If you’re like me, tax season is exhausting and stressful, especially if you owe Uncle Sam. The deadline is past, but you may still wonder if you paid too much or if you missed any deductions that could have saved you money. Well the best way to avoid that overtaxed feeling (pun intended) is to get a jump on next year’s taxes now.

Here are a few smart tax moves you can do now to make next year’s tax season less painful:

Get organized: If your tax filing system consists of shoeboxes and shopping bags, now is a good time to move your finances to your computer. You still need to save key receipts and documents, but entering spending, savings and investment information into a program like Quicken or Microsoft Money (whichever is easier for you to use), will not only give you a clearer idea of your finances, but it will make your tax filing process much easier for your tax professional or if you do it yourself.

Continue Reading Get a Jump on Next Year’s Taxes Now

The IRS started transmitting payments for the tax rebate today, four days ahead of schedule. If you elected direct deposit on your 2007 tax return, you could receive your rebate as soon as today.

For more information including a schedule showing when you can expect to receive your rebate check, please visit my squidoo lens: 2007 Tax Rebate Checks, or the IRS website.

For me this is a very happy day because it means another tax season is behind me

Don’t forget to file your tax return and/or your extension by the end of today!  I wanted to quickly address a question I hear very frequently, especially on Tax Day…

"What if I can’t pay the balance due on my tax return?"

The first thing you should understand is that filing an extension does NOT extend the time to pay your taxes.  This is a common misunderstanding.  Filing an extension only extends the time to file your tax return, it does not extend the time to pay.

The best thing to do if you owe taxes is to send in a payment with your extension request.  If you can’t send in the total balance due, send in as much as you can.

Continue Reading Happy Tax Day!

I’m happy to announce that my eBay Tax Tips Squidoo lens made it to the Top 100 Overall list on Squidoo yesterday.   It  was at #99 yesterday and is at #74 today.  There are several hundred thousand lenses on Squidoo, so this is not an easy task to get on the Top 100 list!

I can’t wait til tax season is over so I can create more Squidoo lenses!