by Jackie Beck

If there’s one thing everyone can agree on, it’s that taxes in the United States are confusing.

There are last-minute changes to laws, forms for everything under the sun, and (at least if you have any non-wage income) always an element of uncertainty about exactly how much you will owe come tax day. Read the rest of this entry »

by Jackie Beck

If you have an employer, you might be offered a health care or dependent care flexible spending account benefit. Flexible spending accounts are one of those benefits that can make your eyes glaze over, because at first glance they don’t seem like a benefit. Read the rest of this entry »

by Jackie Beck

I started working (lightly) on our taxes about a month before they were due, and began putting in serious time on them the week before they were due. I even took a vacation day to work on them.

Despite that, our federal return wasn’t completed until about Read the rest of this entry »

by Jackie Beck

Yeah, I still haven’t filed my taxes.

Normally I don’t file until very close to (or even on the day of) the deadline with good reason, because I have to wait for one particular form that isn’t even due to me until the 15th.

But this year I have no excuse. The form came early, and Read the rest of this entry »

by Jackie Beck

My answer to the question “What will you do with your tax refund?” is usually “What refund?”, but for a change I might be getting one this year.

When contemplating what to do with any potential refund I was reminded of a comment on an old post about windfalls. The comment pointed out that there’s no real reason to treat a windfall any differently than you would treat regular income.

I’ve always thought that was Read the rest of this entry »