Here are a couple interesting videos about the alternate minimum tax. With the elections coming up in 2008, the first video asks questions of the candidates. The second video is quite a bit longer and goes into more detail about the tax itself. To view the second video, go here.

With the holidays all around, let’s just have a light post today. This appears to be advertising Turbo Tax in a subtle way, but it’s fun all the same. Ever think you’d see people rapping about tax deductions? Watch…

This seems like a good time to remind you of some things you can do before the end of the year to lower your taxes. First, read the article I wrote last year: Tax Deduction: End of Year Savings.

Now you know what you need to do.

We’ve all been hearing about hybrid cars on the TV news. You might have even been thinking about buying one. After all, not only are they good for the environment, but they get great mileage, which can mean thousands of your dollars saved. But now the government is sweetening the pot. Check out the article below for details about how to get a tax break when you buy a hybrid car. (And remember: if you already bought that car in a previous year but didn’t take a deduction, you might be able to revise your tax return from that year. Talk to a tax preparer to find out.)

If you don’t like taxes, write or call your congressmen, march on Washington, make yourself heard.

But this might be taking things a bit too far. Apparently, this couple in New Hampshire, Elaine and Ed Brown, have been convicted of tax evasion, and are refusing to go to jail. They claim they’ve broken no laws.

In my last post, we discussed refinancing and how taxes can play into a decision about whether or not to refinance. I also found this interesting article, which goes into some depth about debt — both mortgages and unsecured debt — and paying interest, and how to decide what to pay off first, particularly if some of the interest in tax-deductible (like on a mortgage loan).

Sorry I’ve been incommunicado for a few months. But now I’m back, and I’ll try to post a couple times a month, at least until we get closer to tax season.

Very interesting! Check out this U.S. government income tax cartoon from the WWII time period - early 1940’s. Who would have thought Donald Duck would be propagandizing for the guv’ment?

Beyond the joy of homeownership, did you know that owning your own home does great things for your bottom line? It’s true. That’s mainly because the interest you pay on your mortgage is tax deductible.

Ever wonder what a ‘tax bracket’ is and which one you fall into? It’s not as difficult as you might think.

Did you know your taxes aren’t due on April 15 this year? It’s true. April 15 is a Sunday, so like many banking activities, the due date slides to the next day. That’s not all, though. Because of a special holiday in the District of Columbia - Emancipation Day - April 16 is also not an OK due date. So this year, our income taxes are due on April 17. An extra two whole days to do our taxes - just what we need!

Whether you’re doing your taxes using tax software or by hand, going to a tax preparation service or having your accountant do them, you may have questions and special situations and not know how to handle them. Luckily, the IRS has a website that offers more information and publications and forms than you could ever want or need. (Unless you do this for a living, of course.)

The importance of utilizing a personal tax attorney is not recognized by most business owners, not the same way they understand the importance of employing a office manager or accountant. With training and education specific to tax law that distinguishes him or her from other lawyers, a tax attorney may represent clients in other areas of the law. However, a tax attorney’s specialized skills are most useful in matters regarding the resolution of tax issues and tax debt relief.

I’ve talked about tax preparation services and tax preparation software, but what if you just want to do it yourself, the old-fashioned way? Used to be, you could get the forms you needed at the library or the Post Office, and fill it out by hand. No more. So where can you get the forms you need?

You’ve seen or heard the ads for these tax preparation services - you can go in, they’ll walk you through doing your taxes and even give you your refund up front. Sounds like a great deal, right? Well, you know what they say about things that sound too good to be true. Check the fine print: you have to pay quite a bit of money for them to essentially fill out the forms in the software for you (you provide the answers, after all), and don’t think you’re getting that quick refund for free, either. For the benefit of getting your refund on the same day, you of course have to pay. And why would you do that, if you could wait another two or three weeks and get your entire refund instead of only part of it?

When I get ready to do my taxes each year, I don’t go to a tax accountant or download forms off the IRS website. Instead, I buy TurboTax and enjoy the pleasure of doing it myself with the ease of not entirely doing it myself.

Tax time is looming. You’ve started gathering your papers together. But then what? Well, there are four basic choices, and I’ll give an overview of those here, and talk about them in more detail in later blogs.

Your Accountant

You’ve heard about the Democrats’ 100 Hours. But how will it affect your taxes?

Of course, if you’re someone who’s going to benefit from the minimum wage increase the Democrats passed, the income listed on your income taxes will change - it will go up. Yay!

(This is part 2. Don’t forget to check out part 1, too: Tax Preparation: Get Your Tax Papers Together, Part 1).

Before you start doing your actual taxes, make sure you’ve got everything you need. Even if you decide to use a tax preparer rather than doing them yourself, you’ll still need to do this step.

Do you have a phone bill? Chances are, you do - and if you do, you can claim a tax credit on this year’s tax form. Turns out there’s an old tax that we’ve all been paying on our phone bill every month, and the Treasury Department has decided it’s no longer valid. So first of all, the phone company’s going to stop charging that tax. Yay! Even better, the government is giving a tax refund. It’s based on how many exemptions you claim, and ranges from $30 up to $60.

Before you start doing your actual taxes, make sure you’ve got everything you need. Even if you decide to use a tax preparer rather than doing them yourself, you’ll still need to do this step.

Today, get together all of the following income-related papers, if they apply to you. You might have only one or two of these, or might have many of them.

It’s still December, and that means you still have a little time to make some last minute fixes to this year’s tax picture. Unless you’re one of the lucky few who’s sure they’re going to get a refund, consider doing one or all of the following to cut down your tax burden a little - and maybe change your tax due to money in your pocket.

You’ll think I’m crazy, and you won’t be the first. But I enjoy doing my taxes every year. I like watching all the numbers coming together, and it gives me a sense of accomplishment when I’ve not just finished the taxes themselves, but ended off the year with a nice balance sheet and all my financial papers neatly filed.