Popular Tax Breaks To Disappear in 2014 / From mortgage insurance premiums to teachers’ classroom expenses, don’t miss out on these tax breaks.

Diane Sweet for Crooks & Liars writes: Now that we've said goodbye to 2013, we also say goodbye to several tax breaks our Do Nothing Congress has allowed to expire at the end of the year.   In fact, a total of 55 tax breaks disappeared on Tuesday at midnight.

Of course, this happens nearly every year and almost every year, Congress eventually renews them.

Here are eight of the tax breaks that will be missed the most, CNN:

1. Tuition and fees: A deduction for tuition and fees of up to $4,000 is currently available to parents and students paying for college. More than 2 million taxpayers claimed this break in 2010, saving more than $4 billion, according to the most recent data available from H&R Block.

2. Teachers' expenses: The Educator Expense Deduction aims to help teachers cover the cost of classroom supplies like notebooks, pens and paper that their school doesn't reimburse them for. Elementary and secondary school teachers can qualify for deductions of up to $250 per year, even if they don't itemize.

Nearly 4 million teachers deducted $915 million in school expenses in 2010.

3. Mortgage insurance premiums: Currently, homeowners are able to deduct their mortgage insurance premiums as residence interest. About 4.2 million taxpayers claimed the tax break in 2010, deducting a total of $5.6 billion in mortgage insurance premiums, according to H&R Block.

4. State and local sales tax: In states without an income tax, like Florida and Alaska, taxpayers have been able to deduct state and local general sales taxes instead of taking the income tax deduction -- but that won't be an option next year unless Congress intervenes.

In 2010, 57 million taxpayers claimed more than $16.4 billion in deductions this way.

5. Donations through your IRA: Retirees older than 70-and-a-half have traditionally been able to make non-taxable charitable donations of up to $100,000 directly from their IRA disbursements. But once this tax break expires, they will need to take the disbursement first, meaning it will be considered part of their taxable income.

6. Energy-efficiency: It's your last chance to get a credit of up to $500 if you made energy-efficient home improvements this year -- including new windows and doors. To see if you qualify, visit EnergyStar.com or ask the company where you bought the items.  The break is only available for people who haven't already claimed received credits totaling $500 in past years (The credit has ranged in value since taking effect in 2006.).

7. Commuter costs: Currently, commuters who take mass transit like trains or buses to work are able to receive $245 a month (or $2,940 per year) in tax-free money toward those expenses. But this perk is scheduled to expire January 1, at which point commuters will only be able to write off just $130 per month -- $1,560 a year.

8. Mortgage debt forgiveness: A tax break that has been in effect since 2007 allows struggling homeowners to exclude any debt forgiveness they were granted from a bank when calculating their taxable income.

For the more than 6 million Americans who still owe more on their loans than their homes are worth, the expiration of this tax credit Jan. 1 is bad news. If they get a mortgage modification from their bank or do a short sale of their home after year-end, their tax bill could be thousands of dollars higher than if the modification were completed before year-end.

Another disappearing tax break that could very likely impact us "regular" people indirectly —A 50 percent tax credit for expenses related to railroad track maintenance through 2013. Tax break: $232 million in 2013.

The number of crude oil carloads hauled by U.S. railroads surged from 10,840 in 2009 to a projected 400,000 this year.

If the tax break makes it more difficult for railroads to maintain equipment, well...haven't we seen enough oil train derailments already? 

Americans Doing Business in Canada

Allan Madan CPA, CA for Madan Chartered Accountant writes: It has become an increasing trend to see Americans moving north of the 49th parallel. In a recent study Canada has been the home to over 45,000 American immigrants from 2006-2011, an increase of over 31,000 in the previous six year period. With this steady rise it is important for Americans doing business in Canada to understand Canadian taxes and how they might apply to individuals and corporations moving north.

Individual

Canadian Taxes Filing date

If you are a US citizen working in Canada you are required to file a Canadian tax return.  Unlike in the US state and federal taxes are combined into one form the T1 general.  In order to fill out your T1 you will have to obtain a T4 slip Statement of Canadian employment earnings, similar to a W2. This will be delivered by your employer before February 28 of the tax year.

Deemed Resident vs. Non Resident

In Canada you may have to pay taxes even if you are a US citizen. If you are deemed to be a resident by the CRA, then you are required to pay tax on your worldwide income (US and Canadian). To be deemed a Canadian resident, you:

·         Must have significant ties to Canada (permanent home, spouse or children have moved to Canada): or

·         Have resided in Canada for 183 days or more during a calendar year

If you don’t fall under theses two criteria then you are considered a non-resident and are not liable for taxes on only employment income in Canada.

Foreign Tax Credit

In order to prevent its citizens from being double taxed the US allows for any taxes paid to Canada to be deducted from your US taxes payable.  Without the US Foreign tax credit, many American citizens would not conduct their business in Canada

US Business

Definition of US Company doing business in Canada

According to Canada’s tax act in order to qualify as an American company conducting business in Canada you must:

1.       Produces, grows, mines, creates, manufactures, fabricates, improves, packs, preserves or constructs anything in Canada

2.       Solicits orders or offers anything for sale their through an agent or servant, whether the contract or transaction is completed inside or outside of Canada

3.       Disposes of certain resources properties or Canadian real estate

However Canadian law has interpreted the act providing a broader definition of Americans working in Canada. Even if you are a US based company and make a sale in Canada you are liable for tax.

An example could be if your company sells software to companies and is based in the United States. Say that company also occasionally sells to Canadian corporations all done over the phone. If they have $20 million in sales and $5 million is attributable to Canadian sales they will have to pay tax on this amount. Even if they don’t hold operations in Canada the government of Canada deems this to be Canadian business income and such liable to Canadian taxes. There is some relief in the form of the Canadian US tax treaty.

Canada US Tax Treaty

The US Canada tax treaty was established to prevent double taxation. In the previous example the $5 million that was taxed in Canada would also be taxed in America as worldwide income. This creates a problem as the $5 million is being taxed twice.

To solve the problem permanent establishment must be determined. In Canada PE includes:

-          Fixed place of business such as office, factory or branch

-          A construction or installation project lasting more than 12 months

If your company is considered to have a permanent establishment in Canada then it must pay Canadian taxes on income earned in Canada. If it is considered a non-permanent establishment such as in the example above then it would not be required to pay Canadian income taxes. However it must fill out a Treaty based Exemption form to inform CRA that it is in fact a non-resident corporation. Without the treaty non-permanent establishments like the software company would have to pay Canadian income tax on money earned in Canada.

Options of starting a corporation in Canada

Whether you own a C or S corporation in the states it will be taxed in Canada as a corporation. In Canada, corporations and Individuals are seen as separate entities and taxed accordingly. A corporation will be required to fill out a T2 corporation income tax return and an individual will be required to fill out a T1 personal income tax return.

S corporations which choose to be considered a partnership will also be charged a corporate tax rate. In Canada you cannot pass corporation profits down to shareholders through dividends in order to avoid corporate tax. S-corporations will have to start a subsidiary in Canada and pay income tax on its Canadian operations.

Income tax paid in Canada will be credited to the United States. You will be able to claim a type of foreign tax credit which will give you most if not all tax paid in Canada back.

Whether you are an American company or US individual it is important to know about what taxes may be awaiting you in Canada. If you would like to know more about other taxes please check out our article on Americans Working in Canada and Taxes @ Madan Chartered Accountant.

5 Reasons to File Your Taxes Early / Advantages to filing early include receiving your refund faster and avoiding fraud

 GEOFF WILLIAMS for US News World Report writes:  If you like to file your taxes early and then chuckle at all the procrastinators who wait until April 15 nears, your day of reckoning is getting close. The earliest day the IRS will begin processing 2013 individual tax returns is Jan. 31, 2014, a date slightly later than usual due to the government shutdown last fall.

What are the advantages of filing early? Here's a list of good arguments from tax preparers.

Get your money now. This is the most obvious reason a taxpayer might want to file as early as possible. But try not to fall into the trap of thinking you need the refund before the IRS can get it to you. Some tax preparation services offer refund anticipation loans, which have steep fees that eat into that refund.

You'll also likely get your money in a shorter amount of time if you file earlier than the person who files a month or two after you, according to Elaine Phelan, a professor of accounting at Siena College in Loudonville, N.Y. Early filers may only have to wait for their refund for 21 days – the average time taxpayers have had to wait in recent years, and sometimes less, according to the Internal Revenue Service – whereas a later filer may have to wait longer, say, 31 days.

"If you work with a paid preparer, they are excited to jump into the new year and will enthusiastically get your taxes done quickly," Phelan says. "If you are expecting refunds, the IRS processing centers are less busy and will process your claim faster, so you might even get that refund sooner."

And, of course, if you file electronically versus putting your form in a mailbox, you should get your money even faster.

It may help with financial aid. "Taxpayers with college-age children need to get their tax information early to get the maximum amount of financial aid," says Lawrence Pon, a tax specialist who owns an accounting firm, Pon & Associates, in San Francisco. He says there is a direct link between the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form and the IRS, so your tax information is sent directly to the financial aid form without you having to provide it yourself.

It may help if you and your ex-spouse are feuding. Hopefully you don't fall into this category, and it's better for each party if you can keep the IRS out of your marital strife, but Pon says that "sometimes divorced people do not agree on who claims the children as a dependent, even though there may be a court order and an agreement. Whoever files first will claim the child, and the other ex-spouse may be out of luck."

You'll lessen your odds of becoming a victim of identity theft. "The sooner you file your return, the less opportunity someone else has to file a return in your name," says Joe Reynolds, identity fraud product manager at Travelers, headquartered in New York.

He points out that some criminals have been known to break into a home or car, steal identification and then file taxes in that person's name, scoring a refund that doesn't belong to them. The odds are slim that that will happen to you, of course, but it is another reason to file earlier rather than later.

Reynolds also advises getting your refund via direct deposit "so criminals can't have it redirected to their address or steal it from your mailbox."

There's more time to catch potential mistakes. If you wade into your taxes now and discover there's paperwork you need that you don't have, or it's simply going to be a more complicated tax year than you anticipated, you may not end up filing early, but now you have more time to spend on your taxes.

Not that there aren't smart reasons to file close to or on April 15, of course. If you owe the IRS money, there's really no financial advantage for you to give it to them any earlier than April 15.

How CEOs Can View QuickBooks Financial Data

Samuel Clemens for InsightSquared writes: Scenario: you’re a CEO. You are sitting at your kitchen table on the weekend and you want to review some of your company’s financial metrics or end-of-quarter numbers. How do you do it? Seems simple, right?

Option 1: Remote Access and MultiUser Mode

Not so fast!

If your company uses QuickBooks Desktop (vs Online), as the vast majority of QuickBooks customers do, then a CEO reviewing financials at home is actually a very difficult proposition! This is becausethe QuickBooks file is stored on the accountant’s desktop computer at the office.

Here is what you would need to do:

1. Log into the office LAN via a VPN. In order to even see the accountant’s desktop machine, your CEO needs to get onto the office local network as if they were in the building. This requires a VPN. They can be complicated to set up so if you don’t already have one, make sure you get some IT help to set one up.

2. Make sure the accountant’s computer was left turned on. If the accountant saved money by turning the computer off for the weekend then your CEO is S.O.L. You won’t be able to access a file on a hard drive if that hard drive isn’t turned on.

3. Make sure the accountant’s computer has filesharing access enabled. Like #2 this would have needed to be done ahead of time. It also needs to be done by someone who knows what they are doing, because if you incorrectly set up filesharing then your whole company will have access to the financials.

4. Make sure the accountant’s copy of QuickBooks is in “Multi-User” mode. In order to have multiuser mode, QuickBooks will need to have been originally installed as “Multi-User Host Installation.” Then, the accountant needs to have gone to File menu > Utilities > Host Multi-User Access when they last started up QuickBooks. If these options were not chosen at installation and startup then your CEO is S.O.L.

5. Open the file using the CEO’s local copy of Quickbooks. Hopefully the CEO has a copy of QuickBooks installed on their laptop. If not, they need to go buy a copy at the local computer store, or buy another license if your company has a multi-user license setup.

Sounds complicated? No kidding! This was pretty intimidating to write, much less implement.

You can also use a “remote desktop” screensharing solution to replace steps #3 – #5 above. For example, LogMeIn and GoToMyPC are both very good remote desktop applications. There are three problems: (a) they would have needed to be set up beforehand, (b) controlling a computer via screenshare is usually a pretty slow and frustrating experience, and (c) if the CEO is reviewing financials on the accountant’s computer then the accountant will not be able to use their computer during this time.

So, are there better ways to give your CEO basic access to financials? Read on…

Option 2: Migrate to QuickBooks Online

If your company uses QuickBooks Online edition then your CEO can view financials just by opening a web browser and going to intuit.com. Pretty simple.

But…the vast majority of companies still use QuickBooks Desktop. Yes you can migrate to QuickBooks Online from Desktop. However be careful because the Online version does not yet have feature parity with the Desktop version.

If a QuickBooks migration is not something you want to contemplate right now, keep reading…

Option 3: Online Analytics

Instead of migrating QuickBooks to an online version, what if you could leave QuickBooks as-is but have online analytics instead? Your CEO doesn’t need to enter any General Ledger transactions. They probably don’t need access to QuickBooks itself.

This is where an online analytics package (like InsightSquared) can shine. To set one up, you will need two setps:

1. Enable Intuit Sync Manager. Here are Intuit’s official setup instructions for the Sync Manager. Once installed, your QuickBooks desktop data will be synced with Intuit’s secure servers in the cloud. You can then access your data remotely using other applications that you authorize.

2. Pick an analytics package. We happen to be biased — we think our financial analytics are the best in the world! But by all means, feel free to shop around — Intuit has a Marketplace with other applications you can authorize.

How Inflation Will Cut Your Taxes in 2014

Dan Caplinger for Daily Finance writes:  Most of the time, inflation is one of the most serious financial threats people face, propelling slow but steady price increases that erode the purchasing power of your savings and make it harder to make ends meet.

But when it comes to your taxes, inflation's bite need not be too painful: The government makes annual adjustments to the tax code to reflect the higher cost of living, which should help you save on your taxes in 2014.

1. Higher Standard Deductions

The standard deduction allows taxpayers to earn income up to a certain amount without paying any taxes -- and without going to the trouble of itemizing deductions. For 2014, the figure for single filers will rise by $100 to $6,200, with joint filers getting a $200 increase to $12,400. Those who qualify as heads of household split the difference, with their standard deduction jumping $150 to $9,100. Depending on your filing status and tax bracket, these increases could save you anywhere from $10 to $80 on your 2014 tax return.

2. Higher Personal Exemptions

Most taxpayers get to take a personal exemption for each member of their families, including dependents. The personal exemption amount will climb by $50 to $3,950 in 2014. The increase could boost tax savings anywhere from $5 to $20 per person depending on your tax bracket, although high-income taxpayers begin to have personal exemptions phased out once their income goes above certain levels.

3. Higher Tax Brackets

The boundaries of the various tax brackets get an inflation adjustment in 2014, allowing taxpayers to earn more money while getting taxed at a lower rate
For instance, single filers will see the upper end of the 10 percent tax bracket rise from $8,925 to $9,075, while the top of the 15 percent tax bracket will rise from $36,250 to $36,900. By taxing more of your income at lower rates, these shifts will produce tax savings of $72.50 for a single filer earning $40,000 in taxable income. Higher-end earners will reap more substantial savings: Joint filers with taxable income of $250,000 will see a drop of more than $400 in their taxes.

4. Higher Earned Income Tax Credits

Millions of working low-income taxpayers are eligible to receive the Earned Income Tax Credit. The maximum credit amount rises $99 in 2014 for joint filers with three or more qualifying children, with an $88 increase for those with two children, $54 for one-child families, and $9 for eligible individuals with no children.

5. Higher Exclusions for Foreign Workers

If you work abroad, you're entitled to exclude money you earn in wages or salaries from your foreign job. The amount of money you're able to exclude will rise in 2014 by $1,600 to $99,200, producing savings of $160 to $640 depending on your tax bracket. The exclusion is designed to offset the taxes that foreign workers typically pay in the countries in which they work.

6. Higher Exemptions for Alternative Minimum Tax

The Alternative Minimum Tax was originally designed to apply only to the richest taxpayers -- its purpose being to prevent the wealthy from gaming the system and paying no taxes at all. But over time, thanks to inflation, the tax gradually started capturing more upper-middle-class taxpayers, especially in states that have high taxes that aren't deductible for AMT purposes. In 2014, the exemption amount of AMT will rise by $900 to $52,800 for single filers and by $1,300 to $82,100 for joint filers. With AMT rates at 26 percent and 28 percent, those increases can save between $234 and $364 in potential AMT liability.

These are just a sampling of the many ways that cost-of-living inflation adjustments will lower taxes for millions of Americans. For more information, be sure to visit the IRS website and get the comprehensive list of inflation adjustments for 2014.

Intuit Inc. (INTU): Generation Investment Management, Citadel Investment Group, Select Equity Group, Scout Capital Management are Bullish

Ben Alberstadt for Nextiphonenews.com writes:  Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) shareholders have witnessed a decrease in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds lately.

According to Inc., “Financial software maker Intuit announced Wednesday morning that it has agreed to acquire small-business resource site Docstoc.”

Now, let’s take a gander at the recent action encompassing Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU).

Hedge fund activity in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU)

At Q1′s end, a total of 29 of the hedge funds Insider Monkey tracks were bullish in this stock, a change of -9 percent from the second quarter. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings significantly.

Of the funds we track, Generation Investment Management, managed by David Blood and Al Gore, holds the largest position in Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU). Generation Investment Management has a $473.9 million position in the stock, comprising 9 percent of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, which held a $150.5 million position; 0.2 percent of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining peers that hold long positions include Robert Joseph Caruso’s Select Equity Group, James Crichton and Adam Weiss’s Scout Capital Management and Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors.

Due to the fact that Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) has faced a declination in interest from the smart money, we can see that there is a sect of money managers that decided to sell off their positions entirely heading into Q2. At the top of the heap, Greg Poole’s Echo Street Capital Management cut the largest position of all the hedgies we watch, comprising close to $31.4 million in stock, and John Overdeck and David Siegel of Two Sigma Advisors was right behind this move, as the fund cut about $27.7 million worth. These bearish behaviors are interesting, as total hedge fund interest fell by 3 funds heading into Q2.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU)?

Insider buying is particularly usable when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest six-month time period, Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and seven insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU). These stocks are Workday Inc (NYSE:WDAY), Catamaran Corp (USA) (NASDAQ:CTRX), CA, Inc. (NASDAQ:CA), salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM), and Adobe Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ:ADBE). This group of stocks belong to the application software industry and their market caps resemble INTU’s market cap.

Company Name	# of Hedge Funds	# of Insiders Buying	# of Insiders Selling
Workday Inc (NYSE:WDAY)	36	0	8
Catamaran Corp (USA) (NASDAQ:CTRX)	33	0	0
CA, Inc. (NASDAQ:CA)	17	0	5
salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM)	50	0	12
Adobe Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ:ADBE)	39	0	12

At the end of Q3, Intuit Inc. was the fifth most widely held application software industry equity among the hedge funds Insider Monkey tracks.

How to catch up on retirement savings / Don’t miss the chance to make tax-favored catch-up contributions

Bill Bischoff for MarketWatch.com writes: If you’re age 50 or older, you can make extra “catch-up” contributions to certain types of tax-favored retirement accounts. Many people fail to capitalize on this opportunity because they don’t realize that making these extra contributions can make a significant difference in their retirement-age wealth. Here’s the proof.

Catch-Up Contribution Basics

Assuming your company retirement plan allows them, you can make extra salary-reduction contributions to your 401(k), 403(b), or 457 account starting with the year you turn age 50. Salary reduction contributions are subtracted from your taxable wages, so you effectively get a federal income tax deduction for making them. If your state has a personal income tax, you’ll generally get a state tax deduction too. You can use the resulting tax savings to help pay for part of your catch-up contribution, or you can set them aside in a taxable retirement savings account to further increase your retirement-age wealth. Either way, it’s all good.

You can also make extra catch-up contributions to your traditional or Roth IRA. If you’re 50 or older as of Dec. 31, 2013, you can make a catch-up contribution for the 2013 tax year and you have until April 15, 2014, to get it done. Contributions to deductible IRAs create tax savings, but your income may be too high to qualify. Contributions to Roth IRAs don’t generate any up-front tax savings, but you can take tax-free withdrawals after age 59½ (assuming you’ve had at least one Roth account open for over five years). There are income restrictions on Roth contributions too. Worst case, you can make extra nondeductible traditional IRA contributions and benefit from the account’s tax-deferred earnings advantage. Remember: You have until April 15 to make IRA catch-up contributions for the 2013 tax year.

Maximum catch-up contributions for both the 2013 and 2014 tax years are as follows.

401(k), 403(b) and 457 Plans: $5,500

Traditional and Roth IRAs: $1,000

How Much Extra Could You Accumulate?

Quite a bit, because maximum catch-up contributions are considerably larger than when they were first introduced a few years ago. For example, in 2002 the maximum catch-up contribution to a 401(k) account was only $1,000 versus $5,500 now. The maximum catch-up contribution to a traditional or Roth IRA was only $500 versus $1,000 now. Let me give you some numbers to help quantify how much extra retirement-age wealth you could pile up by making catch-up contributions.

Impact of Salary Reduction Catch-Up Contributions

Say you turn 50 this year and contribute an extra $5,500 for 2013. Then you do the same for the following 15 years, through age 65. Here’s how much extra you could accumulate by age 65 in your 401(k), 403(b), or 457 plan (rounded to the nearest $1,000).

4% Annual Return: $120,000

6% Annual Return: $141,000

8% Annual Return: $167,000

Remember: Making larger contributions can also lower your tax bills.

Once again, say you turn 50 during 2013 and contribute an extra $1,000 for this year and then do the same for the next 15 years, through age 65. Here’s how much extra you could accumulate in your IRA by age 65 (rounded to the nearest $1,000).

4% Annual Return: $22,000

6% Annual Return: $26,000

8% Annual Return: $30,000

Remember: Making larger deductible contributions to a traditional IRA can also lower your tax bills. Making additional contributions to a Roth IRA won’t, but you can make tax-free withdrawals later in life.

Impact of Salary Reduction Plus IRA Catch-Up Contributions

Finally, let’s say you turn 50 during 2013 and make an extra $5,500 salary reduction catch-up contribution for this year plus an extra $1,000 IRA contribution. Then you do the same for the following 15 years, through age 65. Here’s how much extra you could accumulate by age 65 in the two accounts together (rounded to the nearest $1,000).

4% Annual Return: $142,000

6% Annual Return: $167,000

8% Annual Return: $197,000

The Bottom Line

As you can see, extra catch-up contributions can potentially add up to some pretty big numbers by the time you reach retirement age. If your spouse is able to make catch-up contributions too, you can double all the amounts shown here. This is something to think about, especially if you have doubts about whether Social Security will be there for you when you need it. 

Mint, the leading personal finance app from Intuit Inc., Buffs Up Bank Accounts With Weekly $500 Awards

PYMNTS.com writes:   Mint, the leading personal finance app from Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq: INTU), is beefing up the bank accounts of eight lucky people. Each week through Jan. 31, 2014, two Mint users will receive $500 awards for simply updating or creating a new budget within Mint.

To get started, download the Mint app and log in between January 1 – 31. Select “Create a Budget” to adjust your current budget or create a new one to be automatically entered to win a $500 gift card. Mint links users to more than 20,000 different bank, credit card, loan and investment accounts, making it easy to view most financial statements in one place and get a better understanding of where their money is going.

Mint is free to download and use from the App Store on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch as well as for Android smartphone and tablets at Google Play and on the Amazon Appstore. Mint is also available in the Windows Store for Windows 8.1 and the Windows Phone Store for Windows Phone 8.

"Every January, I commit to get my personal finances in shape and by February, I've blown my budget," said Mike Tolliver of Pasadena, Calif. "This year, I've downloaded the Mint app to organize my accounts in one place and see where my money is going – at home and on the go. I'm confident that with Mint, 2014 will be the year I actually stick to my budget and save money."

Throughout January, personal finance experts from Intuit’s Mint and Quicken, the No.1 rated personal money management software will share tips on getting your money in shape for the New Year. Here are five ways to recover from excessive holiday spending:

• Hide credit cards: The best thing to do in order to avoid overusing credit cards is to hide them or get rid of them. Can’t live without them? Reduce the number of credit cards carried to one. Out of sight is out of mind.
• Avoid post-holiday temptations: Many people are lured by sales in January and think that it’s a good idea to get a little more shopping done. Then reality sets in and the bills arrive. The truth is succumbing to these temptations just ends up digging an even deeper financial hole.
• Start tackling debt: Take a look at credit card bills and focus on the cards that have the highest interest rates. Paying down debt on these cards is the first step. With Mint, users can create budgets, track expenses and set a goal to pay off credit card debt.
• Return the unneeded and unwanted: Return or sell unneeded or unwanted holiday gifts and get cash for them instead. Use the cash to pay down holiday credit card debt.
• Start saving for the 2014 holidays now: Put away some money early, even $20 a month, to build up a cash reserve and avoid credit card use during the holidays. Quicken’s “Your Savings Goal” page and debt reduction tool helps track progress toward specific targets, such as building an emergency fund or holiday shopping. An easy-to-read chart lists all contributions made toward your goal.

“For 30 years, Intuit has been helping millions of consumers manage their money and improve their financial lives,” said Barry Saik, senior vice president and general manager of Intuit’s consumer ecosystem group. “The New Year is the perfect time to resolve to establish better money habits. It’s easy to get started with Mint or Quicken so you can make sound financial choices in 2014 and beyond.”

Avoid These 10 Common Tax Mistakes

Beth Braverman for the Fiscal Times writes: Just because the calendar has officially turned the page, doesn’t mean you can forget about last year just yet: Now’s the time to start thinking about and preparing your 2013 tax returns, which the IRS will begin accepting at the end of this month.

No one enjoys doing taxes, but it’s an important financial task. As you sit down to it this year, be sure to avoid these common tax mistakes.

1. Using a pen and paper.  It’s amazing that in 2013, some 20 percent of filers still fill out their returns the old fashioned way: by hand.  Doing so makes you much more likely to introduce math errors or simple mistakes—like forgetting to sign and date a form--that a computer (yours, or your tax preparer’s) would catch. In addition, e-filers get their returns more quickly and are less likely to be victims of ID theft. “You’d have to be a fool not to e-file,” says Mark Steber, chief tax officer at Jaskon Hewitt Tax Service.

2. Choosing the wrong tax preparer.  Software like TurboTax is fine if you’re comfortable doing your taxes solo. If you decide to bring in professional help, remember that there’s no licensing requirement for someone to call herself a tax preparer. “We have 800,000 people in this country who prepare returns, and the vast majority of them are unregulated,” says Robert McKenzie, a tax lawyer with Arnstein & Lehr in Chicago.

To be safe, look for someone who’s either a certified public accountant (CPA) or an enrolled agent (EA); both must take ongoing exams to prove their knowledge of the tax code.

3. Waiting too long to get started. Obviously, missing the April15 deadline would be a huge mistake, but experts say you should start preparing your documents well before the end of March. Early filers get their refunds more quickly than laggards, plus starting early gives you a time cushion if you discover missing documents or need to verify information.

4. Selecting the incorrect filing status. It’s not uncommon for filers to opt for the wrong filing status. “Particularly for single parents, filing as ‘head of household’ instead of single will give you a higher standard deduction and lower your taxes,” says John Vento, a CPA and author of Financial Independence: Getting to Point X.

If you’re married, divorced, or had a child in the past year, don’t forget to update your status as well.

5. Assuming you shouldn’t itemize. Often mortgage-free homeowners or renters assume that since they don’t have a home loan it’s not worth it to itemize. Simply taking the standard, deduction, however can be a costly mistake. 

Before making that your default, tally up potential deductions such as state and local taxes, charitable contributions, and medical expenses that exceed 10 percent of your income to see if they’re worth more than that deduction. “There might be some rare cases where itemizing wouldn’t be the best move, but for most people, it’s better to itemize,” says Jackie Perlman, a principal tax researcher for H&R Block.

6. Failing to double-check your work. Computer programs are great at catching math errors, but they won’t know if you’ve transposed the digits on your Social Security number or incorrectly transferred numbers from your W-2. Print out your returns before pressing the “send” button and double check all of your numbers for human error.

7. Not properly safeguarding your private information. ID thieves loves tax season, and tax-related identity theft is a growing problem. In the first half of this year the IRS reported that identity theft affected 1.6 million tax payers, more than the number affected in all of 2012. Protect yourself by avoiding shared computers for filing; not emailing your returns to anyone, including your preparer, and filing as early as possible.

8. Forgetting to keep a copy of your returns. If you’ve lost your copies, the IRS will send one to you for $50, so it’s worth holding onto your own copy. You’ll need to keep one on hand for at least three years in case of an audit, but you may also have to produce a copy to a potential mortgage lender or someone else examining your financials. Plus, having last year’s returns on hand makes it much easier to prepare your taxes the following year. “Looking at old returns might jog your memory about an account that you closed this year, or deductions you might be missing,” says Greg Rosica, tax partner with Ernst & Young in the firm’s Tampa, Fla., office.

9. Keeping inadequate records throughout the year. It’s a lot harder to reconstruct deductible expenses at the end of the year than it is to organize your receipts as they come in. Plus, you’ll need documentation supporting any deductions if the IRS ever decides to audit your returns. Mobile apps like Expensify can make keeping receipts a paperless breeze. 

In addition to business and medical expenses, keep detailed records of any charitable donations you make. Any donations worth more than $250 requires a letter from the organization that includes a description of the item or the amount of cash, and whether you received anything in return for the contribution. (If you did receive a gift or service, you’ll need to subtract its value from the amount you contributed.) “The IRS is really focused on charitable contributions lately, so you definitely want to have that documentation in order,” says Julius Green, the tax practice leader for the Philadelphia office of accounting firm ParenteBeard. 

10. Leaving money on the table at work. Not all important tax decisions get made during filing time. It’s equally important to make sure that you’re withholding the proper amount for taxes at the office, and fully taking advantage of any tax-advantaged benefits, such as 401(k) contributions and flexible spending accounts (for healthcare, transportation, and dependents). Properly using such benefits can lower your taxable income, save you money, and—in some cases—even move you into a lower tax bracket.