About Kay and her tax blog
Welcome! Here’s where you’ll find all about Kay Bell (okay, some about Kay) and her writing career, including her award-winning tax blog Don’t Mess With Taxes.
I’ve been writing for, well, I’m not going to tell you how long! But I will tell you my professional writing career began well before blogs were a thing.
I’ll also own up to writing specifically about taxes since 1999 as the founding editor and writer for the tax section of the major online personal finance website Bankrate.com. There, my tax insight and expertise make me a regular contributor on behalf of Bankrate to television and radio programs, as well as a source for other national media outlets.
The challenges of the then-new online journalism world were a rewarding shift for this writer who, after earning my B.A. in journalism from Texas Tech University, moved from my campus writing digs to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal newsroom.
I embraced online tax writing even more after returning to my native Texas in 2005. Specifically, on November 14 of that year, I published my first post to my newly christened tax blog Don’t Mess With Taxes. (Texas. Taxes. Starting to make sense, right?)
While taxes are far from simple, my goal in blogging about them is straightforward. I translate taxes into money-saving English.
My approach appears to work. I was honored to soon be recognized by my tax community peers, such as the estimable TaxProf blog.
“One of my favorites is Kay Bell (@taxtweet). She’s funny, smart and good. Her blog won the National Association for Women in Communications Clarion Award in 2012 as the year’s best personal blog. She recently explained the potential tax liability for people who bet on the Super Bowl (In case you’ve been out of touch, the Seattle Seahawks crushed the Denver Broncos) and used the late Pete Seeger as a hook to talk about the tax liability of married couples who file jointly (Hint: they share it). … If you want a respite from the drudgery of taxes, turn here. She also has a really cool Web site called “Don’t mess with taxes.” Those from Texas — Bell’s a native Texan — will love the name of her Web site, the rest of us will love her tax commentary.” – Joann Weiner, The Washington Post, February 5, 2014
“This blog by Texas journalist Kay Bell aims to provide tax and personal-finance tips and advice ‘that will put more money in your bank account, not the government treasury.’ Ms. Bell, who previously worked for the House Ways and Means Committee in Washington and now writes about taxes for Bankrate.com, offers different approaches to make taxes less taxing. She often puts advice in a social or historical context. For instance, in honor of Alexander Graham Bell’s birthday on March 3 — and while lamenting the recent bombardment of calls from candidates soliciting votes — she discussed the scenarios in which U.S. taxpayers can get a break on phone use. In other recent posts, she breaks down the economic-stimulus rebate with information that pertains to families with children, the elderly and state-by-state variations that residents should watch for.” – Beckey Bright, The Wall Street Journal, March 31, 2008
While managing financial writing jobs and blogging, I also was privileged to be selected in 2006 to a term on the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP). This all-volunteer group of U.S. taxpayers from wide-ranging backgrounds is a federal advisory committee established under the authority of the Department of the Treasury. It’s mission is to Improve the IRS.
My TAP time also provided a personal bonus. It helped me stay in touch with the friends and tax colleagues I met when I worked in Washington, D.C. I started on Capitol Hill as a staffer for a U.S. representative who served on the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee. That connection helped me move to a position with the W&M panel itself.
Finally, a little bit of shameless horn tooting.
First, Don’t Mess With Taxes is a two-time Plutus Award winner, an accolade bestowed on my financial writing peers by the Plutus Foundation. It also took home three Clarion Awards, the highest writing prize presented by the National Association for Women in Communications.
Plutus Financial Bloggers Awards
Celebrating the Best in Personal Finance
Lifetime Achievement Nominee 2020
National Association for Women in Communications
Best Personal Blog
2012, 2014, and 2017
Then there are the tax books.
I’ve written one on my own, The Truth About Paying Fewer Taxes, a comprehensive guide to saving thousands of tax dollars over your lifetime.
I’ve also contributed to three others financial/tax publications: Future Millionaires’ Guidebook, Personal Finance: An Encyclopedia of Modern Money Management, and The Gambler’s Guide to Taxes: How to Keep More of What You Win.
I gotta tell ya, aka disclaimer: Thanks for your interest in me and Don’t Mess With Taxes. I don’t expect you to, dare I say, love taxes like I do, but I do hope you’ll explore the blog and find some information that can help you keep as much of your tax dollars as possible out of Uncle Sam’s hands.
Keep in mind, however, that while I research my posts and take continuing tax education classes and webinars, I am a tax journalist. I am not a professional tax adviser or tax return preparer. And that leads me to my official disclaimer.
The tax posts on Don’t Mess With Taxes are based on my personal interpretation and understanding of tax laws, policies, and regulations that I have followed for almost three decades. They are not professional tax advice because, as noted, I am a tax writer, not an accountant, Enrolled Agent, or any other type of paid tax professional.
And while I work to ensure each item’s accuracy, the posts are not recommendations of any specific tax action(s) you should or should not take. The tax material published on Don’t Mess With Taxes is provided for readers’ private, noncommercial, educational, and informational purposes only.
Similarly, mentions of commercial tax products or services are not endorsements. And advertisements are clearly marked.
In other words, my ramblings on the ol’ tax blog are free advice, and you know what they say about getting what you pay for. That’s why when it is time for you to file your own taxes, I urge you to get additional, reputable professional guidance from a hired tax pro, accountant, or other financial adviser(s) who are familiar with your individual fiscal circumstances and tax needs.
That said, if you have any questions, suggestions, clarifications, good (or bad) tax jokes, or ideas for future coverage here at Don’t Mess With Taxes, leave a comment on the relevant post and/or drop me note at skbell1@dontmesswithtaxes.com. You can also follow me at my social media accounts below.