Debunking Top Myths About Not Paying Your Taxes

A temporary shadow reminds us of the returning light. How’s that for an eclipse reference? Enjoy our latest ideas and info to shine brighter.

You Should Know

• In case you’re living under a rock, the federal tax filing deadline is April 15 (Monday). You can file your taxes for free with IRS’ Direct File or at FreeTaxUSA.

• The unemployment rate in the U.S. dropped to 3.8% after adding a sizzling 303,000 jobs in March. The picture is much bleaker north of the border. Canada lost jobs in March and the unemployment rate exceeded 6% for the first time in more than two years.

• With the economy so hot, the market is losing hope that interest rates will be cut anytime soon (maybe only after the summer).

Debunking Top Myths About Not Paying Your Taxes

The taxman cometh soon, and many of us worry about our ability to pay the tax bill. Naturally, there are plenty of myths regarding paying taxes on time. Here, we do our best to clear up the most common misconceptions:

Myth: You must pay all your taxes on April 15 – False. If you can’t pay the entire tax bill all at once, the IRS offers installment plans. To be clear, you will pay a penalty and accrue interest on the money that you delay paying. There are short-term plans (up to 18 months) with a lower setup fee that require faster payoff and long-term plans (up to 72 months) with a higher set up fee that offer more flexibility in payment terms. Apply for a payment plan here.

Myth: You will be penalized for filing an extension or your chances of being audited will increase if you file an extension – False. The extension process is entirely penalty-free. The IRS considers a lot of things in deciding to audit you, but extensions are not one of those things. Over 10 million taxpayers file for extensions each year, so you will not “stand out in the crowd.”

Myth: If you file an extension, you are effectively delaying your tax payment obligation to the IRS. – False. An extension gives you more time to file your tax return. You still need to pay any taxes owed by the original deadline (April 15). If you don't pay by the deadline, you'll be charged penalties and interest on the unpaid amount. If you owe money and you file an extension, the IRS expects you to prepay an estimate.

Myth: The IRS will take your house if you are unable to pay your taxes. – It’s nuanced. The IRS will not immediately seize your property. However, the IRS can place a tax lien on your property that they will lift if you set up a long-term payment plan.

Myth: You can’t negotiate a lower tax bill. – False. If you are facing financial hardship, you may be able to seek an Offer in Compromise, which allows you to settle your tax debt for less than the full amount owed. Getting approved is difficult - only about a third of applications are successful. The IRS considers your financial situation to determine if your offer is fair. If accepted, you can pay in a lump sum within 5 months or installments over 24 months.

Myth: A little money from a side hustle isn’t taxed. – Depends. The IRS views income from gig work or a side hustle as self-employment income. You must pay taxes if net earnings from a side hustle / self-employment are $400 or more.

Myth: You don’t have to file taxes if you make a tiny amount of money. – It’s nuanced. You don’t have to file taxes if you are single and make $13,850 or less in gross income. If you are married filing jointly, tax returns don’t have to be filed if gross income is less than $27,700 (assuming both spouses are under 65). For the record, if you make more than the gross income thresholds and win/receive a little bit of money – even $25 – that amount is subject to income tax (but it’s unlikely the IRS will go after you).

Myth: You will go to prison if you don’t pay your taxes. – Depends. If you file your taxes and can’t pay, the IRS cannot send you to jail. However, if you don’t file tax returns on income (i.e., hide the income), you’re committing tax fraud, and a lovely prison stay may be in your future.

Make Some Extra Cash

• Wynter pays you to participate in research studies, customer interviews, and product demos. You can earn $600 to $5 per gig, depending on the engagement type and requested audience criteria.

• Telus needs Raters for Google’s search engine. You’ll analyze and rate content relevance to search terms, while also reviewing language for grammar and appropriateness. Pay is $15-$12 per hour. Set your own hours.

• ClickBank is a popular affiliate marketplace that connects you with brands that will pay you to promote their products. The company has paid over $6 billion in commissions to ~100,000 affiliates for more than 25 years. Become an affiliate.

• 25Clicks pays you to do really simple microtasks. You’ll get 1-2 text messages per day to do something easy, like clicking on a website link or sending a screenshot of a site. Each completed task earns you 25 cents.

3 Amazon Hacks to Quickly Find the Biggest Price Drops

This probably sounds painfully familiar: to find a specific item on Amazon that is seriously marked down, you search for the item and then sort by lowest to highest price. You then scroll through dozens of items, looking for the highest percent off (while trying to ignore a lot of annoying and sponsored items that Amazon inserts into the search results).

Obviously, this crappy search experience is by design. Amazon wants slow your product search down by showing you a lot more stuff that you might buy.

Here are some hacks that will make it easier to find the biggest discounts:

1. Enter the code "&pct-off=X-" (including the hyphen) at the end of your search URL. The “X” can be any number, such as “50” for 50% off or “75” for 75% off. This altered search query will surface more discounted offers for the specific item you’re interested in. The results aren’t always perfect, but you’ll be able to locate faster Amazon’s best discounts, and sponsored items are filtered out.

2. Head over to the Today’s Deals section and sort by “Discount – High to Low.” This sorting option only exists in the Today’s Deals section. If you go to a category like “Laptops,” you won’t find a dropdown menu with “Discount — High to Low” as a sort option.

3. Go to CamelCamelCamel.com and tap on Top Price Drops. This will bring you to a section where you can search for minimum percent discounts (50% or more, 75% or more, etc.) across multiple product categories. However, you cannot search for minimum percent discounts on specific items.

Awesome Websites/Apps That Keep You Safe

There’s plenty of danger out there, so here are some free sites/apps that make the world a little bit safer for you:

• Am I Flying on a Boeing – enter your upcoming flight number and the site will confirm if you’re on a Boeing, which has been in the news a lot.

• HaveIBeenPwned.com – allows you to see if your online accounts have been released in a data breach. You can also get email alerts if you’ve been in a breach.

• Yuka – a free mobile app that allows you to scan the barcodes of food and personal care products and see their negative and positive impact on your health.

• ThatsThem.com – identify someone by entering the person’s phone number, address, email, IP address, or VIN.

• SpotCrime.com – see the type and location of crimes reported in your neighborhood.

• VirusTotal – enter a URL, domain, IP address or attach a suspicious file and the site will warn you if it detects a virus, malware and other breaches.

• Noonlight – if you feel you are in an unsafe situation, open the app and hold down a “maybe I’m in danger” button. If you release the button, emergency help will be directed to your exact location.

4-Day Workweek Jobs Are Real (and Here's How to Find Them)

The 4-day workweek sounds amazing to 99% of us. (The other 1% is clearly mental.) There are studies and actual company experiments with 4-day workweeks that confirm the overall output of a firm does not decrease. For example, Microsoft tested a four-day workweek in Japan, and it reported a 40% increase in productivity.

Compressed workweeks improve staff morale and reduce burnout, and companies are coming around to the idea, but progress is slow.

The good news is you don’t have to wait for most companies to realize the benefits of a shorter workweek. There are now a good number of companies who have implemented the idea in some form. You just have to find them.

4dayweek.io is a good placed to start. The site lists job openings from companies offering 4-day workweeks (usually 32 hours) with no pay cut. Most jobs listed are remote. Currently, there are openings from over 300 companies posted.

Companies like Kickstarter, Awin, Insomnia Cookies, and 10up offer numerous jobs that offer a 100% salary for 4 days of work. Other companies, like Carfax and Basecamp, convert to a 4-day workweek in the summer. There are also companies, like Forbes Advisor, that offer limited compressed weeks (every 3rd Friday off).

Of course, you can also go to a regular job board and simply search for “4 day workweek.” At any rate, the 4-day workweek isn’t a fringe concept anymore, and you shouldn’t settle for a 40 hour week if your skills are in demand.