Get a Jump-Start on Your 2011 Tax Bill

The summer is a great time to start thinking about taxes and how you can limit the amount you will contribute.

The first thing you can do is check the bottom line of your 2010 return and see if you should change your tax withholding or revise estimated payments. Consider increasing your withholding if you owed a good amount of money last year.

File a new W-4 form to change the number of allowances if you don’t have job or are self-employed. It is wrong to assume you’ll owe the same tax as last year.

If you just retired, you will now have to do your own calculations since your employer is no longer withholding taxes from your paycheck. Ask your IRA custodian and the Social Security Administration to withhold taxes for you.

For more ways you can get a start on your 2011 tax bill, visit Kiplinger.