Expert Explanations

Tax Time is the Perfect Time to Tackle Paper Clutter

Professional Organizers urge that we organize our paperwork and now is the perfect time of year

Tax time is upon us and that is always a good time to clean out your files, says Beth Randall, owner of Joe Organizer, a Plainfield-based business.  "It's a necessity to clear out your old files to make room for the new, unless of course you enjoy collecting filing cabinets to store all of it," she said in a written release. And as a professional organizer, Randall has a system that works well for her. "What I usually recommend is that you purchase an accordion file folder," she said. You can usually find these at local big box stores for less than $10. "Take all your 2012 papers and store them in the accordion file," she said. "I store the papers in alphabetical order.  If it's the Comcast bill it goes under C, Nicor until N, etc.  I …

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When Can I File My 2012 Tax Return?

The IRS has announced a delayed start to the 2012 tax filing season. Here's the date of when you can file, plus some locations in Ferndale to get help on your taxes.

You'll have to wait if you are used to filing your annual tax return at the earliest possible date. The Internal Revenue Service revised its opening date for tax season — pushing it back eight days to January 30, 2013. The tax filing deadline is Monday, April 15, 2013. The IRS will begin accepting tax returns on Jan. 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 January…

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Yorkville Knocks $50,000 Off Tax Levy

Aldermen pass $3.5 million levy at Tuesday's City Council meeting.

Politics in KenCom Funding Dispute

Apparent agreement has been reached, but Yorkville leaders are not thrilled.

Some Yorkville aldermen had strong words for county board members last week before unanimously accepting a 911 dispatching agreement that pushes more of the expenses onto the city. “I think the residents of Yorkville, Plano and Oswego should be appalled,” Ward 4 Alderman Rose Spears said, calling the cost-sharing plan double-taxation. “The county is already taxing us.” Ward 1 Alderman Carlo Colosimo suggested Yorkville residents remain or become politically active next year as all county board members are up for re-election, while some county board members stood behind the decision to ask members of the KenCom dispatching service to contribute to the cost of running it. County board member Nancy Martin said she was disappointed with the “…

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