Everyone was reminded last week of Albert Einstein's brilliance. Almost exactly 100 years after the wild-haired physicist posited the existence of gravitational waves, scientists confirmed their existence.
Tax folks, however, always acknowledged Einstein's genius. He did, after all, note that even he was baffled by the U.S. tax code.
That's one of the biggest problems with taxes. They often make even the smartest among us feel like idiots.
Tax software helps. The computer or online programs walk you through the filing process, tying your real-life experiences to the tax breaks that could save you some money.
If you feel more comfortable talking person-to-person about your taxes, you can hire a tax pro. That's what Einstein did.
And then there's always the ol' blog's Daily Tax Tip , running each week day throughout the filing season.
The five tax tips that were posted last week are:
- Reporting gambling winnings (Monday, Feb. 8, 2016)
- 10 tax terms (Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2016)
- Retirement plan contribution limits — (Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016)
- All about Obamacare tax forms (Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016)
- Filing choices for married couples — (Friday, Feb. 12, 2016)
You can catch up with the rest of the February tax tips at this month's special blog page. The ones that kicked off the 2016 tax filing season are collected in the January tax tips list.
And when you're ready for something a little less taxing, you can relax and check out the computer visualization below of the warping of space-time generated by the collision of two black holes more than a billion light-years from Earth.
Want more? Umberto Cannella, Daniel Whiteson and Jorge Cham, creators of Piled Higher and Deeper (PHD) Comics, made the video below. It uses simple animations and analogies to accurately explain just what gravitational waves are, and why they're so important.
Einstein would definitely approve of both the tax help and the scientific diversion.
Kay
Samina, plenty of taxpayers agree with you and Al! Millions of filers get some professional to complete their taxes. Kay
Samina
It’s funny that in stark contrast to your post, Turbo Tax is running commercials implying that it doesn’t take a genius to do your taxes. Maybe not, but they’re pretty easy to screw up. I’ve seen many self-prepared returns that were an absolute debacle over the years, so I’d have to agree with Einstein – maybe it’s worth having professional help in some situations.