Ask TaxMama Issue 665 – Happy Thanksgiving

Dear Family,

Team TaxMama will be dark for Thanksgiving week. You won’t be able to ask questions on the site or even sign up – while we do magical things in the background in order to bring you a much better site after we return. But never fear, all the articles, Ask TaxMama issues, and posts are there for you to read, search, research, enjoy and share. And so are the YouTube Videos.

This week, I want to thank all of you who have made this year so much less taxing for so many readers, family and friends. People who stand out are Rita Lewis, EA, David Toelkes the Real Estate Guru, Bill Porter – about to become an EA, L. Paul Claussen, EA, Toni McIntyre, EA and CPA, and Kris Hix, EA, among many, many others. They just have the most posts in the system.

I also want to bring you some thoughts about the victims of Hurricane Sandy. It’s very disturbing that FEMA can’t mobilize more quickly to help them. I was losing sleep last night, thinking that if only we could get them generators, they could have light and power. But realized that the generators are useless without fuel. And that they don’t have either. This is where teamwork and leadership will make or break the region. Let’s pray we can get warmth, light and hope back to all those people – so they also have reasons to give thanks.

So, we dedicate this week’s IRS News to the good folks at the Internal Revenue Service. Along with the usual warnings about charity scams, the IRS stepped up really quickly and cut red-tape to help the victims – to make more housing available, to help charities get formed quickly and more. All that with an exiting chief. Well, done Mr. Shulman and staff.

This week’s Money Funnies, we reminisce about all the things we learned, and we also recite a special prayer.

This week’s Equifax Blog this month will cover What to do if you STILL missed the October deadline to file, how online shopping affects your sales taxes and what happens if the Bush tax cuts go away and Congress doesn’t act in time. While I’m gone…tune and read all about it.

This week in the It’s a WAHM Thing blog, we give thanks and review our business for last year. How did you do?

If you want to see all the TaxQuips from earlier in the week, drop by here. There are some interesting topics.

The job search is on. If you’re looking for a job, an intern, or a new employee, please visit the new TaxMama Career center, partnered with JobTarget.com. For 15% off on any postings or orders, use the code: taxcareers

We’ll be teaching tax updates and all about the Employee vs Independent Contractor issue at during the next couple of months. https://www.cpelink.com/teamtaxmama/ – Remember – code TaxMama provides a discount to new students.

TaxMama’s EA Exam Review Course is all done. We just spent the loveliest evening discussing clever ways to make a living. Students tossed in some EXCELLENT and creative ideas! We treat our Self-Study students quite well. Every single class is recorded and can replayed – just as if you were there.

You’ll be able to join the fun after Thanksgiving weekend. Meanwhile – don’t register until the office opens again. We can’t activate your account or send you a thing!

Remember to follow TaxMama®’s Tweets – https://twitter.com/TaxMama

Have you grabbed the TaxQuips Widget for your phone, social networking page, website, or…? You’ll get the TaxQuips as soon as they published – about an hour before they are distributed in by e-mail. It’s a fun gadget. Just pick up the code and paste into your site or phone app.

https://www.widgetbox.com/widget/taxmamas-taxquips-daily-tax-podcasts

Let’s address a few tidbits of news – and go back to work!

Weekly Equifax blog is still going strong.
https://blog.equifax.com/tax/
Filing Taxes: Paperwork For Your Tax Professional
Avoid Paying Penalties on Estimated Taxes
Learning from Your Tax Filing Mistakes
After Filing Taxes: Responding to Letters from IRS
Tax Tips: How Long Should You Keep Records?
Using Standard Mileage Rate for Business Deductions
Making Estimated tax payments
Free Money Coming Your Way Due to Tax Mistakes
Using Your Home Renovation to Maximize Tax Benefits