Dear Family,
Join me today at 11:00 am PT, as I visit Paul Petillo, author of Retirement Planning for the Utterly Confused (love that title!) on Financial Impact Factor Radio.
600 issues of Ask TaxMama! Wow!
Thanks to all of you who have been with me since the beginning. It’s been an interesting roller coaster ride, riding the waves of tax changes, legislation, enforcement, and meeting the kinder, gentler IRS. We have saved thousands of people millions of dollars in taxes, penalties and interest – and erased fears and depression. And we’ve helped people laugh a little and have fun with taxes.
During these past 11 ½ years, we’ve watched history being made and changed. The Internet has had enormous impact on tax return filing, electronic filing, and IRS resolutions.
The IRS has developed, what is probably the most extensive website in the world, serving the needs of the largest customer base, with surprising efficiency, considering how much use it gets. The public resources are extensive – the secure resources are relatively well protected. There is a treasure trove of information, learning tools, forms and publications – spanning many years. I live on this site – but even I have never tapped all of the available tools.
TaxMama.com isn’t nearly as extensive. Somehow, we’ve just never managed to get the millions of dollars IRS has on tap. But, I’ve done my best to try to filter the tax information out there in the world – and bring you a manageable bit of it every day.
Along with the information, I’ve done my best to answer your questions – and to give you answers, or point you to resources you might not get anywhere else. Some of the information presented here, in the daily TaxQuips podcast, and in the TaxQuips Forum contains answers and ideas many of you have never gotten anywhere – not even from your own tax professionals, teachers or mentors. That’s because the information here comes to you from a background of decades of experience – mine, and Team TaxMama’s.
Yes, we often advise you to seek the help of experienced tax professionals. There are times you can handle tax preparation and issues, yourself. Other times, even though it may look easy, I know the unseen complexities behind the seemingly simple task you’re trying to perform.
Remember, I sit in meetings and classrooms with people who have even more experience and expertise than I have. They argue about the handling of matters that seem so simple and straightforward to you. Very thought-provoking discussions, based on their research or feedback from tax agencies. Often, I learn of dimensions that had not occurred to me.
However, despite the complexities, the goal here is to answer your questions as completely as possible, to point you to resources that can help you learn more on your own – and to help you keep your taxes as low as legally possible.
