Tax Tips

7 Tactics for a Financially Sound Year

It’s official: The New Year is here.  What better time to give your finances a fresh start?  Maybe you’d like to make this year the year you pay off that high-interest credit card debt or the year that you finally buy a home or bulk up your emergency fund.  Maybe you’d just like create a better budget or get your finances a little more organized. Whatever your goal, you...

Get a Jump on Tax Season with This Easy Checklist

Get a Jump on Tax Season with This Easy Checklist ‘Tis the season . . . to get ready to do your taxes. No, really. That may sound crazy – it’s early November, after all.  You haven’t even finalized your Thanksgiving menu.  You’re still trying to sort out holiday travel plans.  You won’t even get your W-2 until January. Why worry about taxes now? Because if you’re like most...

Expecting a Tax Refund? Here are Six Smart Ways to Spend it

What would you do if you had a million dollars?  Or if you won the lottery?  Or if — in a twist of fate straight out of a Dickens novel — you inherited a small fortune courtesy of a wealthy, long-lost relative or anonymous benefactor?   Okay, so the likelihood of a multimillion-dollar inheritance or a winning lottery ticket is pretty slim – but it’s fun to think about. ...

Doing Your Taxes? Avoid These Six Common Errors

Are you ready for tax time?  Are you sure?   Every year, millions of Americans file their tax returns – and millions of them make mistakes ranging from small and inconvenient (misspellings, missing numbers, and so on) to large and costly ones (like improperly entering retirement-related income or even filing late).   And while it’s true that convenient options like income tax software have helped make it easier for...

Get Ready for Income Taxes – Here’s How

Still waiting to file your 2012 income taxes?  The deadline to file is April 15, so you’ve got time – but not much.  Sure, there are probably lots of things you’d rather do than sit down with a year’s worth of paperwork – but if you do a little prep work beforehand, you can take a lot of the stress out of the process.   Want to ensure a...

Five Smart Ways to Spend (and Save) Your Tax Return

According to the IRS, the 2010 tax refund for the average American was around $3,000.  That’s a pretty substantial chunk of money.  Chances are, you already know how much to expect back from Uncle Sam this year – and you probably have some idea of what you want to do with the money when it lands in your bank account.   It’s easy to get swept up in fantasies...

Five Common Tax Mistakes – and How to Avoid Them

It’s that time again. Income tax time, that is.  And whether you’re planning to file online or by mail; whether you’re going to a tax professional or taking the DIY approach, it’s important to be on the lookout for errors.  I’m not talking about big mistakes, either.  Even a small thing like forgetting to put the date on your tax return can spell IRS trouble. Here’s a list of...

Top Twelve Tax Tips for Small Businesses

Tax time is spinning ever closer, but you still have plenty of time to get your small business taxes in order.