Last Minute Tax Filing Tips

April 15th is just around the corner with many people waiting until the last-minute to do their filing, especially when they owe tax.  Those of you that were expecting a refund have probably filed by now.  Times have changed and gone are the days of running off to H & R Block or various tax preparers and having to pay to get your taxes prepared.  The only exceptions are wage earners over a specific dollar amount as well as the self-employed or business owners.  Hopefully you are working with a regular accountant or preparer you can trust if you own your own business.  If not, then please refer to irs.gov for information on tips to help you choose a tax preparer.

There are filing software programs available, but most are no longer needed for the average employee.  There are so many free ways you can file online, at a local IRS office or with various volunteers that make their time available after proper training with VITA and TCE for those who qualify.  For more information regarding free filing please go to the official IRS website, irs.gov and select the type of filing that you will be doing.  Most are wage earners, Individual, but some of you are self-employed or own small businesses of some kind.

ALERT:  A very important tip that many are not aware of is if you elect to file an extension to file, which is an automatic 6 months for individuals and either 5 or 6 months for some business forms or information, there is NEVER an extension on the payment of any tax due.  Refer to irs.gov for more information.  Many people stall filling because they didn’t have proper withholding during the year or did not pay an accurate amount of self-employment or estimated taxes during the year and end up with a balance due.  If this is the only reason you are filing late, don’t even bother.  The reason being is you could end up with additional penalties and interest filing an extended balance due return.

The best way is to file your individual return timely and find a way to send the full amount of the tax, even if you might have to borrow or send your return manually with the form 9465 completed in full attached for the request to pay your tax in installments.  You will end up paying interest to them by doing this, but this prevents any collection action against you in the forms of liens on your property or levies on any wages or bank accounts.  If you owe more than $50,000 in tax then you must also include the form 433-F which is a financial information statement.  Please be sure to state the amount you are able to pay with the request.  If you owe more than $50,000 you will still state what you are able to pay, but your financial information will determine what the IRS thinks you are realistically able to pay at this time.  Sometimes it’s more than the requested amount, sometimes it’s less because they don’t want the taxpayer defaulting on the Agreement by overstating what they can pay.

If you happen to live in an area that is currently designated a Federal Disaster area you may have already received information regarding any extensions for paying or filing in your area.  If not, please refer again to irs.gov for to see if you qualify if you are not working with a tax professional that has this information.

Again, if you find yourself in the ACS Collection area of the IRS or know someone who is.  Please go to Amazon.com to purchase my self-help book that will walk you through the fastest and smoothest way to resolve whatever problems you are having as well as suggestions to prevent future problems and prevent collection action such as liens and levies.  It was written to help the average taxpayer from having to give thousands of dollars to a Tax Specialist that cannot do anything more that they can do with a little knowledge.  And this is not even taking into consideration the number of so-called tax specialists that are either incompetent or down-right frauds.  In the past I have worked with thousands of taxpayers that were taken to the cleaners by so-called tax experts.

For the time being, I can no longer offer “Don’t Mess With The IRS An Unauthorized Customer Service Guide to Resolving Your ACS Collection Issues.”

DntMsWIRS5

I will be posting additional Federal Tax information soon because there is too much to cover for one blog post.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Inside Pastel Portraits

Most of my life has been spent as a student of the arts, visual, literary and performing.

I don’t write as much as I used to, but then I don’t read as much either.  I was raised in a musical and artistic family so I have played various instruments and sing.  Took dance lessons for many years and used to be a dance teacher into my early thirties.

I have always loved the visual arts and have studied with various artists of my liking rather than taking additional courses in a school.  I never cared for my art classes throughout my student career.  I found the teachers to be to rigid and the class much too structured.  I started going to art shows in the early 70’s and when I found local artists with techniques I liked, I would ask them if they also taught.  Some did and some did not.  One older gentleman sketched beautiful pastel portraits.  I saw him in a few shows and asked him if he taught, he said no and that was that.  I saw him in another show, again he told me he did not want to teach at this time.  Being retired he still had a part-time job and was not interested.  After he was widowed a couple of years later he was at another show and asked me if I was still interested in learning pastels, which I was because there were not many local artists in this medium that were as talented.  He said he had a few other people that were interested and decided to go ahead.  I was so happy!  He was a great teacher and I really learned a lot.  I have not done much pastels lately and wish I had taken pictures of some of my older commissioned work that was given away or sold.  I didn’t used to take my art that seriously, but I would never dream of letting any work go without a number of pictures to add to my portfolio now.

Below is a slide show of a couple of my “homework projects” given when I was first learning.  I have also included a few finished pieces.

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Daily Prompt: We Got the Beat

I do come from a musical family on both sides.

My mother’s side it’s mostly piano and organ.  My Aunt Ruth used to be the church organist for a while back in the 1940’s in Detroit.

My father’s side is mostly string, guitar and banjo.  I remember some really awesome hootenannies with my dad’s relatives when we went “down south.”  Back in the day, most people did play some kind of instrument.  My parents were beatniks and while most of his relatives were country, my dad favored folk music and used to play some of the clubs in metro Detroit in the 1960’s.

I have never been great at any musical instrument and only sang with a few people back in the day in reviews, festivals and on stage with Ron Coden for some teen happening before he starting hosting the children’s program “Hot Fudge.”

My instrument of choice was always the guitar but I also used to play the banjo and mandolin as well as the piano.

I have no photos of me entertaining as a musician.

So I’m posting a retro picture my hubby took of me practicing sometime in the 1970’s.  Love my go-go boots!

PoGirlPlayingGuitar

 

Federal Income Tax Tips

I wanted to devote this post to general Federal income tax information of a nature that many may not be aware of.

  1. First of all you need to verify if you are even liable to file this year.  Find out.
  2. If you are liable, you need to know that the IRS has links from its website for many that qualify for free filing.  Verify if you qualify.
  3. You need to know if you are in an area the Federal Government has deemed an official Disaster Area.  This may effect your filing requirements.  To verify.
  4. You need to be VERY careful in selecting and working with any tax preparer if you go that route.  Many are not who they claim to be.  For more information.
  5. Never work with someone claiming they can get you a larger tax refund unless they can fully explain how they plan to do this.  YOU will answer to anything fraudulent your preparer does.  For more information.
  6. Don’t even dream of trying to pull one over on the IRS because there is nothing you can do they won’t catch you at.  I used to work for them.
  7. Self employed individuals, don’t allow any tax preparer to write things off that you don’t have receipts for because they have started auditing small business / self-employed regularly and if you don’t have documentation, you will end up having to pay back taxes with additional penalties and interest.  Small business & self-employed information.
  8. Also be aware that if you currently owe back taxes or are in arrears with child support or other payments, any refund will be typically offset to pay these debts.  For more information.
  9. If you are planning on filing for an extension, please remember that the extension is for the forms only.  All tax due must be paid no later than April 15th or risk penalties.

If you already find yourself in the ACS Collection area of the IRS there is something you can do to help resolve your current or future tax problems.

“Don’t Mess With The IRS An Unauthorized Customer Service Guide to Resolving Your ACS Collection Issues” was written to walk any taxpayer through the most common IRS tax problems from first contact to final resolution. DntMsWIRS5

You do not need to hire a professional that will charge you thousands of dollars that you could be applying to the tax you have due.  They are not able to do anything legally that you cannot do for yourself with a little knowledge.

This self-help book walks you through your initial contact with ACS, if and how you should select legal representation if you should want or need it, how to resolve the basic problems of Failure to File, any Balance Due situations and what your rights are as a taxpayer.

For the time being, I can no longer offer “Don’t Mess With The IRS An Unauthorized Customer Service Guide to Resolving Your ACS Collection Issues.”

Enough With The Comfort Food Already!

This has been a long, hard winter for all of us.  I am sick of the severe cold and all the shoveling and I’m sure most of you agree.

I lost my job, again, right before the holidays and my only sister soon after.  It looks like I will be losing my home by the end of this year unless I find another job soon and I have to say I have not had the time nor the inclination to look under the circumstances.

Being snowed in and being depressed does not make for a healthy person mentally or physically when you decide to self-medicate with food.  I do not drink or have any other vices and have found through the years what a great comfort food can really be.  One of my overweight friends once explained to me “You cannot eat and cry at the same time.”  I see what she is talking about now because for most of my life, I would lose my appetite if I was upset about anything.  Now I become ravenous!

I am still working out regularly, but not happy with the fact that I had managed to lose over 20lbs last year and have now found myself putting that weight right back on again.

I have tried to take walks on several occasions only to start slipping and sliding on the mess that has continued for the last two months in my area so about the only time I am out is when I have to get supplies.  I dig out if the snow is deep enough.  For a couple of inches of snow I just drive right over it all.  The unfortunate result of this is that snow becomes so compacted down that I am not able to shovel it at a later date because of the severely cold temperatures.

This comfort food actually comforts my stomach as well.

Po’ Girl’s Rice Pudding

Combine 2 cups cooked rice with 2 cups milk and 1/4 cup sugar.  Cook on medium-low heat stirring regularly for approximately 20 minutes until thickened.  Then add an additional 1/2 cup warm milk with one beaten egg (to temper egg), one teaspoon vanilla and 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder stirring continuously for an additional 10 minutes or so.  I slowly added a few spoonfuls of the cooked pudding to the 1/2 cup with the egg before adding this to the hot pudding to prevent the egg from curdling.

This makes a very delicious, but not super sweet rice pudding that I much prefer to store-bought.  Much better for your sugar levels.  The following video gives you an idea of how thick the pudding becomes when it is almost done.  Please stir enough to prevent scorching keeping your eye on the heat, adjusting as needed.

http://youtu.be/tZISpHkvSoM

Weekly Photo Challenge: Treasure

Po’ Girl’s Pudding Treasures!

Quick and delicious these cookies are hard to resist and just too easy to make!

pogirlspudtreasure

Mix all ingredients together dry to wet. Completely incorporate all and drop in teaspoon size balls, flatten and bake at 350 for approximately 8-10 minutes.  Use any flavor instant pudding of your choice.  You don’t really need the chips at all.  Makes a very tender and delicious cookie.

Chinese Eight-Treasure Rice Pudding.

 

2014 Winter of Our Discontent

After a seemingly endless, brutal winter…

“I shall revenge myself in the cruelest way you can imagine.  I shall forget it.”  Perfect quote from John Steinbeck “The Winter of Our Discontent.”

birdintreewtrclr2