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Football + taxes = New Year’s fun!

January 2, 2016

It's the favorite time of the year for college football and tax fans. Their worlds converge.

As I type, the Georgia Bulldogs are whupping up on the Penn State Nittany Lions. OK, so the Pennsylvania fans aren't having fun.

But tax geeks who also are college football fans have noticed that the two teams are meeting in the TaxSlayer Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida.

TaxSlayer Bowl banner

Older football fans will remember this as the Gator Bowl, but the tax software company has been the primary sponsor since the 2011 game. It was officially renamed the TaxSlayer Bowl when the Bowl and the company inked a new deal in 2014.

It's a smart move by the tax preparation company. The tax filing season will start in a few weeks, and it doesn't hurt to get your name in front of football fans who'll be among the millions using software to fill out and e-file their 2015 taxes.

TurboTax on TV, too: Taxes have already popped up in other games thanks to ad for Intuit's TurboTax program. I can't remember exactly which games I've seen them in; they're starting to run together by now.

But I have spotted a couple of the leading online tax prep and filing program's "It doesn't take a genius to do your taxes" ads.

The hook is that to ease consumers' self doubt when doing their own taxes, actual eggheads show up to help. The seven 30-second TV spots are leading up to TurboTax's commercial appearance in the NFL's Super Bowl on Feb. 7.

UPDATE: Just caught a TaxAct ad in the Valero Alamo Bowl where the Oregon Ducks are crushing the TCU Horned Frogs.

Yep, it truly is tax kickoff time.

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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. 

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TAX-SAVVY WAYS 
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.)

Credits/Deductions
Disasters
Family
Filing and Paying Taxes
Politics/Laws
Refunds
State Taxes
Tax Brackets/Inflation
Tax Tips
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