Overcoming tax fears

March 25, 2011

Tax time evokes a lot of emotions. Anger. Frustration. Despair.

Then there's fear. Being afraid of filing holds back a lot folks when it comes to accomplishing their annual required tax tasks.

I'm no psychologist and I've never played one on TV. But I have been dealing with taxes professionally for almost 15 years. I've been doing my own returns for longer than that. So I know something about how scary taxes can be.

And I have some suggestions in my Bankrate.com story on how you can overcome some common tax fears.

The intimidating tax situations read like a horror movie script: doing your return on your own, making mistakes, overlooking deductions, ending up with a big tax bill, confronting an IRS bill so big you can't pay it, getting audited, hiring a bad tax pro.

All are very legitimate concerns. But it's not that hard to conquer each and every one of them.

And once you tackle your tax terrors, then you can face down something really frightening, like telling your spouse what you really think about his family's plan to spend the entire summer with y'all!

Good luck on both counts.

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Those procrastinating filers aren’t a problem. In fact, the IRS appreciates taxpayers who take time to fill out their 1040 forms correctly. It also is grateful that tax submissions are spread out a bit, especially now that the IRS is a leaner agency. Processing returns is easier when they arrive throughout the year instead of in massive bunches.

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The ol’ blog is here to help you finish up your extended Form 1040. You can start with January’s tax tips page, which has links to the rest of the year’s tips by-month collections. You also can peruse various tax categories for more tailored advice by clicking on the More Tax Posts drop-down menu at the top of this (and every) page.

And to make sure you don’t miss your new filing deadline, the count-down clock below will let you know just how much time you to file by Oct. 15. At the latest.e. (Note: I’m in the Central Time Zone, so adjust accordingly for where you live.)

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