While you may turn your pile of W-2 and 1099 over to your CPA every spring, when it comes to managing your personal finances the rest of the year, thinking about your income taxes is part of it. Whether you are calculating the tax impact of capital gains tax on an investment or investigating whether a request for a charitable contribution can truly be tax deductible -- which may mean you can afford to give more -- these are the references you need to make those decisions:
Withholding calculator: This calculator comes right from the IRS, the very same people who will be reviewing your income tax return when you file it next year, making it the right place to plug in your number and see what they recommend. Remember to think hard about any other sources of taxable income outside of your W-2 income, such as dividends, interest or non-employee income, such as payments for consulting work, on which you will have to pay income taxes.
Tax news blog: Tax Girl: She's smart, sassy and knows all the latest tax news. Tax Girl is actually a tax attorney, but she manages to break down the latest and most interesting developments in tax news into bite-sized pieces that are perfect to digest with your morning cup of coffee or chewed over with lunch. Bonus: She often has giveaways of free tax software, snack foods or other fun items for clever comments or other reader participation.
Capital gains tax estimator calculator: Debating whether to make one investment over another? It can be hard to visualize the impact that your capital gains income and losses can have on your income tax bill this year and in future years. Use this calculator, from Smart Money, to get a quick picture of what your tax impact will be depending on the investments that you make and when you decide to sell them... or not.
Tax foundation Read those news stories and wonder where they come up with statements about how one state has the worst tax climate, or want to know whether Florida, with its zero state income tax, is truly the best tax environment? (It's not!) Visit this policy center, which generates the research that you see used in news stories around the globe. Their research focuses on the effects of tax on Americans, which means that not only is the information provided interesting, but it will help you to decide where to move, retire, invest and even whether or not to support initiatives like "Tax Freedom Day" or gas tax surcharges.
Shayna Leah is a tax accountant.
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