You and your local property appraiser probably have different views of your home. You can appeal a real estate appraisal you believe is incorrect. Doing so could help lower your final property tax bill.

Gas taxes are a top concern of drivers right now. But if you’re pumping the fuel into a rental vehicle, that’s just one of many taxes you’ll face. Half your rental car bill may be taxes and fees, according to research by a tax policy group.

High gasoline prices have prompted talk of gas tax holidays, at both the federal and state levels. But the suspension of fuel excise taxes likely wouldn’t help drivers that much.

Summer is the main tax holiday season, but Missouri and Texas are offering special early sales tax savings to their shoppers. Exemptions for Energy Star and emergency prep items are on the lists.

If you’ve put off your tax filing until the very last minute, don’t panic. You still have (a little) time to finish. But get to work on that return or filing extension request. Now!

The key April 15 tasks are filing your return and paying any due tax. But there are some other tax responsibilities that must meet the Tax Day deadline.

This current father and son vehicular bonding won’t pass Wyoming’s new vehicle transfer tax exemption muster. But one day, dad can give (or sell) the car tax-free to the licensed young driver thanks to a new Cowboy State sales and use tax break.

Seattle, Washington, is home to high tech millionaires who now are the target of the Evergreen State’s new wealth tax. The levy will effectively bump the Evergreen State from the current nine-member no-individual-income-tax club.

Getting your paycheck tax withholding amount just right pays off at tax-filing time and throughout the year with your pre-filing cash flow. The IRS’ newly updated tax withholding estimator can help.

Free is always welcome. That’s especially true at tax time, when taxpayers look for no-cost help to prepare and file their returns. Here are some free tax filing options.

Most taxpayers, at both the federal and state levels, get tax refunds every year. But this filing season, five states have been particularly slow in sending residents’ their refunds.

California gets a fiscal boon from the jock taxes owed by Super Bowl LX teams. But this nonresident tax, which other states also collect, applies to more than just athletes.

Meg White via Giphy When the hubby and I lived in the Washington, D.C. area, we became big fans of the Washington Capitals. We eventually bought season tickets, and the National Hockey League’s team’s location back then in suburban Maryland, where we had moved, made getting to and from the games easy. One of my favorite Capitals’ ad campaigns asked if we sometimes felt like screaming. They encouraged potential new (or ticket upgrading) fans to buy game packages and come yell their hearts out at the arena. I don’t know about you, but way back then, and even more so…

California is among the states that have widened the road to their film and TV tax credits. They all hope tax breaks will drive more productions to their jurisdictions as the entertainment industry continues to evolve.

Taking your time often is a good idea when it comes to tax filing. A slower, more deliberate approach to your 1040 can help ensure it is completed and filed correctly.

You don’t have to be a fortune teller to know that sometimes the best tax move is to file your return early. Here are 7 reasons why it’s good to get your Form 1040 to the IRS as soon as possible.

Take a close look at your 2025 tax return. New tax laws created by the One Big Beautiful Bill could provide you with added savings this filing season. Here are 8 to check out.

If you used IRS’ Free File last year to complete your federal taxes, then it’s tax déjà vu time. The same eight tax software companies are back for the 2026 tax season. You can use Free File if your 2025 income was $89,000 or less.

A new year also brings tax law changes in 43 states. Individual taxpayers in 9 of them will see lower tax rates. States also have tweaked their business, sales, excise, and property tax laws for 2026.

Ensure your tax cornucopia runneth over by getting your tax ducks, uh, turkeys in a row this November. Moves this month include examining if the new $40K SALT cap will make itemizing worthwhile, and looking into home energy improvements.

Residents of parts, and in some cases, all of these states dealt with real-life scares earlier this year. This post-Halloween weekend, they are facing a Nov. 3 disaster-delayed tax filing due date.

Millions of Americans receive Social Security benefits. But plenty also pay tax on that money, at both the federal and state levels. Nine states join Uncle Sam in taxing at least some of the federal retirement benefits.

  Most of us work for the money. Sure, some of us might really like our jobs. But we also like having electricity and food and the financial wherewithal to pursue leisure activities when we’re off the clock. So, we tend to take the highest paid job we can get and gladly accept raises. The goal for many (okay, most) of us is a six-figure annual salary. The real question, however, is just how much of any annual pay amount do we really get to take home? The folks at GOBankingRates have some answers. The personal finance website pulled data from…

Fall classes are getting closer. This August, 13 states are holding back-to-school sales tax holidays to help parents and students save on educational supplies.

Backpacks, like these at my local H-E-B grocery store, are a necessity for today’s students. They also are tax-free here in Texas if you buy them during the state’s back-to-school tax holiday.

State taxes vary widely, but one that affects most Americans is the sales tax. It’s collected by 45 states and the District of Columbia. Find out how your state’s sales tax compares.

Energy Star appliances are popular because they help cut owners’ utility costs. The Trump administration, however, wants to end the program…and related state sales tax holidays.

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…

Need information about the taxes in your state? This state tax department directory will get you to the official site.

Updated, Thursday, May 25, 2023 (more in UPDATE paragraph below) The interior of the U.S. Supreme Court (Photo by Phil Roeder, Flickr via Wikipedia) April is not a fun fiscal month for a lot of us. In addition to Tax Day, when many of us, including the hubby and me, owe the U.S. Treasury a bit, along with an estimated tax payment, it is property appraisal time here in Texas. The last couple of years, that’s been particularly distressing. If we were putting our house on the market like a couple of our neighbors, we’d be happy that we could…

UPDATE, July 24, 2024: Yes, this item originally was published on a prior Margarita Day. But since the main potent potable in that adult beverage is tequila, it’s worth topping off today, National Tequila Day, for another toast. So, jot down the recipe offered by the always animated (in every sense of the word) Sterling Archer. It will help the associated federal and state alcohol tax info below go down a bit easier. ¡Salud! 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 than the basic one…

Ballot initiatives are popular ways to get controversial measures, like Washington State’s capital gains tax, enacted or ended.

The Great Resignation created by folks deciding not to return to their jobs after extended COVID-19 absences has led to a lot of new businesses. That means there a many new bosses out there, most of them dealing with a different part of the Internal Revenue Service for the first time. As business owners, they potentially face new types of taxes. Exactly which taxes depend largely on how their new company is established. That’s why selection of a business entity is a major tax decision. Business entity options: As part of 2021’s National Small Business Week, sponsored annually by the…

Juneteenth, which first began in Texas, is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. In 2021, it became the Juneteenth National Independence Day federal holiday.

Amy Farah Fowler, played by Mayim Bialik, and Sheldon Cooper (as Betsy Ross), played by Jim Parsons, in the Big Bang Theory. Here, in Sheldon’s Fun With Flags podcast, they discuss Old Glory.

It’s my second favorite holiday, National Ice Cream Day! Yep, it’s a sorta real holiday, occurring every year on the third Sunday in July as part of National Ice Cream Month. So many ways to enjoy ice cream on National Ice Cream Day and any/every day. (Image courtesy GIFS for Humans Tumblr) National Ice Cream Day became official in 1984 when then President Ronald Reagan signed a proclamation declaring its existence. And even though the holiday was the brainchild of the dairy industry, I can’t think of many more things as worthy of celebration than this beloved and iconic treat. Few of us, though, need an…

The role of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in preventing the Internal Revenue Service from aggressively regulating tax preparers has prompted some questions about such oversight. Currently, the IRS uses a voluntary tax professional oversight system, but is expected to continue to push for Congressional authority to implement more stringent tax preparer regulations. Those who agree with the IRS (like the agency’s National Taxpayer Advocate) argue that regulating tax pros is necessary in order to protect taxpaying clients. It also, they contend, would lead to more accurate tax returns and ensure a fairer and more efficient tax system Opponents of such regulation,…

No, we still haven’t seen Donald Trump’s federal tax returns. Donald Trump shared this photo on his Twitter account last October of him signing what he said was his 2015 federal tax return. However, it was old state returns that have given us a glimpse into the Republican presidential candidate’s tax bills. …The information about his $916 million business loss in 1995 comes from state tax returns filed with New York, New Jersey and Connecticut for that year and which were obtained by the New York Times. While that yuge loss could have, as the Times notes, served as a…

Parents want the best schools possible for their kids. Heck, even child-free folks like the hubby and I want good schools. We’re counting on the kids roaming our neighborhood getting good educations, then good jobs where they pay into the Social Security that we’re planning on collecting in the ever-nearer future. School is back in session, supported in large part by the property taxes that homeowners pay. (Photo by WoodleyWonderWorks via Flickr) …But homeowners also hate property taxes. By some measures, it’s the most hated tax. So when we get our property tax bills, the largest portion of which tends to…

The information about his $916 million business loss in 1995 comes from state tax returns filed with New York, New Jersey and Connecticut for that year and which were obtained by the New York Times.

My clothes felt a bit snug as I got dressed this morning and I couldn’t figure out why. Then I realized it’s all the cake I’ve been enjoying in connection with recent special tax commemorations. This latest belated celebration is for the federal gas excise tax. Gas is expensive at the Canoncito station, but you might find — Breaking Bad spoiler alert — a nice watch atop that pay phone. On Oct. 1, 1993, the gas tax went from 14.1 cents per gallon to 18.4 cents per gallon. Sorry I missed the big day, but Congressional fighting over Obamacare and…

This day has always been special to me and my family. It was my late brother’s birthday. When he was a small child, he thought the flags were put out for him. We let him keep thinking that. They are still out there for you today, little Bro. Later, when the hubby and I lived in the National Capital area, we’d regularly head up the Baltimore-Washington Parkway and visit Charm City. One of Balmer’s many charms is Fort McHenry (which I mentioned in this earlier post), where Francis Scott Key penned his joy at seeing Old Glory still waving after…