Don't Forget to Take Your Tax Receipt

David Kendall and Jim Kessler from thirdway.org recently released a document makes a request for the federal government to give us tax-payers something any good tightwad keeps on file--a receipt.

"Corn syrup, milk chocolate, sugar, cocoa butter, coconut, almond, soy lecithin… any consumer can read these ingredients and their nutritional value on every package of a 75-cent Almond Joy. What is provided to a taxpayer with a $5,400 tax bill? Nothing. For many Americans, the amount they pay in taxes is larger than any purchase they make during the year, but studies show they know almost nothing about where that money

goes to. This contributes to ridiculous beliefs, like the view that 20% of government spending goes to foreign aid, for example..."

For a US taxpayer earning $34,140 (200 median salary) and pay $5,400 in income tax + FICA would pay the following: 

Social Security $1,040.70
Medicare $625.51
Medicaid $385.28

Interest on the National Debt $287.03

What Medical Expenses are Tax Deductible?

As of this month, the IRS has decided to allow breast-pumps as a tax-deductible medical expense.

This excerpt was taken from the Boston Globe [full article here]:
"Women will be able to use money set aside in pretax spending accounts to buy the pumps and related equipment, which can cost several hundred dollars. For women without flexible spending accounts, the cost of pumps will be tax deductible if their total medical costs exceed 7.5 percent of adjusted gross income."

The new tax ruling has created quite the stir, but it made me question what other medical expenses can be deducted.

Filing Taxes for Free with Paper, Computer , iPhone, or Android

In my quest to save every cent possible in this year off, I successfully filed both my federal and state tax return for free! Now the $85 I once spent on getting my taxes done by a tax preparer can be used on gas, groceries, or banked into my meager retirement account.

You don't have to be a "brave soul" to successfully file your taxes yourself, contrary to what the Boston Globe believes. If you are a pencil-and-paper person you can take a trip down to your local library where they should have blank copies of Form 1040 and 1040 EZ along with your state tax forms. You can bring along your calculator, W2s and other tax forms, and dedicate one night to filing your taxes and mailing it in.

However, the IRS and State Revenue Departments are encouraging residents to file electronically in an effort to reduce errors on forms (numerical 1's that look like 2's in bad hand writing), and of course paper-waste. The Globe reported that the error rate for e-filed returns is about 1 percent compared to 20 percent with paper returns.

Filing online is easy and allows you to receive your tax return faster. When e-filing, if you elect to have your refund deposited directly into your bank account, then you can receive your money within 10 days! (It took my return approximately 7 days). This ensures that your check doesn't get lost with the US Postal Service, and it also enables you to spread your money and deposit them in up to 3 different accounts across different financial institutions.

How does Marriage Impact Your Finances?

If you're trying to convince your man to tie the knot with you,  try presenting him with the financial benefits. It will probably be a lot easier than keeping that glazed look off of your face whenever he starts rambling about the NFL playoffs.