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Take Albert Einstein’s tax advice: Get filing help

February 13, 2016

Everyone was reminded last week of Albert Einstein's brilliance. Almost exactly 100 years after the wild-haired physicist posited the existence of gravitational waves, scientists confirmed their existence.

Tax folks, however, always acknowledged Einstein's genius. He did, after all, note that even he was baffled by the U.S. tax code.

Albert Einstin_tax quote

That's one of the biggest problems with taxes. They often make even the smartest among us feel like idiots.

Tax software helps. The computer or online programs walk you through the filing process, tying your real-life experiences to the tax breaks that could save you some money.

If you feel more comfortable talking person-to-person about your taxes, you can hire a tax pro. That's what Einstein did.

And then there's always the ol' blog's Daily Tax Tip , running each week day throughout the filing season.

The five tax tips that were posted last week are: 

  1. Reporting gambling winnings (Monday, Feb. 8,  2016)
  2. 10 tax terms  (Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2016)
  3. Retirement plan contribution limits — (Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016)
  4. All about Obamacare tax forms (Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016)
  5. Filing choices for married couples — (Friday, Feb. 12, 2016)

You can catch up with the rest of the February tax tips at this month's special blog page. The ones that kicked off the 2016 tax filing season are collected in the January tax tips list.

And when you're ready for something a little less taxing, you can relax and check out the computer visualization below of the warping of space-time generated by the collision of two black holes more than a billion light-years from Earth.

Want more? Umberto Cannella, Daniel Whiteson and Jorge Cham, creators of Piled Higher and Deeper (PHD) Comics, made the video below. It uses simple animations and analogies to accurately explain just what gravitational waves are, and why they're so important.

Einstein would definitely approve of both the tax help and the scientific diversion.

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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
Comments
  • Samina
    11 years ago Reply

    It’s funny that in stark contrast to your post, Turbo Tax is running commercials implying that it doesn’t take a genius to do your taxes. Maybe not, but they’re pretty easy to screw up. I’ve seen many self-prepared returns that were an absolute debacle over the years, so I’d have to agree with Einstein – maybe it’s worth having professional help in some situations.

  • Kay
    11 years ago Reply

    Samina, plenty of taxpayers agree with you and Al! Millions of filers get some professional to complete their taxes. Kay

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