One of the common problems I face helping people with there taxes is helping them get their withholding correct so they don't end up owning the IRS at the end of the year.  So how can you fine-tune your withholding and estimated tax payments for 2026?

The IRS now has a withholding estimator on its website to help you figure out whether you are having the right amount of federal income tax withheld from wages, pensions, IRS distributions, etc. This tool asks about various sources of income, gives tips on credits and deductions, and estimates how much withholding to request.

Great News Today!  I received a review on my newest publication, Mastering Business Basics, from the Readers's Favorite Book Review website.  Here's what they had to say: 

Review #1: Review by Stephen Christopher

Reviewed by:

Stephen Christopher

Review Rating:

5 Stars - Congratulations on your 5-star review!

Reviewed by Stephen Christopher for Readers’ Favorite

When doing the taxes for people that have just started to dip their toes into the world of investing in stocks, I have found that very few knew about the wash sale rules.  Yet, this could cause you to pay a lot more in taxes than you need to if you don’t watch the calendar.

I have a few tax clients that enjoy visiting the casinos around the country and one of the issues I will discussing next spring will be is the new gambling provision that could reshape how millions of U.S. gamblers are taxed on their bets.   That is because the so-called "One Big Beautiful Bill" (OBBB), signed into law on July 4, 2025, introduced a cap on deductions for gambling losses.

Starting January 1, 2026, people will be able to deduct only 90% of their gambling losses against their winnings on federal taxes. (The previous policy allowed a full 100% deduction of gambling losses up to the amount of winnings.).  This is projected to will raise roughly $1.1 billion in additional taxes over ten years. 

The One Big Beautiful Bill, as the new tax bill is called, makes some significant changes to Americans’ personal finances.

At close to 1,000 pages, the legislation makes permanent the 2017 tax cuts and introduces new tax breaks—including deductions for tips, overtime pay, and auto loan interest—and gives a special $6,000 deduction for seniors who receive Social Security.  (I figured it will save me about $1,400 a year in taxes.  WooHoo!)

The bill makes cuts to begin eliminating fraud in social programs such as Medicaid and food assistance, eliminates tax incentives for clean energy, and overhauls the federal student loan system.

So, what does it mean for your wallet?

After doing people''s taxes for over two decades, one of the worst parts of it is when your client''s die and you have to help pick up the pieces.   It is sad that in so many households only one of the spouses does all the accounting and taxes. If that spouse dies first, time and again I have found that the remaining spouse has no clue where to even start to put all the financial pieces together again.

It gets to be an even bigger challenge if the remaining spouse dies and the siblings have to figure things out, like distributing the assets or filing the final tax returns. So what happens when someone dies during the year and has a tax filing obligation?

One of the more interesting questions I get now and then is "I heard that I can hire my kid and save on my taxes.  Is that true?

The answer to that is yes - IF you follow the IRS rules.   I think their is a better reason to hire your children, though.  It is the best education they can learn to prepare them for life after they move out of your house - from either an employee''s point of view or a business owner''s point of view or both.

Here’s what you need to know. 

The IRS has set its sites on millions of people who enjoy gambling: the huge gap between tax collections and people reporting them on their tax returns. Those unreported winnings ad up to a whopping  $13.2 billion. 

Since sports betting and online gambling in the U.S. has increased in recent years, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) recently audited the IRS for signs of these missed gambling winnings.  This has prompted the IRS to take action to improve compliance. So, are you affected and if so, what steps will the tax agency take? I''m going to tell you what you need to know. Read on...

The IRS can take the fun out of just about anything.  Case in point:  Last week, baseball phenom Shohei Ohtani became the first major league player to start the “50-50 club” by hitting 50 home runs and stealing 50 bases in a single season.   And when he did that, one lucky fan in Miami caught the 50th home run ball and walked away with it even though he had the opportunity to give it to the Dodgers. No one yet knows whether the lucky fan will keep the ball or sell it. Should he decide to sell it , it could be worth hundreds of thousands, or even more than a million dollars. With these numbers, the ball could come with a huge tax bill.