At the end of last week, I mentioned that estimated tax payments for the second quarter of 2013 are due soon. As I noted in that post, these payments are intended to help you avoid income tax underpayment penalties if you have income that isn’t subject to withholding (self-employment, investing, [...]
irs
I’ve received a couple of inquiries about why I’m such a fan on Series I Savings Bonds, so I thought I’d spend a bit of time discussing that today. As a reminder, I-Bonds are low-risk, inflation-indexed savings bonds that are issued (and backed) by the Federal government. So what’s so [...]
Taxes are due four weeks from today. You should thus have plenty of time to get things pulled together before the deadline. But if you don’t make it, all is not lost. You can always request an income tax filing extension. Yes, that’s right. A filing extension. In case you [...]
Over the past few weeks I’ve mentioned (in passing) the ability to buy additional Series I Savings Bonds with your tax refund. In short, you can request up to $5k in I-Bonds (in $50 increments) with your tax refund. These are issued in paper form and are in addition to [...]
In response to my article about the (slightly) delayed income tax filing start date, I’ve had some inquiries from readers who want to know when their tax refund will arrive. While I don’t have a crystal ball, I can provide some general answers that might help. According to the IRS, [...]
I recently learned that my parents nearly forgot to take the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) from my dad’s IRA last year. Fortunately, they remembered at the last minute and avoided any penalties, but it was a close call — too close for comfort. Going forward, I’ll be helping them out [...]
After a delay due to the fiscal cliff fiasco, the IRS has finally started processing income tax returns. So what are you waiting for? Well… One thing that you might be waiting for is your W-2 form. You should have received it by now, but things don’t always go as [...]
A reader recently asked about the possibility of making “regular” Roth IRA contributions after making so-called “backdoor” contributions. The short answer is that backdoor Roth IRA contributions have no affect on your ability to make standard contributions going forward. At the end of the day, all you’re doing is a [...]