Making the Most of Your Noncash Charitable Donations

I posted previously about garage sales and how in many instances you do better simply donating the items to a worthy charity and taking the tax deduction. However, to make the most of your donation you have to be careful and keep good records. Here are a few things to look out for:

Do you [...]

The Economics of Garage Sales

OK, everyone has either held one or been to one. I’m talking about garage sales, that great piece of Americana where you putĀ  all the crap from your house that you no longer want or need out in your garage, driveway, or patio and let a bunch of random strangers come rummage through it and [...]

IRS notice? Don’t pay just yet!

Unless you filed an extension or are one of those kooks that have come up with some justification why the US Constitution doesn’t allow the federal government to levy an income tax, you have probably already sent in your tax return for this past year. If you are unlucky, you may get a nice letter [...]

Avoid the Post Office When Sending Tax Returns!

I never realized this until I was putting my paper return together today. If you are sending in paper returns to the IRS, you don’t have to use the post service certified mail to send the return with an acceptable proof of mailing. The IRS has authorized DHL, FedEx, and UPS as “Private Delivery Services”. [...]