SavvySugar

Valentine's, the Holiday of Love, Kisses . . . and Taxes

Emily Co — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 16:58:01 PST

Not only do you have to spend the days up to the romance holiday planning and prepping for your date, but you might have taxes on your mind as well. This year, the IRS will be accepting all itemized deductions starting Valentine's Day, Feb. 14. Previously, the agency used to accept them in mid-January.

This delay is caused by changes made by Congress in the 2010 tax law that took longer than expected and were only completed in December. If you're among the small percentage of Americans who are early filers (last year only six percent of US taxpayers filed in January and February), you might have to deal with the stress of waiting to turn in your tax filings as well as figuring out your V-Day plans.

No worries though, you can still work on your taxes before the due date, so you'll be ready to send it in February. Tell me, are you an early filer or does this delay not bother you at all?

Do You Think Rich People Should Be Taxed More?

SavvySugar — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 06:00:12 PST

America's richest man, Warren Buffett, thinks the uber wealthy should be taxed more. And yes, he's even including himself. Buffett's statement comes as the tax cuts for the wealthy are about to expire or be renewed come December.

The billionaire investor tells ABC, "The rich are always going to say that, you know, just give us more money and we’ll go out and spend more and then it will all trickle down to the rest of you. But that has not worked the last 10 years, and I hope the American public is catching on.”

Do you agree with Buffett - should uber wealthy be taxed more so that more tax benefits can be given to people who earn lower wages?

Witches and Fortune-Tellers Facing More Taxes and Fees

SavvySugar — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 16:20:00 PDT

People will tax everything these days, from bloggers to witches. Members of Romania's Senate were apparently too afraid of being cursed to pass a proposal that will require taxation on witches and fortune-tellers, reports the AP. The idea was to demand receipts from those providing these supernatural services and hold them accountable for misleading predictions. It's still not certain if the lawmakers will be brave enough to try to draft that law again.

Meanwhile, fortune-tellers in Warren, MI, are now required to pay an annual $150 fee and undergo fingerprinting and a $10 police background check. It seems like it's getting quite expensive to be a witch these days!

Philadelphia Bloggers Pay Business Tax: Fair or Unreasonable?

GeekSugar — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 12:15:45 PDT

Is this fair, or just ridiculous? The city of Philadelphia wants to charge bloggers $300 to continue posting on their blogs - the equivalent of a "business privilege license." While this fee would apply to professional or money-making blogs, it also applies to blogs created by residents as a hobby or part-time blogs that make no money. Additionally, bloggers are required to pay taxes on any earnings they received from the blog, however small the profit.

While taxes on a lucrative blog seem fair, taxing those who run popular or successful blogs that don't turn a profit seems a little ridiculous, even for a cash-strapped city. The city of Philadelphia's take: if your blog has the potential to become lucrative, you must pay a tax, regardless of how much money is actually generated.

On one hand, these are the same sorts of rules that freelance writers and others must follow; on the other, these blogs aren't turning a profit. If everyone started charging such a tax, I'm afraid that otherwise awesome content would never see the light of day. What do you think about this tax?

A Tax on Cosmetic Surgery - Love It or Leave It?

TresSugar — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:00:07 PST

The Senate's proposed healthcare bill includes a novel approach to enhancing funding for reform: a five percent tax increase on cosmetic surgery. Procedures like tummy tucks, face lifts, hair plugs, collagen injections, Botox, or any other non-required procedure would get hit with the increase. The tax could raise as much as $6 billion.

If you think taxing superficial wealthy people to pay for the necessary health care of the poor sounds like a perfect idea, some people, namely cosmetic surgeons, say you got it all wrong. Statistics show that one-third of people who get plastic surgery make under $30,000 and 86 percent make less than $90,000. In addition, 85 percent of procedures are paid for by credit. So the tax would hit lower income people the hardest. Then again, maybe it makes sense to make cosmetic surgery even more out of reach in order to help fund basic healthcare needs. Still, more damaging to the cosmetic tax plan is the fact that a similar tax has so far failed in New Jersey, where it costs $3 trying to figure out what counts as "cosmetic" for every dollar raised from the tax.

Do you think the "botax" is worth a try?

6 Healthy Ways to Use Your Tax Refund

FitSugar — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 11:00:00 PDT

The days leading up to April 15 can be particularly stressful if you owe Uncle Sam, but those of you who are receiving tax refunds might have some extra pep in your step. Sure, put some of it in the bank, but now could be the time if you've been looking for a way to invest in your health. Start the slideshow to see six healthy ways to use your tax refund.

Source

Dear Poll: What will you do with your Tax Refund?

DearSugar — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 14:45:00 PDT

Happy tax day! Are you getting a refund this year or did you have to pay up? Some people view their tax refund as "free money" while others are much more responsible with their government issued check. So I'm curious, what are you planning on doing with your tax refund?

Source

Hard on Soft Drinks

FitSugar — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 09:30:00 PST

A recent proposal to push for taxes on soft drinks was rejected on 11/14/06 by the American Medical Association. The initial proposal was an attempt to combat the obesity epidemic in the United States. Instead, the nation's most influential doctors' group voted in favor of a proposal for a broader-based effort to combat obesity, the Associated Press reported.

If you drink more cola than anything else, you're not alone.
Soft drinks currently account for 7 percent of the calories in the typical American diet, which makes them the leading source of calories.

For some tips on how to ease off the cola,

If you drink it for the fizz then switch to seltzer water and mix your own juice in.
If you drink it for the caffeine then try drinking tea (or even coffee) instead. Juice is OK, but can likewise be high in sugar and should not be your only beverage.
If you drink it because it is always there then start stocking your fridge with other alternatives. At work, ask whoever handles the food situation to have more non-cola alternatives available.
If you drink it because it's diet then you should know that the artificial sweeteners raise red flags in terms of many health concerns (experts are still figuring out how our bodies deal with artificial sweeteners) and the high acidity (diet sodas are more acidic than regular) can erode your teeth.
If you drink it because you just thought it was healthy then you couldn't be more wrong. If you want healthy, drink a glass of milk or water.

Fit's Tip:

Don't Forget Uncle Sam When You're Counting Your Tips

Emily Co — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 00:15:22 PST

If you're in the service industry, a big chunk of your income may come from tips. But don't think you can get away with not filing taxes for them. Here are a couple of tips from the IRS:

Tips are taxed. Your tips will face federal income, Social Security, and Medicare taxes. You will also be taxed on nonmonetary tips like tickets, and gifts will be counted as income.
Include them on your tax return. Include your cash tips, tips added to credit card bills, and tips you split with co-workers when reporting gross income on your tax return. "Report your tips with your wages on Form 1040, line 7; Form 1040A, line 7; Form 1040EZ, line 1; Form 1040NR, line 8; or Form 1040NR-EZ, line 3."
Report to your employer. If you earn more than $20 in tips, you need to report this income to your boss. Your employer is required to withhold federal income, Social Security, and Medicare taxes. You don't have to report nonmonetary tips to your boss. If you don't report these tips to your employer, you will face a penalty.
Record your tips. Be organized and record your tip income. You can use Form 4070A, Employee's Daily Record of Tips, to record your tip income. To get the form, ask your employer or the IRS for Publication 1244, Employee's Daily Record of Tips and Report to Employer. Publication 1244 includes a year's supply of Form 4070A. Record nonmonetary tips separately and include that on your tax return. You can even keep a tip diary electronically by requesting access to an electronic system provided by your employer.
Watch the deadline. Turn in your monthly tip records with your employer by the 10th of the next month.
Don't include mandatory service charges: don't note down mandatory service charges in your tip diary as these are considered part of your wages, not tips.

How to Adjust Your Tax Withholding

Kiplinger — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:14:10 PST

We're thrilled to present this smart Kiplinger story here on Savvy!

Political theater over whether or not to extend the 2% payroll tax holiday has overshadowed the fact that most workers can do more to reduce the amount of tax withheld from their paychecks than anything cooked up in Washington.

The power-to-the-people ploy? Using a W-4 form to put an end to overwithholding from your paychecks. First, let's set the stage. Even as anti-Washington sentiment rises to a fever pitch, most middle-class Americans continue to allow the government to claim more than its share every single payday. The proof: In 2011, 109 million of the 145 million individual tax returns filed called for refunds. That's 75%. The average refund last year: $2,913. That's significantly more than even the highest-paid worker gets from a 2% payroll tax holiday.

Yes, we love our tax refunds. But we ask this simple question of those of you who get refunds year after year: Doesn't it make more sense to get your money when you earn it?

If you agree with us that the answer is a resounding "yes," we have good news. Unlike stubbornly high unemployment, it's easy to fix overwithholding. All you have to do is file a revised Form W-4 with your employer. The information on that little form determines how much federal income tax is withheld from your checks. The more "allowances" you claim on the W-4, the less income tax will be withheld.

Read on for more.