, 2024, is the last chance for almost a million people to get federal refund money they were due back in 2021. These individuals didn’t file a 2020 tax year return three years ago. And those three years are, according to tax law, the time limit they have... Read more →
You don’t like the taxes being withheld from your paychecks, but at least you know your tax money is going to fund government services. Most of the time. In some cases, those responsible for getting income and other payroll taxes to Uncle Sam don’t comply with their legal responsibility to collect and deliver the funds to the Internal Revenue Service. Nearly $2.7M unremitted tax: It’s that delivery portion that’s usually the bigger issue. And that’s what a Maryland woman pleaded guilty to today. The woman, whose name is in the official Department of Justice complaint filed back in January, but... Read more →