His? Hers? Does the name listed first on a joint tax return define your marriage?

I know, you're feeling like the youngster above, not quite ready yet to talk taxes. But take your hands off your ears to hear — or rather keep scrolling to read — some tax information to note and tax moves to make in July.

July 1: The majority of state individual and corporate income tax policy changes follow the calendar year and take effect each Jan. 1. But, notes the Tax Foundation, many sales and excise tax changes take effect today, July 1, which is the beginning of the fiscal year for all states except Alabama, Michigan, New York, and Texas. The Washington, D.C. tax policy nonprofit says at least 32 notable tax changes took effect on July 1 across 18 states. They include a new way to tax sports betting in Tennessee.

July 1 also marked the continuation or kick-off of three Florida tax holidays this month. The Sunshine State's Home Hardening Sales Tax Exemption that started last July 1 will run through June 30, 2024. During the next year, Florida shoppers can get their homes hurricane ready and won't owe the state's 6% sales tax on retail purchases of impact-resistant windows, doors, and garage doors. The state also is exempting Energy Star appliances, as well as gas ranges and cooktops from sales tax from July 1 through next June.

Plus, Florida will have a back-to-school sales tax holiday later this month, as will Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Info on those holidays is noted later in this list of July Tax Moves, so keep reading if you live in one of these four states. (Also, please keep reading if you live in one of the other 46 states and Washington, D.C., for more tax July tax moves that could apply to you!)

July 4: Happy 247th Birthday, America!

Most of us will never be totally independent of taxes, but we can celebrate fewer tax hassles by paying attention to what we might owe and how we can reduce that amount throughout the year. Such attention to tax details is especially now, with six months left in 2023.

July 10: Do you work as a server at a restaurant or at any other establishment where gratuities from customers are part of your compensation? I hope you got lots of financial thanks for doing your job well, but don't forget that those tips are taxable income.

And you, as the server or delivery person, must account for those tips. If you got at least $20 in thank-you cash from customers in June for doing a good job, you must report the amount by today by using Form 4070 to let your employer the total of the tips you took in last month.

July 14: For lots of us, summer time is beach time. But if you happen to live year-round in a coastal area, especially on the Eastern Seaboard or the Gulf of Mexico, it's also hurricane season. We've had a couple of named storms, but thankfully they didn't make U.S. landfall. That means there's still time to prepare for hurricane season.

Forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center expect the 2023 season, which runs through Nov. 30, to bring 12 to 17 named storms, with five to nine possibly becoming hurricanes. As many as four of those storms could reach major status, which is category 3, 4 or 5 with winds of 111 mph or higher. Regardless of the count, it only takes one to wreak havoc. The countdown clock below can help you keep track of how many more days you have to worry about tracking any size or type of tropical storms.

Countdown

You also might want to check out the ol' blog's special Storm Warnings.
These multi-page collections of posts offer tax advice on preparing for, recovering from and helping those who sustain damages from the many ways that that weather goes wild. That includes claiming uninsured losses from a major natural disaster as an itemized tax deduction.

July 17: If you were due a refund on your 2019 tax return, but didn't for some reason file that year's Form 1040 back in 2020, do it now. If you don't get it to the Internal Revenue Service by today, Uncle Sam gets to keep your cash. Forever.

July 21-23: Remember those back-to-school sales tax holidays mentioned earlier in this tax moves list? It's time! Alabama's starts July 21 and runs through the 23rd. Yellowhammer State shoppers get tax-free purchases of clothing, books, and school and computer supplies.

July 24-Aug. 6: This two-week period is back-to-school summer sales tax holiday time in Florida. Shoppers there can save tax dollars on clothing, school supplies, and computers.

July 28-30: This last weekend in July is back to school sales tax holiday time for shoppers in Mississippi and Tennessee. Magnolia State shoppers can save on clothing and footwear and, of course, school supplies. Volunteer State shoppers can save on the same, as well as on computer purchases.

July 31: And here we are, the last day of July. Time really does fly when you're having tax fun. If you got an extension back in April to file your 2021 tax return, your tax filing deadline of Oct. 16 is even closer. You don't have to wait until the last minute (again). You can get to work on that tax paperwork now and be done with it so it won't be hanging over your head while you're trying to enjoy the rest of the summer.

Whenever you do get around to finishing your tax return, the IRS recommends you do so electronically. Check out ways to e-file at no cost, including using Free File, the online preparation and electronic filing web page for eligible taxpayers created by the IRS' partnership with the Free File Alliance. It's still operational.

You can prepare and e-file as its name says at no cost if your adjusted gross income (AGI) is $73,000 or less, regardless of your filing status. You should be able to find a software that works for you from the seven tax prep companies that are participating.

Small Business Tax Calendar: Important filing, deposit and record keeping dates throughout the year that your company needs to know. You can get more tax calendar information at the IRS' online calendar page and view the full year's important business and individual tax dates in IRS Pub. 509.