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Last week at my other tax blog (2014)

January 5, 2014

It’s that time again. Another new tax year has rolled around.

2014 came in with less fanfare than 2013’s fiscal cliff falderal. But that doesn’t mean that the tax world was calm.

The House and Senate left with much tax business undone. And although Congress agreed to a two-year federal budget so we won’t have a repeat of last fall’s government shutdown, there’s still that pesky matter of the debt ceiling hanging out there.

Bankrate Taxes Blog icom As has been my practice, I’ll be recapping what happened last week at my Bankrate Taxes Blog here at Don’t Mess With Taxes each weekend (mostly Saturdays … I hope!).

If you happen to miss those roundups, you can find the synopses posts listed here in this directory.

So without further ado, here’s how my 2014 Bankrate tax blogging is going.

  • Dec. 30, 2014: 5 tax-saving moves you can make by Dec. 31, plus preparing for 2015 filing season
  • Dec. 24, 2014: Charitable gifts: a present for those in need and you at tax time
  • Dec. 17, 2014: Tax filing projections for the 2015 season and beyond
  • Dec. 14, 2014: Cutting IRS budget is a bad idea for taxpayers, U.S. Treasury
  • Dec. 5, 2014: Taxpayers, IRS await Senate action on 2014’s tax extenders
  • Nov. 28, 2014: Factor sales and use taxes into your holiday shopping budget
  • Nov. 23, 2014: Tax crimes, in the U.S. and internationally
  • Nov. 14, 2014: Tax help for fire, ice and other disasters
  • Nov. 9, 20914: IRS taxpayer service outlook, short- and long-term, is bleak
  • Nov. 1, 2014: Best states for business tend to have no or low taxes
  • Oct. 26, 2014: IRS seizes honest taxpayers’ assets under forfeiture program
  • Oct. 18, 2014: Payroll tax unnoticed by workers, but welcomed by Treasury
  • Oct. 12, 2014: Taxes account for a large part of cellular phone bills
  • Oct. 5, 2014: How do states tax the cloud? There’s no consensus … yet.
  • Sept. 27, 2014: Lying to your tax pro could result in a bad tax situation
  • Sept. 21, 2014: Getting old sucks. We can’t stop Father Time, but we can prepare physically, emotionally and financially
  • Sept. 14, 2014: What do workers want? At some offices, it’s tax-free lunches
  • Sept. 6, 2014: Georgia, Indiana and Uncle Sam work to stop tax refund fraud
  • Aug. 31, 2014: Checking out charities before you give
  • Aug. 22, 2014: Massachusetts unemployment overpayment calls are legit, but other telephone contacts across the country are tax scams
  • Aug. 18, 2014: Pot tourism’s potential tax payoff for states with legal weed
  • Aug. 9, 2014: Both sides of Obamacare tax subsidy fight appeal earlier court rulings, one all the way to the Supreme Court
  • Aug. 3, 2014: States see electronic cigarettes as a new tax source
  • July 25, 2014: Obama says corporate tax inversions are ‘gaming the system’
  • July 17, 2014: Tax preparer oversight goes to court again: AICPA vs. IRS
  • July 12, 2014: IRS employee suspended for Obama reelection effort
  • July 4, 2014: Fireworks, flags and taxes for July 4th
  • June 28, 2014: Congress wants to consolidate the many education tax breaks
  • June 22, 2014: Save space and trees: Digitize your tax records
  • June 14, 2014: More taxpayer rights, fewer tax haven company contracts
  • June 7, 2014: Highest property tax bill in the U.S. comes to $1.275 million
  • June 1, 2014: Debate continues about tax havens and punishment fairness
  • May 23, 2014: Tax holidays on tap for hurricane prep, Energy Star appliances
  • May 18, 2014: Rich, poor, middle class: Where are you on the income scale?
  • May 12, 2014: IRS getting sneakier in tracking tax cheats
  • May 2, 2014: Representatives, Senators fall over each other in rush to ban bonuses to IRS employees who owe federal taxes 
  • April 27, 2014: Property taxes pose burdens, predatory loan possibilities
  • April 19, 2014: Some of VP Joe Biden’s Social Security is taxed. Is yours?
  • April 12, 2014: State taxpayers are big e-filing fans, too
  • April 6, 2014: 3 popular refundable tax credits: Are they worth it?
  • March 29, 2014: Tax scams ramp up as filing deadline nears
  • March 21, 2014: Bet on it, IRS missing out on many NCAA basketball wagers
  • March 18, 2014: College bowl tax audits and Colorado pot taxes
  • March 10, 2014: Filing season 2014: Death, taxes, root canals and refunds
  • Feb. 28, 2014: Ways and Means chair says his tax reform plan not DOA 
  • Feb. 22, 2014: Olympic tax break effort in Illinois
  • Feb. 15, 2014: Don’t call us, says the IRS. Go online instead for tax help
  • Feb. 8, 2014: Are tax refunds at risk as we teeter on debt ceiling ledge?
  • Feb. 3, 2014:  Bitcoin taxes and winter weather write-offs
  • Jan. 25, 2014: Don’t miss out on the tax deduction for charitable donations
  • Jan. 18, 2014: Obamacare tax credit e tax credit upheld by court.
    How much can you get?
  • Jan. 12, 2014: Important January tax dates, deadlines
  • Jan. 4, 2014: Amazon now collecting sales taxes in 19 states

You also can find links to the most recent Bankrate posts (and the RSS feed) over there in the right column of the ol’ blog. Just scroll down a bit.

If you are really hankering for more tax bloggings, you can peruse the archive of 2011, 2012 and 2013 posts at my other tax blog. Wow, I have been rambling on all over the place for quite a while!

There’s also a link to my original Bankrate tax blog, Eye on the IRS, as well as one to Don’t Mess With Taxes posts in which I reference my other tax blog(s).

Thanks again for reading, here and there!

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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.)

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