Welcome September! We've been looking forward to your arrival.
You bring us the return of classes, welcomed by many school children and many more parents, and the promise of cooler autumn temperatures.
Yes, September, you also are often a very busy month for the Atlantic hurricane season. But here in drought parched Texas, we'll take a storm or two — minor, please! — to get some much needed moisture.
As with most of life, many of September's offerings also involve taxes.
In some cases, there are costs, such as with the third quarter estimated tax payment due on the 16th.
But other activities this month could provide some tax breaks.
There are the American Opportunity and Lifetime Learning education tax credits for students (or their parents) returning to school.
The arrival of chillier temperatures encourages us to make sure our homes are ready for the change of seasons. The residential energy efficiency tax credit is still available through the end of 2013 for some of the energy-saving home improvements many of us will make.
And yes, tropical storms and hurricanes can be costly. But there's still time to prepare, physically and financially. And if you do incur any storm damages, the tax code allows you to claim them as casualty losses.
Those are just a few of the September Tax Moves you'll find in the ol' blog's right column, just below the clock counting down the days until the Oct. 15 filing extension deadline (more on this next month!).
Over there you'll also find out about the new online sales tax collections in Georgia and Virginia, some tax things to think about if you have elderly parents and some charitable considerations in connection with a tragic remembrance this month.
So join me in saying hello to September. And be sure to check out and make all the September Tax Moves that apply to your tax situation.
