May 26, 2026
Emotions have always run high at spelling bees, as this Norman Rockwell painting shows. While this year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee competitors are facing off, it’s good time to brush up on tax terminology.
BLOG POSTS
Seattle, Washington, is home to high tech millionaires who now are the target of the Evergreen State’s new wealth tax. The levy will effectively bump the Evergreen State from the current nine-member no-individual-income-tax club.
Getting your paycheck tax withholding amount just right pays off at tax-filing time and throughout the year with your pre-filing cash flow. The IRS’ newly updated tax withholding estimator can help.
An executive order mandating Uncle Sam primarily make electronic financial transactions has caused tax refund delays for more than 800,000 taxpayers (so far) this filing season.
IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TACs) don’t help with filing, but offer guidance on other federal tax matters. This year, the IRS is again expanding TAC weekday hours and opening some centers on select Saturdays.
Tax filing season is also peak time for tax scams. Be on the lookout for and avoid falling victim to the IRS’ 2026 list of Dirty Dozen tax scams.
Free is always welcome. That’s especially true at tax time, when taxpayers look for no-cost help to prepare and file their returns. Here are some free tax filing options.
Here are some March tax moves that can work for both tax lions aggressively attacking their returns, as well as tax lambs who prefer a more docile approach.
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!
Summer is the main tax holiday season, but Missouri and Texas are offering special early sales tax savings to their shoppers. Exemptions for Energy Star and emergency prep items are on the lists.
Everyone needs money. Most of us get the cash to cover our lives’ expenses via a salary. But Ray Madoff, a tax professor at Boston College Law School, says salaries are for suckers.
Filing taxes takes a lot of reading. But now with Tax Day behind us, we can read about taxes and money for fun. Here are some suggestions.
The annual April 15 federal tax return filing deadline doesn’t apply to all U.S. taxpayers. Tax Day is June 15 for taxpayers living and working abroad, including military personnel posted outside the United States or Puerto Rico. Residents of major natural disaster areas also get more time to file, and in some cases pay what they owe.
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.
June 14, 2026
June 15 is Tax Day for millions of U.S. taxpayers. Those living and working abroad…
We made it. Tax Day 2025 is finally over. For most of us. When the filing season started on Jan. 26, millions who were expecting refunds filed immediately. Most of us got our returns to the Internal Revenue Service by April 15. But plenty of taxpayers also got extensions. They are looking at an Oct. 15 filing deadline.
Those procrastinating filers aren’t a problem. In fact, the IRS appreciates taxpayers who take time to fill out their 1040 forms correctly. It also is grateful that tax submissions are spread out a bit, especially now that the IRS is a leaner agency. Processing returns is easier when they arrive throughout the year instead of in massive bunches.
But enough about Uncle Sam’s tax collection issues. The focus now is on all y’all who filed for extensions, giving you another six months to complete your return. Since your new mid-October due date will be here before you know it, let’s get started now on meeting it.
The ol’ blog is here to help you finish up your extended Form 1040. You can start with January’s tax tips page, which has links to the rest of the year’s tips by-month collections. You also can peruse various tax categories for more tailored advice by clicking on the More Tax Posts drop-down menu at the top of this (and every) page.
And to make sure you don’t miss your new filing deadline, the count-down clock below will let you know just how much time you to file by Oct. 15. At the latest.e. (Note: I’m in the Central Time Zone, so adjust accordingly for where you live.)