“The only thing that hurts morethan paying an income tax is not having to pay an income tax.”– Lord Thomas Robert Dewar …Yes, that Dewar. The Scottish whiskey distiller. The man whose namesake beverage is probably imbibed in large quantities around April 15. But his observation is sobering. And worth considering as the presidential campaign heads into the home stretch. During these last nine days, the perennial political specter of taxes will be invoked as something more terrifying than any Halloween demon. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t like paying taxes, especially when my planning has been a bit off…
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…
During this string of hot and dry spring days, it’s hard to image that 25 years ago today, Austin suffered a deadly flood. Austin’s Memorial Day Flood of May 24, 1981, killed 13 people, destroyed 600 homes, flooded dozens of businesses and left $36 million in damages in its wake. The picture below shows damage done to a car dealership along Shoal Creek. Flood photograph courtesy of Austin Public Library and Austin History Center. …The power of water has always captivated me. Much of the fascination is because I grew up in desert West Texas, where not a stream was…
You, being a normal human, probably think it’s holiday time. Thanksgiving is just around the corner and Christmas is bearing down. But it’s really tax time. OK, maybe not tax time in the conventional sense, but we all face taxes every day — sales taxes, gas taxes, property taxes, the list goes on and on — not just on April 15. So I’ve created this blog to (1) vent about taxes (the good, the bad and the inevitable) and, I hope, to (2) offer a bit of help in negotiating this generally unwelcome task. I’m not precisely a tax pro,…
State Taxes
The More Tax Posts tab at the top of this page will take you to, well, more tax posts. You also can search below for a tax topic.
November 4, 2026
Thanks to Nov. 3 midterm election wins Democrats will control both the House and Senate…
TO WRAP UP 2026
It’s over! With October’s extended filing deadline behind us, it is now time to focus on year-end moves to reduce your 2026 tax bill.
You’ll find ways to do just that on the Tax Tips page (see the More Tax Posts drop-down menu at the top of the blog), as well as the separate tax tip pages for each month, notably October through December. If you’re on the Tax Tips page, you’ll find a monthly list at the end of this column. If you’re on another blog page, you can head straight to the October tips; at the bottom of that tips page you’ll find links to all the other 11 months’ collections of tax advice.
Not to spoil what you’ll find in that tax advice, but it does cover such things as tax deductions for charitable donations, investment moves that could reduce tax due, and ways to max out your tax-favored retirement savings.
Finally, as the year winds down, things get hectic. There are lots of other things to occupy our time, like the much more fun upcoming holidays. But don’t lose sight of taxes, since timing is key. To be of use, most tax moves must be made by the end of the tax year. That’s Thursday, Dec. 31, which also is the last business day of the year.
So that you don’t miss that final tax year deadline, also keep an eye on the countdown clock below. It will keep you on top of just how much time is left to make important, tax-saving moves. (Note: I’m in the Central Time Zone, so adjust accordingly for where you live.)