Are You Finding Difficulty Coping During Tax Time? Seeking Mental Health Counseling Can Help With More Than You Know.

April is National Stress Awareness Month and I thought I’d take a moment to give you some tax-stress relief advice.

Whether you will owe taxes or get a refund, filing a return, even if you cannot pay right now, is critical. Seeking out psychotherapy could also help. Not only to deal with your stress, but to establish and validate the genuine mental disability that can be caused by a catastrophic event or life change.

The IRS often makes allowances for people in difficulties, but takes a dim view of those who don't file. Last year the IRS assessed more than $6 billion in civil penalties against taxpayers who failed to file. Penalties for non-filing can be up to 25 percent of tax due, but they may be reduced or eliminated when evidence of treatment for a mental illness constituting a 'reasonable cause' for non-filing can be shown. Even if years have passed without filing, the IRS may consider abatement when shown proof of treatment.

Remember to take a deep breath and know there are options to get through this difficult time.
See more articles about stress and taxes here on my blog.

Report: Americans More Stressed About Finances

Even though the housing market seems to be improving and the trouble on Wall Street has settled down, reports are showing that Americans are more stressed now about their finances than they have been in nearly a year. As such, consumer confidence is at a yearly low (38.1) according to the September Consumer Reports Index. Check out the following article explaining why confidence is continuing to decline courtesy of Biz Journals.com.

Increased credit card, health care and personal loan issues are the drivers behind their dour demeanor.

When the index is greater than 50, more consumers are feeling positive about their situation. When it is below 50, more consumers are feeling worse.

On a positive note, shopping for big-ticket items such as a home or car looks strong for September, the report noted.

"Despite the negative forces consumers are facing, we have seen some stabilization and improvement in key indicators that suggest we could see an improvement in consumer sentiment over the next month," said Ed Farrell, director of the Consumer Reports National Research Center.

Consumer Reports Trouble Tracker found almost 38 percent of Americans have experienced at least one major negative personal finance event in the last 30 days.