When Can I File My 2012 Tax Return?

If you want to get a jump on tax season, you can file your return starting on January 30

You'll have to wait a bit if you are used to filing your annual tax return at the earliest possible date. The Internal Revenue Service has revised its opening date for tax season -- pushing it eight days to January 30, 2013. The tax filing deadline is Monday, April 15 The IRS will begin accepting tax returns on January 30, 2013. Most taxpayers should be able to file on that date though some revised forms may not be immediately available. You can blame the delay on the federal "fiscal cliff" crisis and the new tax bill Congress passed just after Dec. 31. You can find more information in this Forbes article. Electronic filing season was originally set to start on Jan. 22 this year. As a result of the delay, nobody will get a refund in …

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IRS Announces New 2013 Tax Rates and Standard Deductions

Standard deductions go up, but the ceiling for itemized deductions go down in 2013, plus other changes that will affect your taxes this year.

Last week, the Internal Revenue Service announced annual inflation adjustments for tax year 2013, including the tax rate schedules, and other tax changes from the recently passed American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012.  The tax items for 2013 of greatest interest to most taxpayers include the following changes. Details on these inflation adjustments and others are contained in Revenue Procedure 2013-15, which will be published in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2013-5 on Jan.28, 2013. Other inflation adjusted items were published in October 2012 in Revenue Procedure 2012-41. [Editor's note: The information above derived from a press statement from the Internal Revenue Service.]

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"Fiscal Cliff" Could Mean $22 Billion More in Taxes for Pennsylvanians

Business owners say they are waiting to hire new workers or expand operations until the fiscal cliff is resolved by Congress.

By Eric Boehm | PA Independent HARRISBURG — Pennsylvanians will face billions of dollars in higher taxes unless Congress acts by the end of the year to defuse a threatening combination of tax increases and spending cuts contained in the so-called “fiscal cliff.” A recent report by the state’s Independent Fiscal Office, Pennsylvania’s version of the federal Congressional Budget Office, suggests the fiscal cliff would drain billions from Pennsylvania’s economy, putting a strain on state tax revenues and the state budget. Based on estimates from the Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington, D.C., the IFO projects the fiscal cliff will raise federal taxes by $536 billion — with about 4.1 percent of that total, or $22 billion, …

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logansteele

9:34 pm on Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Well, not having a budget is what our leader does best. Next to playing golf.   more ›

Toomey: 'Fiscal Cliff' Spending Cuts 'Trivial' Compared to Looming Budget Crisis

U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey tells Valley Chamber of Commerce that without reform, current federal deficit spending will lead to much more painful cuts.

U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey spoke to members of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce at a breakfast gathering Monday at DeSales University and neither the eggs nor the message was sunny side up. The Pennsylvania Republican and well-known deficit hawk addressed the so-called “fiscal cliff” the U.S. government is facing Jan. 1 if Congress and the Obama administration cannot make a deal to avert tax increases and spending cuts that will automatically kick in. But Toomey, whose family lives in Upper Milford Township, said that the across-the-board spending cuts slated for Jan. 1 look mild compared to future actions that will be needed if the nation doesn’t start shrinking the federal deficit and paying down the debt. The fiscal cliff would …

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Crime and Fire

Identity Thief Steals Lower Mac Woman's Tax Refund, Police Say

Unknown person filed a tax return in the resident's name and collected the money, troopers say.

The IRS would no doubt agree that it is rare to see enthusiasm in filing a tax return. File early and the likely reason would be because a responsible citizen is expecting a refund, she needs her head examined or she's up to something. The conclusion reached by a tax agent who dealt with the early filing by a Lower Macungie Township woman most likely was that she was anticipating a refund. After all, the math must have shown it. Of course, there was that other possibility. No, no, not the one about needing her head examined. The one about someone being up to something. As it turned out, a 55-year-old Mohr Circle resident was expecting a refund, according to state police at Fogelsville. But, someone else filed the taxes in her name and …

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Macungie Council OKs Budget With Small Tax Hike

Faced with a drop in revenue, Macungie makes staff cuts and raises taxes by less than a mill.

Macungie Borough Council approved a $3.2 million budget Tuesday night that raises real estate taxes by less than a mill.  By a vote of 4-1, council passed a .68-mill tax hike bringing the millage rate to 7.63 mills. That increase means that a homeowner with property assessed at the borough average of $67,000 will pay $511 in 2012, or $45 more than this year.   Voting for the budget were Jean Nagle, Chris Becker, Robert Bogert and Joseph Sikorski. Outgoing Council President Guy Ramsey voted against it and David Boyko and Dorothy Kociuba were absent.  Faced with a serious decrease in revenues like real estate transfer taxes, the borough was originally looking at a $320,000 deficit and a tax hike of 3.5 mills, Ramsey said. That was whittled …

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Council Fails to Approve Preliminary 2012 Budget

Even cutting of jobs and services will not avoid a tax increase.

One by one, fellow council members told President Guy Ramsey as they walked into the Dec. 5 Macungie Borough Council meeting that they just could not vote on the budget all had agreed upon last week. Indeed, it was a long night before the six council members finally came to one very uneasy agreement involving a tax increase of three-quarters of a mil, or about $45,000. If approved, a tax increase of .75 of a mil would raise the real estate tax on a $150,000 home – assessed at $75,000 – by $56.25 per year. One by one, each coucil member unveiled his or her own 2012 budget proposal, none of which garnered even one vote other than its presenter’s. “We’re at an impasse,” Ramsey said as he started canvassing each member for the third – or maybe…

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VOTE: NOVEMBER 8, 2011

East Penn School Board Candidates are Highly Educated

But money is the key issue.

Decades ago, a slogan often heard in East Penn School District was “Books not Bricks!’’ Today, it‘s a little more complicated. “Web casting” and “cyber schools” are some of the buzz words stealing the spotlight in East Penn. The district includes Alburtis, Emmaus and Macungie boroughs and Lower Macungie and Upper Milford townships. Seven people running for five four-year spots on Nov. 8 are seeking solutions on how to run one of Lehigh Valley’s finest school districts during a down economy, according to information provided by the League of Woman Voters. Charles “Chuck” Ballard of Upper Milford Township has 16 years on the school board, making him the most veteran of those seeking reelection. He’s on both the Republican and Democratic …

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Proposed Lehigh County Budget Reduces Tax Bills, Staff

Executive Don Cunningham’s plan would restore $2.7 million for Green Futures Fund.

Lehigh County taxpayers can expect to pay an average of $30 less next year under County Executive Don Cunningham’s proposed budget, thanks to a one-time tax credit that will use up the $4.3 million Tax Relief Fund. The 2012 budget plan, which Cunningham introduced Wednesday in a speech before the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce at Coca Cola Park in Allentown, anticipates getting by on less – less tax revenue and about 44 fewer employees on the county rolls. “For those who say government only ever gets bigger, send them to Lehigh County,” he said. “Our total cost of payroll, including benefits, will be lower next year than it is now, the first time that’s happened in county history.” Most of the personnel cuts would be in general …

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Tax Day Cometh

The deadline to file federal income taxes is 11:59 p.m., but you still have time to mail your taxes at the Hanover Township Post Office.

If you're a procrastinator when it comes to filing taxes, beware. The deadline to file your federal income tax returns or request an extension from the Internal Revenue Service is 11:59 p.m. today, Monday, April 18. This year's tax deadline is actually three days later than the traditional deadline of April 15. The deadline was extended three days this year because Friday, April 15 was a holiday in Washington, D.C.  Some post offices in Pennsylvania will offer extended hours to accommodate last-minute filers, according to a news release issued by the United States Postal Service. The only local post office that will offer extended hours is the Lehigh Valley Post Office at 17 S. Commerce Way in Hanover Township, Northampton County. The …

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