It's Not Fun, but It Has to be Done Benjamin Franklin wrote a 1789 letter that states, “But in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Even at the United States’ early beginnings, federal taxes were a necessary evil to fund various public projects and administrative costs. Today, federal taxes serve much of the same purpose. While virtually no one likes to prepare and file their taxes, it is a necessity if you want to avoid fines and further hassle. It is no secret that preparing and filing your taxes is notoriously complicated. Many people lament that it should not be so difficult to pay the government. However, some of the complications allow people to save money if they discover specific tax benefits. Knowing how to file your own taxes may be a good option if your tax situation is relatively straightforward, or if you are willing to learn the process. Why Do You Need to File Your Taxes Every Year? The short answer is that federal law requires that most individuals file taxes annually. Income taxes are assessed every year based on your income earned during that period. You then pay a percentage of that income to the government, less any deductions, adjustments, or credits that you qualify to receive. If you do not file (and pay) your taxes, then you may be assessed penalties and interest. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) can even go as far as garnishing your wages and repossessing your property if you do not file and pay as required. The Benefits of Filing Your Own Taxes If you are one of the 43% of Americans that are doing your own taxes, you are certainly not alone. Roughly 53 million people prepared and filed their own taxes in 2018. There are many benefits to filing your own taxes, including: Saving money: Hiring a tax professional is expensive, and many people can prepare and file their returns on their own, completely free of charge. Control: Some people like knowing the exact information that is included in their return and being able to control the data, and for some, knowing precisely how the numbers work out, is comforting. Gain helpful information: When you prepare your taxes, you can see what items saved you money this year or which issues you should address so you can save money next year. While filing your own taxes is complicated, it can be beneficial under the right circumstances. There are several programs online that walk you through the process to help ensure you are taking advantage of all of your available deductions and credits. The Drawbacks of Filing Your Own Taxes In addition to the benefits, there are also some disadvantages to filing your own taxes. These include: Time and effort: Preparing and filing your taxes takes time and work You have to sift through financial information and deal with concepts that you may not understand well. The process can be frustrating and take a considerable amount of time. Error risk: If you do not completely understand how your taxes work, you run the risk of making a mistake because of misconceptions. If that happens, it could lead to underpayment and audits down the road. Questions: Even if you use a tax preparation software, you may still have questions that will remain unanswered unless you do significant research or reach out to a tax professional. For some people, the risk of having a substantial error that triggers the IRS’s attention is enough to scare them away from preparing their own taxes. Preparing for Filing Your Taxes When you begin work on your taxes, you should have information gathered throughout the year. Some of the most common items that you will need include: Social Security numbers for you, your spouse, and any dependents Information about wages, such as W2s or 1099s Investment income information Documents that represent any other source of income Information regarding adjustments to income, such as student loan interest paid, IRA contributions, and health savings account contributions, just to name a few Information regarding potential credits, including, for example, child care expenses, education expenses, or retirement savings contributions Data about any tax payments that you may have made throughout the year Keeping good records will help make tax preparation easier at the beginning of the year. [youmaylike] The Basics About What You Can Claim When Filing You must pay income taxes on all your income earned throughout the year. However, that income is reduced by a few things. The further you can reduce your taxable income, the less you tax you will pay. There are three general categories of tax reduction methods: Standard or Itemized Deductions Everyone can claim either the standard or itemized deductions. Standard deductions are a set amount that is based on your filing status. Itemized deductions are based on actual expenses that you incurred throughout the year. You can choose to use the higher deduction. The higher the deduction, the less tax you will have to pay on your income because your income decreases on paper. Itemized deductions include things like medical expenses, state and local tax payments, and home mortgage interest deductions. Itemized deductions will only decrease your income by a certain percentage, or up to a specific point. Adjustments Some adjustments to your income may also be available. These include things like paying student loan interest or alimony. Adjustments are more valuable compared to deductions because they decrease your income dollar for dollar. Credits A credit decreases your taxable income as well. Some credits are refundable while others are not. For example, you get a child tax credit simply for having children that qualify for that credit, but that credit will not be paid out to you if you do not have any tax obligations. On the other hand, the Earned Income Credit, which is available for low-income filers, will be refunded to you even if you do not owe any taxes. There are a wide variety of deductions and credits available. Take a look at the federal forms and related schedules to determine whether you might qualify for any of these. How to File Your Own Taxes If You Live Overseas If you earned income in the United States as a U.S. citizen or resident alien, you likely need to pay taxes on that income. This is true even if you live overseas. You can still choose to e-file or mail your tax return to the IRS once you have it prepared, just as if you physically lived in the United States. In some cases, you will be taxed on the income that you earned throughout the world. However, you may be able to deduct a portion or all of the revenue that was not made in the United States in some circumstances. Filing Online The IRS offers an online filing option that is free for individuals that have an adjusted gross income below a specific threshold. Generally, your income must be below $66,000 to qualify for this service. You can also file online by using a commercial tax preparation software. Examples of this type of software include: H&R Block TurboTax TaxCut TaxSlayer There are many programs available that will file your taxes for you, often for a fee. Knowing how to file your own taxes can be a great way to save money, but it can be tricky as well. If you want to file your taxes yourself, be sure to read the form instructions thoroughly and get familiar with various tax saving opportunities before you begin preparing your return.
How Is Inflation Measured?
You probably already have a basic idea about what inflation is, but have you ever wanted to know more? In this article we’ll cover the basics of inflation: what inflation is, why it’s important, how it affects the economy and financial markets, why you should care about it, and finally, how it is measured and determined year-to-year.
What Is inflation?
Inflation is a general rise in the average price level of goods and services over a period of time. When inflation occurs, your purchasing power, the amount of goods and services that you can purchase with a unit of currency, is reduced.
Inflation is the opposite of deflation. Deflation is when price levels fall instead of rise over time.
It’s important to understand what inflation is and what inflation isn’t.
Avocadoes are popular with millennials these days. But just because more millennials are eating avocado toast and the prices of avocadoes go up, it doesn’t mean it’s because of inflation. Avocadoes are more popular due to shifting consumer tastes. Inflation is when all goods and services get more expensive, not just one or two items.
Why Inflation Is Important and Inflation Causes
Inflation is important because it has a huge effect on the overall economy. It’s the goal of most governments to keep inflation in line.
But, what causes inflation? Inflation happens when the demand for goods and services exceeds the supply. When this happens over time, prices go up.
If the inflation rate is too low it means that consumer demand is dropping. This may signify that there could be a larger problem with the economy. Low inflation encourages consumers to put off purchasing goods and services, doing further harm to the economy. However, low inflation does help lower the cost of borrowing for consumers, as low inflation means the Federal Reserve is less likely to hike interest rates.
On the other end of the spectrum, if inflation is moving up too quickly, it can negatively impact the purchasing power of consumers and also hurt the economy. This is why a country’s central bank will usually aim to keep inflation around a modest 2%.
How Inflation Affects the Economy and Financial Markets
Inflation can affect the economy and financial markets, too.
If inflation is rising too quickly, it’s possible that it could cause a recession. If the economy is growing too quickly it can cause a government’s central bank to raise interest rates by too much, which can cause growth to slow and subsequently cause a recession.
Low inflation generally signifies a healthy economy. When inflation is low, American consumers are encouraged to buy more goods and services. Waiting to purchase something would mean that you’d have to pay more for the same item later on. Low inflation also means it’s more attractive to borrow money, since low inflation and low interest rates usually go hand in hand.
In terms of financial markets, investing in stocks is usually a good way to combat high inflation. That’s because a company’s earnings should theoretically go up at the same pace as inflation. The reverse is also true. During periods of low inflation, investors tend to earn less from stocks, making it a less appealing time for investors.
Why You Should Care and Know About Inflation
You should care and known about inflation because it affects your daily life.
Let’s say you’re an investor. Taxes are an important consideration in investing, but so too is the inflation rate. If you’re only earning 1% interest on your savings account and the inflation rate is 2%, you’re actually losing money once you factor in inflation. (We haven’t even factored in taxes yet either.) That’s why it’s important to consider both taxes and inflation when investing, to determine your real rate of return.
Inflation also tends to have a big impact on those with fixed incomes. For example, people with disabilities and retirees can be negatively affected by inflation. If the prices of goods and services keep going up, while the income of these individuals stays the same, this could result in some difficult decisions for them to make. Individuals on fixed incomes may be forced to cut back on food and other discretionary spending to get by if inflation rises too quickly.
Inflation doesn’t just affect those on fixed incomes. You’ll notice inflation at work when the prices of goods go up at the supermarket, making it more expensive to feed your family.
How Inflation Is Measured and Determined
We already spoke about what inflation is: it’s the increase in price level of goods and services. Inflation is measured by measuring the rate of change in those prices.
The most common way to measure inflation is the Consumer Price Index (or CPI for short). The CPI measures the change in price of a basket of goods and services that the average family consumes.
Inflation is determined year-by-year by looking at the change in the inflation rate this year compared to last year.
The Basics of the Consumer Price Index (CPI)
The CPI is based on the shopping diaries of average Americans. Americans write down what they purchase and how much it costs. This information is then used to figure out how much prices are changing for certain goods and services.
The CPI gives you a better glimpse of how much prices are going up versus just visiting one grocery store. The CPI isn’t just for items you can purchase at the grocery store; it includes other expenses like utility bills, home insurance and gas.
So, how is CPI calculated? The CPI can be calculated in different ways. It can be calculated overall for the U.S. and it can also be calculated city-by-city to give an idea how expensive it is to live in one city relative to another.
When CPI figures are released, they have the overall rate prices have changed and then a core CPI rate. The core CPI rate strips out food and energy because those tend to fluctuate a lot more over time.
When you read about inflation figures in the news, they’re usually talking about the core CPI figures. Nevertheless, the core CPI figure can be deceiving since it includes housing costs, which can vary a lot depending on where you live in the U.S.