Where You Can Buy Municipal Bonds Online

Municipal bonds are debt obligations issued by states, counties, cities, and other governmental agencies. The primary advantage to investing in municipal bonds is the tax free interest. The interest is exempt from Federal taxes and if you live in the state in which the bonds were issued, the interest is exempt from state taxes also (with a few states that are exceptions). Plus, any muni bonds issued by the Governments of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, or the Northern Mariana Islands, or bonds issued after October 16, 2004 by American Samoa are also exempt from all state income taxes, according to Federal law. If you live in New York City and own New York State bonds, the interest is exempt from city, state, and Federal income taxes .

The following companies allow you to view their municipal bond offerings online without having to log in or even open an account, until you are ready to buy.

ZionsDirect

FMSbonds

Fidelity

Stoever Glass

A great resource for information about municipal bonds is MunicipalBonds.com, which includes a lookup by CUSIP number.

Need to File an Extension? Here's Where You Get the Form

Here is the link to the IRS Form 4868 Extension Form:

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4868.pdf

Income Tax Filing Deadlines

Income Tax Filing Deadlines

Excerpted from J.K. Lasser's Your Income Tax 2013: For Preparing Your 2012 Tax Return

January 15, 2013 - Pay the balance of your 2012 estimated tax. If you do not meet this date, you may avoid an estimated tax penalty for the last quarter by filing your 2012 return and paying the balance due by January 31,2013.

Farmers and fishermen: File your single 2012 estimated tax payment by this date. If you do not, you may still avoid an estimated tax penalty by filing a final tax return and paying the full tax by March 1, 2013.

January 31, 2013 - Make sure you have received a Form W-2 from each employer for whom you worked in 2012.

April 15, 2013 - File your 2012 tax return and pay the balance of your tax. If you cannot meet the April 15 deadline, you may obtain an automatic six-month filing extension by filing Form 4868 (on paper or electronically). However, even if you get an extension, interest will still be charged for taxes not paid by April 15, and late payment penalties will be imposed unless at least 90% of your tax liability is paid by this date or you otherwise show reasonable cause. If you cannot pay the full amount of tax you owe when you file your return, you can file Form 9465 to request an installment payment arrangement.

If on this date you are a U.S. citizen or resident living and working outside the U.S. or Puerto Rico, or in military service outside the U.S. or Puerto Rico, you have an automatic two-month filing extension until June 17, 2013.

Pay the first installment of your 2013 estimated tax by this date.

June 17, 2013 - Pay the second installment of your 2013 estimated tax. You may amend your estimate at this time.

If on April 15 you were a U.S. citizen or resident living and working outside the U.S. or Puerto Rico, or in military service outside the U.S. or Puerto Rico, file your 2012 return and pay the balance due. You may obtain an additional four-month filing extension until October 15, 2013, by filing Form 4868.

If you are a nonresident alien who did not have tax withheld from your wages, file Form 1040NR by this date and pay the balance due.

September 16, 2013 - Pay the third installment of your 2013 estimated tax. You may amend your estimate at this time.

October 15, 2013 - File your 2012 return if you received an automatic six-month filing extension using Form 4868. Also file your 2012 return and pay the balance due if on April 15 you were a U.S. citizen or resident living and working outside the U.S. or Puerto Rico, or in military service outside the U.S. or Puerto Rico, and by June 17 you qualified for an additional four-month extension by filing Form 4868.

December 31, 2013 - If self-employed, this is the last day to set up a Keogh plan for 2013.

January 15, 2014 - Pay the balance of your 2013 estimated tax.

April 15, 2014 - File your 2013 return and pay the balance of your tax. Pay the first installment of your 2014 estimated tax by this date.

15th day of the 4th month after the fiscal year ends - File your fiscal year return and pay the balance of the tax due. If you cannot meet the filing deadline, apply for an automatic four-month filing extension on Form 4868.

Excerpted with permission of the publisher, Wiley, from J.K. Lasser's Your Income Tax 2013: For Preparing Your 2012 Tax Return. Copyright © 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. This book is available at Amazon and all book sellers.