Yikes! Where did February go? Even with that extra day, it zoomed right along. In fact, I didn’t get around to updating the tax calendar there in the right column with March tax deadlines until just a few minutes ago.
What this all means is time is rapidly running out to finish our 1040s. I specifically use "our" because I also have to get cracking on my (and the hubby’s) return.
I urge you — and myself — not to wait until the last minute. If you run into trouble, you’ll end up having to file for an extension so you can track down tax help to get the right answers. And that just prolongs your tax-filing pain.
Plus, if you owe, even with an extension you’ll still have to pay up at least what you estimate your 2007 IRS bill to be. So you might as well be done with everything, filing and paying, all at once.
And just in case you do have some filing issues, remember you can always check here at Don’t Mess With Taxes. There’s a search option there in the right-hand column (look for the small yellow arrow sign), as well as categories you can click on for all my bloggings on certain topics.
Another good source is Bankrate’s Tax Guide 2008. There’s a link there at the top of the page (or here for you RSS readers).
The IRS Web site also has vastly improved over the years; much of its information is even written in sorta plain English now. Plus, the site has lots of online tools (they call them "assistants") to help you figure out things like your possible earned income tax credit (EITC) eligibility or whether you’ll have to pay the alternative minimum tax (AMT).
And my tax blogging buddy William Perez over at About.com: Tax Planning: U.S. has put together a nice list of places where you can get free tax preparation help. A similar compilation is on the aforementioned IRS site.
So at least think about doing your taxes soon. And bookmark these sites so you can come back quickly for tax answers.
Now it’s off to fun a few personal errands and maybe tonight working a bit on our tax return. Or maybe I’ll do that tax stuff tomorrow afternoon or … But soon! I promise!
