Retirement can be more enjoyable when you don’t have to worry about money. That could happen if some lawmakers get their way and end taxes on Social Security benefits.

Photo by Pixabay … The Internal Revenue Service says that most taxpayers get refunds. Good for them. But those of us who end up owing Uncle Sam after we run our Form 1040 numbers have to come up with a way to pay. The easiest way, both for taxpayers and the tax collector, is electronic. Here’s a quick review of six e-payment options available this 2025 tax filing, and paying, season. 1. Credit or Debit Card or Digital Wallet: Paying by plastic is one of the oldest and most popular tax e-pay methods, so Uncle Sam happily accepts our credit…

UPDATE, Monday, Feb. 10, 2025: Yes, that’s green font in honor of Philadelphia’s Super Bowl LIX win last night. I’m taking solace in that it took a Texan, Houston native Jalen Hurts, to lead the Eagles to the title. Did you place a prop bet on last night’s NFL championship game? If it paid off, you owe tax on the winnings. Check out the results of some of the most popular Chiefs-Eagles prop bets. Super Bowl LIX is Sunday. It’s a rematch between the Kansas City and Philadelphia. KC is looking to take home a third consecutive Lombardi Trophy. The…

Doing your federal taxes for the first time? Sorry. But welcome to the taxpaying club. Here are some tips to make your membership easier.

When taxes are too overwhelming, you might be able to get free tax help at a local VITA or TCE site.

Few people like doing taxes, even when doing so will get them a refund.

We’re into the second official day of the 2025 tax season and millions of taxpayers have already filed their returns. This post is not for you.

Tax filing season 2025 officially starts today, Jan. 27.

Your answers to these tax-filing checklist questions can make the process easier, and could save you some tax dollars.

Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Danny Werfel, who is resigning his position, frequently touted the tax agency’s digital transformation plan.

If you used Free File last year to complete your federal taxes, then the 2025 version, which opened today, is mostly déjà vu. The same eight tax software companies are participating. One of them will offer software for Spanish speakers. The main difference this year is that the Internal Revenue Service/Free File Alliance partnership can be used by taxpayers whose adjusted gross income (AGI) is $84,000. That’s five grand more than last year’s AGI threshold, but it still applies to all filers, regardless of filing status. Same 8 software options: The eight returning private-sector tax software companies that are part…

Millions of taxpayers already are filling out their 2024 tax returns. Now they just need to know when the Internal Revenue Service will start processing them.

Another new tax year has arrived. And for the third consecutive year, it comes in on the heels of a year in which we didn’t see any major changes to the Internal Revenue Code

Photo by Pixabay We’re heading into the home stretch, and playoff push, of the National Football League (NFL) season. It’s the most popular sport in the United States. Since the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018 okayed state-authorized sports betting, the NFL has gained new fans who are more interested in how the games can make them a few, or more, bucks. Currently, 38 states, along with the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, have legalized some form of sports betting, though not all have implemented it. Now the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS) wants to help states…

Since the Supreme Court in 2018 let states allow betting on college sports, sportsbook activity, like this in a Las Vegas casino, has pick up substantially.

Tax season is done for most filers. We’ve made it through April’s main Tax Day, and this week’s extension filing deadline.

The Internal Revenue Service in 2024 offered some U.S. taxpayers a new, online, free way to complete their tax returns and e-file them. The option, known as Direct File, is IRS-created and operated tax preparation software. Eligible taxpayers can use Direct File and avoid having to pay for commercial tax software. For the first Direct File tax season, 12 states participated in the pilot. The Treasury Department and IRS evaluated results in those locations and in May announced that Direct File would be a permanent tax filing option. Federal tax officials also invited all the other states to join Direct…

The Tax Glossary debuted on the ol’ blog in 2007. Since then, it’s gone through numerous updates and formatting changes, resulting in this version, which wraps up with tax and financial terms for U through Z.

The Tax Glossary debuted on the ol’ blog in 2007. Since then, it’s gone through numerous updates and formatting changes, resulting in this version, which covers tax and financial terms form P through T.

Photo by Alan Cleaver/flickrCC …As noted in the first section (tax terms A through E) of the ol’ blog’s Tax Glossary, trying to decipher the Internal Revenue Service forms and instructions is one of the hardest parts of filing your annual return. You practically have to learn a new, tax-specific language. But Don’t Mess With Taxes is here to help. I’ve gathered some common tax terms and phrases and their plain English meanings in this Tax Glossary. Since the tax code is huge — and keeps growing, thanks (no thanks!) to Congress’ continual fiddling — the amount of tax terms…

The Tax Glossary debuted on the ol’ blog in 2007. Since then, it’s gone through numerous updates and formatting changes, resulting in this version, which covers tax and financial terms form F through J.

The Tax Glossary debuted on the ol’ blog in 2007. Since then, it’s gone through numerous updates and formatting changes, resulting in this version. Check it and your tax term knowledge. And let me know if there’s a term you think should be here and isn’t, or you can add to or clarify a definition that is here.

The Internal Revenue Service announced today an extension of the current Free File program through 2029.

The first Direct Filer was a satisfied IRS employee who got a $400 tax refund. However, GOP opponents of the program say it was wrongly established and misspends tax dollars. UPDATE, Sept. 5, 2025: Has your state joined Direct File? Check out this special Direct File 2025 Participating States page. Following a soft launch, the Internal Revenue Service today, March 12, officially opened Direct File to all eligible taxpayers in the pilot program’s 12 participating states. The no-cost tax preparation and e-filing program cuts out the commercial tax middleman, allowing certain taxpayers able to complete their annual filing task by…

UPDATE, Sept. 5, 2025: Has your state joined Direct File? Check out this special Direct File 2025 Participating States page. UPDATE, Monday, March 4, 2024: Attention my fellow Texans and taxpayers in 11 other Direct File pilot states. I got an email today from the IRS letting me know that the program is now accepting returns from eligible new participants. You can find more on this free, direct to the IRS tax preparation and e-filing option in the post below, as well as at the IRS.gov Direct File page. A recent poll indicates most taxpayers support a direct-to-IRS option Direct…

IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel speaks at an Earned Income Tax Credit Awareness Day event as part of the agency’s annual effort to promote the valuable tax credit.

Tax season 2024 officially starts on Jan. 29, and millions of taxpayers are getting ready to deliver their returns that day to the Internal Revenue Service.

UPDATE, Sept. 5, 2025: Has your state joined Direct File? Check out this special Direct File 2025 Participating States page. Feeling adventurous this tax filing season? If you live in one of 12 states, you can be a guinea pig for the Internal Revenue Service’s Direct File pilot program. Direct File will be available when the 2024 tax filing season officially opens on Jan. 29. The participating states are Arizona, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. This IRS-offered test of free tax preparation and e-filing will be available via smartphone, laptop,…

IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel told Senate Finance Committee members the tax agency’s new, expansive plans to enforce federal tax laws will include AI to target wealthy and corporate tax evaders.

Labor Day isn’t a holiday for all workers. (Photo by frank mckenna on Unsplash) …Labor Day is a day off for many workers. But entrepreneurs probably put in regular shifts this first Monday in September. When your small business depends primarily on you, you tend to work even on holidays. Since you’re busy being the boss, I won’t take up too much of your time. But whether you’re a new business owner or have been the boss for years, it’s always good to stay on top of your tax responsibilities. Here are some tax basics for all of us self-employed…

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…

Tax Day comes four times a year for millions of taxpayers. We (yes, I’m one of them) must make these added payments to Uncle Sam. Here’s a look at these added tax tasks required on the 15th of each April, June, September, and January.

When it comes to paycheck tax withholding, you want to get it just right to avoid a bear of a tax problem. Here’s how to make the appropriate changes.

Casino sportsbooks like this one in Las Vegas still take plenty of sports bets, but thanks to the Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling allowing states to open up sports gambling within their borders, this year’s Super Bowl wagering broke betting records.

The tax code can help when it comes to some medical costs. One of the best tax breaks is the multi-tax-favored Health Savings Account.

The IRS is finally making progress in working through its COVID closure backlog of paper tax returns.

A withholding error in the the payroll system used by the Texas Military Department means some Operation Lone Star troops didn’t have enough federal tax withheld from their pay. They’ll have to make up the difference when they file their returns.

The coronavirus pandemic has prompted millions to work from home. The simplified home office tax deduction could pays off these small businesses.

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…

Who hasn’t felt this way at work from time to time? This year, after COVID-forced reassessment of their jobs, millions decided to quit. (Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels) …The COVID-19 pandemic has changed a lot of things, including workplaces. Where offices stayed open or reopened, there are the coronavirus precautions, such as work station spacing and staff masking. Other offices are allowing or requiring their staff to work remotely. Hello home offices (that, sorry, likely aren’t tax deductible) and Zoom glitches. COVID also gave us the worst-case scenario for too many workers. Reduced consumer demand meant some businesses needed…

You’re married. You got married on Dec. 31. You’re a parent. You take care of an aging parent. You’re a single dad. You’re divorced. You got divorced on Dec. 31.

Being the boss can be fulfilling, exciting and, if profitable, mean more tax responsibilities, like paying self-employment taxes. (Photo by Zen Chung via Pexels.com) …There are a lot more self-employed taxpayers this filing season, thanks to (you guessed it) the COVID-19 pandemic. People whose hours were reduced at their full-time jobs made up (or tried to) the lost income with side gigs. Others whose salaried positions were eliminated embraced their entrepreneurial spirit and became their own bosses. Now they are filing their tax returns for the first time with self-employment income. That, of course, means encountering another form, Schedule SE.…

… The end of the disappearing stream water feature in our backyard. The installation was a home improvement. My work today to shore up a part of it was home maintenance. The differences have tax break implications. (Photo by Kay Bell) …I spent most of today taking care of home repairs that I felt confident doing. It’s not a long list. I am not really a do-it-yourself kind of person when it comes to most things around the house. Still, even though I’ve worked from home for years, being stuck here more than usual because of the COVID-19 pandemic has…

My desk in my home office, which I deduct when I file my taxes. …Not that I’m paranoid, but sometimes it seems like unseen others somehow know what’s going on in my life. The latest example is tax related. Earlier this week, a #TaxTwitter pal asked that social media group about home office tax deductions. Granted, this is not an unusual question since the coronavirus pandemic has meant many of us have been working from home, a lot of us for the very first time. Today, the Internal Revenue Service issued a tax tip on what taxpayers need to know…

Topher Grace is known by millions of fans as Eric Forman of television’s “That ’70s Show.” But when he’s not acting, he also has a side gig.

Reviewed and revised Feb. 23, 2024 You don’t have to have this many candles on your birthday cake to use Form 1040-SR. Hitting age 65 qualifies you to use file this new form. If there’s one Internal Tax Service constant, it’s that its myriad tax forms are always seem to change. Sometimes a lot. Sometimes just a smidge. That happened en masse in the wake of the wake of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017. Back then, Uncle Sam’s tax collector that year proposed tweaks to the Form 1040 and elimination of three of the six schedules…

Channel catfish photo by US Army Corps of Engineers via Wikimedia Commons . Folks in Belzoni, Mississippi, aren’t thinking about taxes today. They’re celebrating the 44th Annual World Catfish Festival. But in addition to being the catfish capital of the world (the closing of its museum notwithstanding), Belzoni is the county seat of the most audited county in the United States. Residents of Humphreys County, a rural county in the Mississippi Delta, is one of the country’s poorer counties, with more than a third of its residents living below the poverty line. Those low incomes also probably contribute to a new…

After years of being lambasted for efforts to regulate tax preparers, the Internal Revenue Service is on a roll in its efforts to oversee certain tax professionals. A recently introduced bipartisan Senate bill would give the IRS the authority that many argue it doesn’t have to set standards for tax professionals who aren’t subject to other professional guidelines. This is not the first time such legislation has been introduced. But those previous bills never went anywhere. However, the tide now seems to be shifting a bit in the tax agency’s favor. Influential tax professional groups are among this latest legislative…

Freelancing means more flexibility, such as where to work and the option to wear more comfortable attire. It also means you have some new tax responsibilities.

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,…

Since its appearance in 2003, around 50 million taxpayers have used Free File. As the name indicates, this partnership of the Internal Revenue Service and tax software manufacturers known as the Free File Alliance gives most taxpayers the opportunity to do their taxes on their computers and then e-file them at no cost. But, notes Pro Publica in an article co-published with Quartz, the number of Free Filing taxpayers comes to just around 3 percent of eligible households. That, according to the article by Tik Root, means that folks have spent around $1 billion on tax prep and filing fees…

When we pay a tax pro for help, we trust that person. Sometimes we shouldn’t.  Most of use tax professionals to help get through tax season. Thankfully, most paid tax preparers are honest. They want to help their clients meet their tax responsibilities by legally paying the least amount of tax possible under the Internal Revenue Code. But most is not all. Some tax preparers run fly-by-night operations where they simply look to make a quick buck off of honest individuals seeking tax assistance. These pros, and I use the description advisedly, often get paid based on a percentage of taxpayers’ refunds, which they inflate by advising…

Tax professionals are feeling all “Mean Girls” Gretchen Wieners right now. Thanks to the new tax law, their services are in high demand.

Picking up some extra cash is nothing new. Now, however, side hustles have become a viable employment option. They’ve also become a problem for the Internal Revenue Service.

Some folks have been asking for clarification on disaster loss claims, specifically with regard to the value of a damaged or destroyed home. A Rockport, Texas, home severely damaged by Hurricane Harvey, which made its first landfall on Aug. 25 at the Gulf Coast town. (Photo courtesy National Weather Service, Corpus Christi, via Twitter) …At issue is how a home’s fair market value factors into a disaster tax claim. I’m sorry to report that a property’s high value — I’m talking for sale purposes, not just your personal appreciation and assessment of the house — won’t help you get more…

Estimated taxes can be confusing, but they are required when you get income that isn’t subject to withholding. Here’s the scoop on the process in this estimated tax primer.

This is the original blog post copy that ran on Monday, March 24, 2014. It was updated on Friday, March 31, 2017. Business tax reform has been getting a lot of attention the last few years, with both President Obama on the Democratic side and House Ways and Means Chairman Rep. Dave Camp on the Republican side pushing for change. While Congress and the White House debate tax reform as it relates to big business, the Internal Revenue Service already has made a change to ease tax filing for many owners of smaller companies. For 2013 returns, individuals who claim…

Are we having tax fun yet? We did for while last night when it looked like we finally might get a look at Donald J. Trump’s taxes. OK. We did get to see part of the new president’s 2005 tax return, courtesy tax journalist David Cay Johnston and MSNBC host Rachel Maddow. MSNBC hosts Rachel Maddow and Chris Hayes talk Trump taxes on March 14 with Pulitzer Prize winning tax journalist David Cay Johnston. Trump tells tax all? The tax return provides some basic info, but raises a lot more questions, including who leaked it. I’m among those who believe this…

When Donald J. Trump assumed the U.S. presidency at noon on Friday, Jan. 20, he and his staff also took over the White House website. The image above is the only glimpse of Trump’s taxes the new president has provided. It’s a photo via Twitter of him signing his purported 2014 federal return on Oct. 15, 2015. Although the 45th president’s people made some major changes to the content Trump’s predecessor had posted, they did leave one feature untouched, the We the People petition generator. This option lets people petition the White House for action on whatever is near and…

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…

Today, Oct. 16, is National Dictionary Day. It was created to honor Noah Webster, the publisher of the first dictionary in 1806. Oct. 16 was chosen because it was the day 257 years ago on which Webster was born. Dictionary Day is a day to learn new words with the help of a dictionary. I’m doing my part by updating — OK, creating in large part — a tax dictionary for the ol’ blog.  Photo by eFile989 via Flickr Creative Commons  Many years ago, I posted a mini-glossary of tax terms. Since that day, I’ve meant to put together a…

This just in from the IRS’ Worst Day-Week-Month-Year Ever Department: A group of tax professionals has officially lent its support to the legal effort to stop the Internal Revenue Service from testing and requiring continuing education of certain tax preparers. In January, a federal judge halted, at least for the time being, the IRS’ Registered Tax Return Preparer (RTRP) program. The idea, formulated during the tenure of former IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman, was to set up a system that would help ensure that more tax returns are correctly completed. The RTRP rules do not apply to Enrolled Agents (EAs), attorneys…

One of the hardest things about filing your taxes is trying to decipher the forms. You practically have to learn a new, tax- specific language. And the IRS-speak makes that dang VCR manual (yes, a few of us still use those antiquated devices!) seem almost coherent! To help out, Don’t Mess With Taxes is gathering some common tax terms and phrases and their plain English meanings in this post. This is an ongoing list, so don’t be discouraged if the word that’s stumping you isn’t here yet. It soon will be. In fact, just go ahead and e-mail it to…

  Time. An artificial construct. A futile attempt by humans to control yet another immutable piece of the universe. What is a second, a minute, an hour, a year? Purely random segmentations that have no real meaning. At least that’s what I tell myself when my birthday rolls around. We have a clock that also has issues with time measurement. It’s a lovely handmade German timepiece that belonged to my grandmother. When I was young and living in the same small West Texas town as my grandparents, I was at their house often. And each time I was there, I…

Bet on it: The IRS will not collect on most of the Super Bowl wagers.

It’s Friday the 13th. I can hear Count Floyd now: “Oooohhhh. Scary.” It certainly is scary for some celebrities who are facing some potentially costly tax issues. Jury selection began this week for Richard Hatch, the first winner of CBS’s “Survivor.” The IRS contends that he didn’t pay taxes on his $1 million winnings from the popular show. But that’s not the only charge. The jury also will hear government evidence that Hatch spent money designated for a charity he created, filed false tax returns and committed bank, wire and mail fraud. What was he thinking? We first asked that…

The IRS is offering filers a MSRP for getting their taxes done.