September 20, 2026
The Internal Revenue Service wants to add a citizenship and work authorization status question to our tax year 2026 Form 1040. The inquiry, an apparent attempt to further involve the federal tax agency in the Trump administration’s ongoing immigration enforcement efforts, is likely to face legal challenges from tax privacy…
BLOG POSTS
If you don’t file or pay your taxes on time, you could end up owing the IRS more due to penalties. Some tax penalties are set; others changes every year due to inflation. Here’s a look at the 2026 amounts.
Retiring the way you want is easier when you save well before your golden years. Here’s how much you can put this, and next, year in tax-favored retirement plans.
You moved to France for a new job (and more!), and discovered the IRS was a hitchhiker. But there are some tax provisions to help offset your worldwide tax bill. Here are the 2026 inflation adjustments.
The Alternative Minimum Tax, known as the AMT, used to work like an ATM for Uncle Sam. Inflation adjustments helped eased the bite, but tax law changes in 2026 could force more filers into the AMT’s clutches.
Letting your money work for you via investments gets a boost next year, with wider capital gains tax brackets. Also affected by the annual inflation bumps are estate planning, gifts you give before you go, and youngsters’ investment earnings.
Medical costs seem to go up every year (or more often!). But the IRS’ annual inflation adjustments to tax-related health care provisions might be able to help you feel better at filing time.
One easy way to cut your tax bill is to claim tax deductions and tax credits. There is a wide variety of these tax breaks, and the amounts generally get annual inflation bumps. Here are 2026’s.
Taxes and You
We all know Benjamin Franklin’s observation that death and taxes are the only two certainties. But what Ben didn’t note was just how much taxes affect us while we’re enjoying our lives. Taxes are a consideration from the day your parents gaze down lovingly at you in your crib, and continue until they converge in Franklin’s famous quote.
Don’t Mess With Taxes, the award-winning blog from tax journalist and author Kay Bell, will help you deal with the many taxes you’ll encounter during that long and happy process, hopefully making taxes less, well, taxing throughout your lifetime.
About Don't Mess With Taxes
Don’t Mess With Taxes is a tax blog written by journalist and author Kay Bell. Although Kay is not a tax professional – she doesn’t prepare taxes for clients for a living – her experience in Washington, D.C., first as a staff member of the tax-writing U.S. House Ways and Means committee and then in the government relations offices for two major Fortune 100 companies, has provided her valuable insight into the tax process. Based on her experiences and continuing tax education, Kay shares her tax observations, tips, and commentary in Don’t Mess With Taxes.
Simplify Your Taxes, Maximize Your Savings
Your Comprehensive Tax Blog
Taxes have been a part of your life since your parents welcomed you into this world. From that beginning as a spanking new tax break for mom and dad, taxes have had an important role in all your major life events, from getting a job, saying “I do,” buying and selling homes, having kids of your own, and even retiring.
Yes, the involvement of the Internal Revenue Service is not welcome when Uncle Sam is collecting your money. But in many ways, the tax code can be your best friend. You just need to know how it applies to your personal circumstances so you can take advantage of it. This comprehensive tax blog, Don’t Mess With Taxes, is here to help you do just that!
If you’re a U.S. citizen, it doesn’t matter where in the world you earn your money. The IRS gets some of it. But it also offers tax breaks, like added housing allowances for expensive overseas locales.
Artificial intelligence advocates say the technology can help the Internal Revenue Service find and collect from tax cheats. But those wary of AI say that will happen only if the agency has enough well-trained personnel to ensure the system is used responsibly.
When you owe taxes but can’t pay your bill in full, the Internal Revenue Service offers a variety of debt settlement options. Now, the agency has a new online Tax Debt Help tool to help you determine which of its payment options works best for you.
You’ve filed your taxes. Now it’s time to take care of your tax records. Here’s a look at what tax documents to keep and for how long.
Blog Posts
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 6, 2026
You don’t need to take a hot-air balloon ride to see that that inflation also…
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.)